The Zurich Film Festival has announced it will honour director Martin McDonagh with its "A Tribute To…" award, recognising his outstanding contribution to cinema. The award will be presented at a gala screening of his forthcoming film Wild Horse Nine, a dark comedy starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA officers on Easter Island in the run-up to Chile's 1973 coup, which premieres in competition at the Venice Film Festival next month. McDonagh will also take part in a ZFF Masters discussion on his creative process, continuing his long association with the festival, which previously hosted galas for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin.

McDonagh, a London-born writer-director of Irish descent, first attracted attention with his Oscar-winning short Six Shooter in 2006 before breaking through internationally with In Bruges (2009). His two most recent features, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), earned seven and nine Oscar nominations respectively, including Best Picture, with Three Billboards winning acting awards for Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell; McDonagh has also won six Baftas. Festival CEO Christian Jungen praised his "distinctive cinematic voice" and ability to draw nuanced performances from actors, describing Wild Horse Nine as one of the standout films of the season.