Stephen Frears to get BFI Fellowship at London Film Festival
- Award is the highest honour that the BFI can bestow
Veteran filmmaker Stephen Frears will receive the British Film Institute (BFI) Fellowship at the London Film Festival’s awards ceremony on October 18. The Fellowship is the highest accolade that BFI can bestow and is awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television. Past recipients of the honour include Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Mike Leigh, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelangelo Antonioni, Abbas Kiarostami, Akira Kurosawa, Jeanne Moreau and Bernardo Bertolucci.
BFI chairman Greg Dyke said, “Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen has produced a body of work which never fails to surprise – from sweeping costume drama to powerful social realism, his films strike a perfect balance between drama, humour and pathos helping to make them a hit with audiences and critics alike. He is one of the UK’s most important directors and we are delighted to honour him.”
Stephen Frears said, “I’ve spent much of my life in the cinema and quite a lot of it at BFI Southbank. I am thrilled by this Fellowship.”
Frears first made his name in television drama. He began his film career with The Hit (1984) and went on to make acclaimed works like My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), High Fidelity (2000) and The Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andy Harries
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] (2006). His last release Philomena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] (2013) was a critical and commercial success and won several awards, including a BAFTA.
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