Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand Oscar-winning filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson will be awarded the Palm d’Or at the opening of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Best known for creating the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson said the honour was “one of the greatest privileges of my career”.
The French film festival organisers said the award recognised “a body of work that blends Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity”.
“Cannes has been a meaningful part of my filmmaking journey,” Jackson said in a statement following Thursday’s announcement.
“In 1988, I attended the Festival Marketplace with my first movie, Bad Taste, then in 2001 we screened a preview sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were important milestones in my career.
“This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Festival de Cannes for being recognised among the filmmakers and the artists whose work continues to inspire me.”
In giving Jackson the honour, Cannes president Iris Knobloch said: “The Festival welcomes and thanks a filmmaker of boundless creativity who has brought prestige to the heroic fantasy genre”.
In 1993 Jackson founded Wētā Digital with Sir Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk. The workshop has produced visual effects for films including The Lord of the Rings series King Kong, Avatar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Previous recipients of the award include Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. Last year it was given to Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington.
The Cannes Film Festival runs from 12-23 May. Sourh Korean director Park Chan-wook will preside over this year’s jury.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
