Tonight, the receiving of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo to Willem Dafoe

Actor Willem Dafoe, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art of film, will be receiveded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo tonight at 8:30 PM at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema. 

 

Having made over 150 films in his career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and dare to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large and small, Hollywood films as well as independent cinema.  

 

At the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival, Dafoe previously held a Masterclass, where he shared his experiences reflections on art today with young talents, film professionals, and the festival audience.  

 

Dafoe has been recognized with four Academy Award nominations: Best Leading Actor for his role as Vincent van Gogh in “At Eternity's Gate” (also a Golden Globe nomination), as well as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Oliver Stone’s “Platoon”, E. Elias Merhige’s “Shadow Of The Vampire” (for which he also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations), and Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” (also Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations). He has also been awarded by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review, as well as twice by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Dafoe is also the recipient of two Independent Spirit Awards, the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup and a Berlinale Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement. He recently was awarded the Iris Award for Best Actor from Greece’s Hellenic Film Academy for his role in Vasilis Katsoupis’ Inside.  

 

The receiving of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo will be followed by a screening of the film BIRTHDAY by Miguel Ángel Jiménez. 

 

Markos Timoleon, an Onassis-like Greek tycoon, is celebrating his daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday on his private island. There, he will face an unpredictable chain of events that will threaten his dominance and shake his very existence. Based on Panos Karnezis’s acclaimed novel of the same name, THE BIRTHDAY PARTY is set in the late 1970s world of jet-setters, where glamorous parties meet Greek tragedy and “The Great Gatsby” meets Vinterberg's THE CELEBRATION. 

 

Director: Miguel Ángel Jimenéz 

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Vic Carmen Sonne, Emma Suárez, Joe Cole, Carlos Cuevas