Stockholm Visionary Award 2022: Sam Mendes
He is the theater director who took the film world by storm by winning an Oscar for Best Picture with his sensational directorial debut, the rest is modern film history. The Stockholm Visionary Award 2022 is awarded to the British director Sam Mendes.
Sam Mendes created his first plays while studying at Cambridge and stepped into the industry by directing Judi Dench in the West End. After being discovered by Steven Spielberg, he made his film debut at the age of 33. The film in question, »American Beauty«, was awarded five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. A star director was born.
His massive James Bond productions »Skyfall« and »Spectre« raised the artistic level of ambition for the franchise and opened all sorts of doors in Hollywood, but Mendes has steadfastly turned down American blockbusters in favor of directing much smaller theatrical productions at home in London , where his success has been hard to surpass. Mendes has been awarded both the British theatre's most prestigious prize, the Laurence Olivier Award, as well as its cinematic counterpart – the Bafta. The alternation between the stage and the filming undeniably seems to enrich his craft.
This year's recipient of the Stockholm Visionary Award is a filmmaker with unmatched depth and versatility. From the shocking war dramas like »1917« and »Jarhead« to recent reflections of repressed feelings and desires in American suburbs, in »Revolutionary Road« and »American Beauty« – Mendes always manages to captivate the audience with his sharp eye, masterful craft and lyrical cinematic language. The fact that his latest film, »Empire of Light«, is a love letter to the cinema, feels particularly appropriate as he is one of the few filmmakers who, year after year, has given film lovers a reason to seek out the biggest screens.
5 SAM MENDES GEMS
»1917«
»American Beauty«
»Road to Perdition«
»Skyfall«
»Jarhead«
»EMPIRE OF LIGHT«
Award ceremony + Face2Face
11/11 17:30
