22/01/2010

Veteran director John Boorman will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) on February 20 in Dublin.

Though born in England, Boorman has lived in Ireland for nearly 40 years and has been a champion of the Irish film industry, telling Irish stories in The General and The Tiger’s Tail and using Ireland as a location in Zardoz and Excalibur, besides unearthing key Irish talent.

Dr. Martin Mansergh, Minister of State, said, “This Lifetime Achievement Award from Ireland will celebrate John’s impact and influence on the early years of our film industry, playing a vital role as Chairman of the original Irish Film Board and also as Chairman of Ardmore Studios.”

Neil Jordan said, “John Boorman gave me my first real screenwriting job and was gracious enough to produce my first feature, Angel. What I relish about all of his films is the fact that they couldn’t exist in any other medium. He is a true artist of the cinema, and his place in its history has long been secure.”

Ciarán Hinds said, “John Boorman has always been a singular and independently-minded film-maker. Many of his films engage in the exploration of the human spirit. Almost all reveal a man with a political and social conscience.”

Boorman has been nominated for five Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, and two Berlin Golden Bears and won the Cannes Best Director award twice. He is currently working with Bryan Singer on a re-make of Excalibur; an animated adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; and on his pet project Memoirs of Hadrian, an adaptation of Marguerite Yourcenar’s bestseller.