Sigourney Weaver to Receive Honorary Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival

Oscar-winning actor Sigourney Weaver will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 81^st Venice International Film Festival.

Weaver said, "To be gifted this award is a privilege I share with all the filmmakers and collaborators I have worked with throughout the years. I proudly accept this award in celebration of all who have helped bring these films to life."

Venice's director Alberto Barbera, whose mandate was just renewed, said, "An actress of the caliber of Sigourney Weaver has few rivals. Strengthened by her significant theatrical training, she won over the great film-going public with ‘Alien,' directed by Ridley Scott, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the 1980s."

"During the course of that decade, she forged the image of a heroine unprecedented in the action film genre, able to victoriously rival the male models who, up to that point, had dominated epic and adventure movies. Not satisfied with having blazed the trail for powerful female actors, the actress ceaselessly continued her search for a personal identity," Barbera continued.

The artistic director also pointed out Weaver's collaboration with filmmakers such as James Cameron, Paul Schrader, Peter Weir, Michael Apted, Roman Polanski, Ivan Reitman, Mike Nichols and Ang Lee.

"The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is just recognition for a star who has built bridges between the most sophisticated art-house cinema and movies that engage with the public in a frank and original way, all the while remaining true to herself," Barbera said.

The full line-up of the 81^st edition will be announced on July 23.