Two-time Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett is set to add another prestigious honor to her illustrious career. The San Sebastián Film Festival has just announced that Blanchett will be the recipient of the Donostia career achievement award at this year’s 72nd edition of the Spanish event.
For decades, Blanchett has been one of the industry’s most versatile and award-winning actors, headlining independent author-driven gems and Hollywood blockbusters alike. She is a recipient of two Venice Volpi Cups, four BAFTAs, and four Golden Globes, as well as an honorary French Academy César Award and a Spanish Academy Goya career achievement award.
In 1999, Blanchett received her first Oscar nomination for her work in Shekhar Kapur’s “Elizabeth.” She has been nominated seven more times in the quarter-century since, winning a pair of statues for performances as Katherine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” and the titular lead of Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.”
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One way to judge an actor’s career is to consider how many A-list filmmakers they have worked with. Few performers today can boast of a lineup of collaborators like Blanchett’s. Directors who have benefited from her performances include Kapur, Scorsese and Allen, as well as Terrence Malick, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Ridley Scott, Sally Potter, Wes Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Woody Allen, Gillian Armstrong, Taika Waititi, Peter Jackson, Todd Haynes, Richard Linklater, Jim Jarmusch, Guillermo del Toro, Adam McKay and Todd Field, to name a few.
In addition to her authorial fare, Blanchett has also appeared in many big-budget commercial films, including “Thor: Ragnarok,” the “Lord of the Rings” series and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” She is an accomplished voice actor, having appeared in films from the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, the English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo” and a particularly fun turn as a violent monkey in “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.”
In August, Blanchett will star in Eli Roth’s action-packed adaptation of the “Borderlands” video game franchise, and yesterday, it was revealed that she joined the Zellner Brothers’ upcoming alien invasion comedy, “Alpha Gang.”
Behind the camera, Blanchett is co-founder and principal of the production company Dirty Films alongside partners Andrew Upton and Coco Francini. The organization recently launched Proof of Concept, a program offering emerging filmmakers financial support, mentorship and exhibition opportunities.
For Dirty Films, Blanchett recently produced and appeared in Warwick Thornton’s award-winning “The New Boy” and produced Christos Nikou’s “Fingernails,” both of which screened at San Sebastián. Other producer credits include Todd Hayne’s “Carol,” Todd Field’s “Tár,” and the 10-time Emmy-nominated series “”Apples,” the 10-time Emmy-nominated series “Mrs America.”
In 2018, San Sebastián began a new tradition of featuring a contemporary performer on its poster each year. This year, Blanchett is the face of San Sebastián and features on the poster, which was revealed with today’s announcement. The poster was designed by graphic designer José Luis Lanzagorta, and it is based on a photograph taken by Gustavo Papaleo.
