– The British actress will also receive an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in recognition of her contribution to world cinema
Actress Emily Watson (© 2024 Dario Caruso for Cineuropa – dario-caruso.fr, @studio.photo.dar, Dario Caruso)
British actress Emily Watson will serve as president of the jury for the Competition Programme – Feature Film at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival. In addition to deciding on the award winners together with her fellow jurors, the actress will also receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the festival, in recognition of her contribution to world cinema.
“Twenty years after her last visit to Sarajevo, we are truly delighted to welcome Emily Watson back to the festival – this time not only as the recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo, but also as president of the Competition jury. An actress whose talent, intelligence and dedication to the craft have left a profound mark on contemporary cinema, Emily Watson has, throughout her remarkable career, moved audiences and critics alike with performances of extraordinary emotional precision and strength. I believe the filmmakers in this year’s programme will be just as excited as we are to know that she will be watching their work in Sarajevo. She has long had a special place in the hearts of our festival audience, so honouring her with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo feels both natural and deeply deserved,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
A two-time Academy Award nominee for Anand Tucker‘s Hilary and Jackie and Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, Emily Watson belongs among the world’s finest actors. Last year, she was presented with the Richard Harris Award at the BIFAs, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to British film. Other accolades of hers include the Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Supporting Actress for Tim Mielant‘s Small Things Like These; the European Film Award for European Actress for Breaking the Waves and a nomination for Robert Altman‘s Gosford Park; a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her role in Appropriate Adult, plus another nomination; as well as four nods for the BAFTA Film Awards, and five for the Golden Globes. She also received the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Most recently, she starred as Mary Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet and was in Tim Mielant’s Netflix film Steve, as well as the A24 fantasy epic The Legend Of Ochi and the HBO Max series Dune: Prophecy, which has just finished shooting its second season. Watson’s credits also include Jim Sheridan‘s The Boxer, Brett Ratner‘s Red Dragon, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Punch-Drunk Love and Steven Spielberg‘s War Horse, as well as the series Chernobyl, among many other titles, also in theatre. In 2015, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Drama.
