The Zurich Film Festival this year will honor acclaimed British director Mike Leigh with its “A Tribute to…” Golden Eye award.
Zurich will also screen a retrospective of Leigh’s work. The filmmaker will deliver a public masterclass at the festival and will receive his award at a ceremony on Oct. 3.
Previous winners of Zurich’s Golden Eye trophy include Stephen Frears, Oliver Stone, Michael Haneke and Claire Denis.
The 72-year-old Leigh has been nominated for seven Oscars, for directing and writing, and has won numerous BAFTAs for his work. His 1996 family drama Secrets and Lies won Cannes’ Palme d’Or in 1996, and Vera Drake took Venice’s Golden Lion in 2004.
Leigh’s next film will look at the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, in which British cavalry attacked demonstrators protesting economic deprivation, killing 15 people.
The 11th-annual Zurich International Film Festival runs Sept. 24-Oct.4.
