Julian Schnabel is set to receive the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
The American artist and director, whose films include “At Eternity’s Gate,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “Basquiat,” will be in Venice with his latest directorial effort “In the Hand of Dante.” The film stars Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa, Louis Cancelmi and Franco Nero.
The annual award is given to “a personality who has made a particularly original contribution to the contemporary film industry,” according to a press release.
An awards ceremony at Venice for Schnabel will take place on Sept. 3 before the out-of-competition premiere of “In the Hand of Dante,” which is based on the book by Nick Tosches.
Schnabel’s long-gestating latest film revolves around a handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy” that is found in the Vatican library and makes its way from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by Tosches after he’s asked to verify its authenticity. Then, like Dante, Tosches embarks on his own journey.
“In the Hand of Dante” is produced by DreamCrew Entertainment, MeMo Films, TWIN Productions and Artofficial Productions. WME Independent is handling international distribution.
“I first set foot in Venice in November of 1976,” Schnabel said in a statement. “At the time, I went to Padua to see the Scrovegni Chapel of Giotto and to see the paintings in Venice. I never dreamed that I would become a filmmaker, let alone be honored with this award, and be included alongside so many filmmakers I admire, because in fact I am a painter. But I guess I am a filmmaker as well.”
Schnabel continued, “I’ve now shown my films at the Venice Film Festival for almost 30 years, and to receive the Glory to the Filmmaker Award for the world premiere of my new film ‘In the Hand of Dante’ means so much to me, as tracking Dante and Nick’s trajectory in this film has somehow mirrored my own life. Thank you. I couldn’t be happier about this.”
Commented Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera: “Each of Julian Schnabel’s films is a world of its own. Yet, it is not a coincidence that most of them are portraits of artists and passionate depictions of the artistic process. As generous as it is wildly imaginative, Schnabel’s cinematic output is a gift to film, articulated through a wholly original language. His new feature, ‘In the Hand of Dante,’ is his most ambitious project to date. As Martin Scorsese said when asked to describe them, Schnabel’s films are ‘abundant, overflowing and vibrating with life pulse. There is always more in the frame to see, to experience, and to feel.’”
Arnaud Carrez, senior vice president chief marketing officer at Cartier International, add that “the unbridled creativity of each of his films invites us into captivating universes through a painter’s sensitivity and visual language. This encounter between artistic sensibility and a dedication to creation marks a precious rarity that is dear to the Maison.”
This year’s Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6.
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