Mar 17, 2015
Festival
San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Film Society announced today that Richard Gere, one of American cinema’s screen legends, will be the recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting at the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23–May 7). The award will be presented to Gere at Film Society Awards Night, Monday, April 27, at The Armory (1799 Mission Street).
The Film Society and its year-round exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs will benefit from the Film Society Awards Night fundraiser honoring Gere. The star-studded event will also honor the recipients of the Irving M. Levin Directing Award, the Kanbar Award for excellence in storytelling, and the George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award. This year’s awards will be revealed in subsequent announcements leading up to the Festival Opening Press Conference on Tuesday, March 31. One of the city’s most highly anticipated cultural events, Film Society Awards Night is co-chaired by Christine Aylward, Heidi Castelein, and Victoria Raiser and sponsored by Net-a-Porter.
“Richard Gere is one of cinema’s few unmistakable icons, a powerful connection to the heart of Hollywood history,” said SFFS Executive Director Noah Cowan. “But when we saw his extraordinary performance in Time Out of Mind, we were instantly reminded of something else—that he is an intoxicatingly gifted actor, capable of extraordinary depth and subtlety. We anticipate continuing acclaim for Gere now and through the awards season.”
Gere will also be publicly honored at An Evening with Richard Gere at the Castro Theatre, Sunday April 26, 6:30 pm. An onstage interview and a selection of clips from his notable acting career will be followed by a screening of Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind (2014), in which Gere delivers a remarkable performance.
Time Out of Mind: Ousted from the empty apartment where he’s been squatting, George Hammond (Gere) is once again unsure where he’ll turn for his next meal, drink or place to sleep. In a finely nuanced, tour-de-force performance, Gere plays movingly against type, bringing a haunted humanity to a man estranged from the world. Director Oren Moverman often observes his characters from a distance, but the film is never detached from the emotional impact of its protagonist’s solitary plight.
Richard Gere won a Golden Globe in 2003 for his performance in the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the musical Chicago. A multi-talented performer, Gere started his career on Broadway before his on-screen breakthrough in 1978 with Oscar-honored Days of Heaven. His subsequent films include Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo and Taylor Hackford’s An Officer and a Gentleman. He will next appear in Franny, directed by Andrew Renzi, and Oppenheimer Strategies, co-starring Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen, and Steve Buscemi.
Gere has long had massive public acclaim. In 1990 he portrayed a corrupt cop in Internal Affairs and starred opposite Julia Roberts in the year’s top-grossing picture Pretty Woman. In 2001 the actor appeared in the psychological thriller The Mothman Prophecies opposite Debra Messing and starred with Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez in Adrian Lyne’s dramatic thriller Unfaithful. In 2007, Gere starred alongside Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, and the late Heath Ledger in the critically acclaimed film I’m Not There, inspired by the life and songs of the legendary Bob Dylan. Throughout his prolific career Gere has graced the screen in several other prominent releases including Lasse Hallström’s The Hoax, The Hunting Party with Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg, Brooklyn’s Finest alongside Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke, and Mira Nair’s Amelia, opposite Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor.
Gere’s recent film work includes Nicolas Jarecki’s Arbitrage starring Susan Sarandon, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. This performance brought Gere Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations.
Peter J. Owens (1936–1991) was an actor, a film producer, a philanthropist and an important supporter of the Film Society. The organization is grateful to Scott Owens and the entire Owens family for continuing his legacy by endowing this award, which honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity.
Previous recipients of the Film Society’s Peter J. Owens Award are Jeremy Irons (2014), Harrison Ford (2013), Judy Davis (2012), Terence Stamp (2011), Robert Duvall (2010), Robert Redford (2009), Maria Bello (2008), Robin Williams (2007), Ed Harris (2006), Joan Allen (2005), Chris Cooper (2004), Dustin Hoffman (2003), Kevin Spacey (2002), Stockard Channing (2001), Winona Ryder (2000), Sean Penn (1999), Nicolas Cage (1998), Annette Bening (1997) and Harvey Keitel (1996). The Peter J. Owens Award is made possible through a grant from the Peter J. Owens Trust at the San Francisco Foundation; Scott Owens and Gary Shapiro, trustees.
Tickets to An Evening with Richard Gere are $25 for SFFS members, $30 for the general public. Box office opens March 17 for SFFS members, March 19 for the general public, online at sffs.org.
For more information about Film Society Awards Night please call 415-561-5028 or email specialevents@sffs.org.
For general information visit festival.sffs.org.
To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival publicist.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
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58th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 58th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 23-May 7 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre, Landmark’s Clay Theatre and the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, SFIFF is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with nearly $40,000 in cash prizes and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.