The American Film Institute has announced that the 2016 AFI Fest will honor French actress Isabelle Huppert with a tribute and gala screening of her latest thriller-drama “Elle.”
Huppert’s career has spanned decades and continents. She has 15 César Award nominations, the French equivalent of the Academy Awards, and a win for her performance in 1995’s “La Céremonie.” She has won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival twice, and is an Officer of both the National Order of Merit and the Legion of Honour.
“Isabelle Huppert is a masterful actress,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, AFI Fest Director. “Her fearlessness and precision shine in ‘Elle’ and we are thrilled to honor her illustrious career at the 30th edition of AFI Fest as she exemplifies the best of world cinema.”
“Elle” has been quite the controversial film since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Telling the story of a woman who is raped and the aftermath of her assault, “Elle” has its fans but also its major detractors. Women and Hollywood’s Melissa Silverstein called it “infuriating” and “so epically fucked up that words escape me.”
As we previously announced, the 2016 AFI Fest will also be spotlighting a trio of female trailblazers: Dorothy Dandridge, Ida Lupino, and Anna May Wong. Dandridge was the first African-American woman nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Lupino was the first woman to direct film noir, and became a pioneering writer, producer, actress, and director. And Wong was the first Chinese-American actress to rise to international fame. AFI Fest will screen three films, one featuring each artist: Otto Preminger’s “Carmen Jones” (1954) starring Dandridge, the Lupino-directed “The Hitch-Hiker” (1953), and E.A. Dupont’s “Piccadilly”(1929) starring Wong.
This year’s edition of AFI Fest will run from November 10–17.
