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Julian Schnabel to Get Lifetime Honor at Lucca Festival
Acclaimed artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Lucca Film Festival in Tuscany, the festival announced on Friday. Schnabel will attend the event in person, take part in a public masterclass and be present for a retrospective of his films, underlining his standing as one of the notable cross-over figures from the visual arts to cinema.
The award will be presented at a screening of his latest feature, In the Hand of Dante, a Netflix film adapted from Nick Tosches' 2002 novel with a cast including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese, which premiered out of competition at Venice last year. Schnabel first made his name as a painter in the 1980s New York art scene before turning to directing with Basquiat (1996), Before Night Falls (2000) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), the last of which won him Best Director at Cannes and a Golden Globe, and earned four Oscar nominations; later films include Miral (2010) and At Eternity's Gate (2018). Previous Lucca honorees include David Lynch, Paul Schrader and Alfonso Cuarón, and the 2026 festival runs from 26 September to 4 October.
In short
- Julian Schnabel to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Lucca Film Festival.
- Award presented at a screening of his Netflix film In the Hand of Dante.
- The 2026 festival runs 26 September to 4 October in Tuscany.
Explained simply
Julian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker who has worked across both visual art and cinema. He first gained recognition as a painter in 1980s New York before turning to filmmaking, directing Basquiat in 1996.
His most celebrated film is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), which won Best Director at Cannes and a Golden Globe whilst receiving four Oscar nominations. Other notable films include Before Night Falls (2000) and At Eternity's Gate (2018), demonstrating his range across different subjects and styles.
The Lucca Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award is a prestigious honour, with previous recipients including figures such as David Lynch, Paul Schrader and Alfonso Cuarón. Such awards recognise an artist's body of work and influence on cinema over their career.
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