25th Braunschweig International Film Festival honours Isabelle Huppert with the European Actors Award ”The Europa“

The 25th International Film Festival Braunschweig honours French Actress Isabelle Huppert with its main prize, the European Actors Award ”The Europa“. Huppert receives the award for her outstanding artistic performances and contribution to European film culture. Isabelle Huppert will be presented with the statue ”The Europa“ on November 13 during the award ceremony in Braunschweig‘s State Theatre. The prize is sponsored by the festival’s main sponsor, Volkswagen Financial Services AG.

”Isabelle Huppert is an icon of contemporary auteur cinema“, says festival director Volker Kufahl, ”We are proud and happy to welcome this exceptional actress, who gives every role her distinctive expression.“

Huppert is considered as one of the greatest actresses in world cinema. To this day she has played in more than 80 films, 16 of which were selcted for the official competition in Cannes – a record. She is the only Frenchwoman who has won the Golden Palm of Cannes twice: 1978 for „Violette Nozière“ which was directed by Claude Chabrol, who she worked with in seven films, and 2001 for ”The Piano Teacher” by Michael Haneke, for which she also received the European Film Award.

The list of directors she collaborated with resembles a who’s who of European arthouse cinema: André Techiné, Jean-Luc Godard, Andrzej Wajda, Marco Ferreri, the Taviani brothers and many more. The Paris-born actress became famous for her role in in Claude Gorettas ”The Lacemaker“which earned her a César and a BAFTA Award.

The Braunschweig festival will show Goretta’s drama as part of a retrospective with ”The Piano Teacher “ (director: Michael Haneke, A/F/D 2001), ”8 Women“ (François Ozon, F 2002), ”Comedy of Power“ (Claude Chabrol, F/D 2006), ”White material“ (Claire Denis, F/Kamerun 2009), ”Villa Amalia“ (Benoît Jacquot, F/CH 2009) und „Copacabana“ (F 2010) by Marc Fitoussi, where she acts together with her daughter Lolita Chammah.

Since 2007 the Braunschweig International Film Festival has awarded the European Actors Award „The Europa“. Former prize winners are Bruno Ganz, Stellan Skarsgård, Hanna Schygulla and John Hurt. Isabelle Huppert has already worked together with the latter two: in Marco Ferreri’s ”Storia di Piera“ she is Hanna Schygulla’s daughter (first „Europa“ winner 2007), and in Michael Cimino’s late western ”Heaven`s Gate“ she plays a business savvy prostitute next to John Hurt (“Europa” winner 2009).