The 18th Zurich Film Festival (22.9. – 2.10.) bestows its renowned A Tribute to… Award upon the Italian director and screenwriter for his cinematic work. Luca Guadagnino will accept the honorary award on September 30th during the Gala Premiere of his latest film BONES AND ALL and will hold a public ZFF Masters on October 1.
Luca Guadagnino’s films have found their own unique place in contemporary cinema: They delight audiences and critics alike, and the director, born in Palermo in 1971, has developed a cinematic language that is unmistakably his own. The Italian has been one of the most internationally sought-after directors since the global success of CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017), which Guadagnino presented in person at the ZFF. “Luca Guadagnino is a filmmaker who tells incredibly powerful visual stories and surprises time after time. With his distinctive style, the European director has also managed to make a name for himself abroad and is at the peak of his creative powers,” says Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the ZFF.
“Guadagnino is also not afraid to reinterpret the works of great directors,” continues Jungen. In 2015, Guadagnino did a remake of the 1968 movie LA PISCINE with the title A BIGGER SPLASH; director Jacques Deray created a cult movie starring Romy Schneider and Alain Delon, Guadagnino succeeded this with a remake starring Tilda Swinton that has almost nothing in common with the original and weaves sociopolitical traits into the plot. In 2018, Guadagnino dived headlong into the horrifying spheres of an abominable dance company with his remake of the Dario Argento classic SUSPIRIA. Tilda Swinton was part of the cast for this one, too; the actress is like a common thread that runs through Guadagnino’s work: He created a 35-minute short film from his first encounter with Swinton, which happened to be an interview with her at the Hotel Majestic in Cannes in 2002. Guadagnino’s breakthrough came in 2005 with MELISSA P, the film adaptation of the novel “With Closed Eyes” by Melissa Panarello. His IO SONO L’AMORE – again with Tilda Swinton – received a Golden Globe nomination. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME received four Oscar nominations, with James Ivory winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Luca Guadagnino will receive the A Tribute to… Award at ZFF on September 30, when he presents his latest work BONES AND ALL as a Gala Premiere. He will also hold a public ZFF Masters on October 1. “Receiving this award is a great honor. The Zurich Film Festival has held a special place for me since premiering CALL ME BY YOUR NAME there in 2017. I’m so happy to return to the festival with BONES AND ALL.” states Luca Guadagnino.
BONES AND ALL is a story of first love between Maren (Taylor Russell), a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee (Timothée Chalamet), an intense and disenfranchised drifter, as they meet and join together for a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and trap doors of Ronald Reagan’s America. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
The Zurich Film Festival presents The A Tribute to… Award to auteur filmmakers for their contribution to film history. Former recipients include Paolo Sorrentino, Wim Wenders, Olivier Assayas, Claire Denis, Michael Haneke, Oliver Stone and Maïwenn.