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| Peter Jackson to receive Honorary Palme d'Or Photo: © Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
Although the director has never had a film feature in Cannes' official competition, his association stretches back to 1998, when he brought Bad Taste, his first feature to the Cannes market and acquired distribution. In 2001, the New Zealander screened 26 minutes of promo footage from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring to press at the festival.
That franchise went on to snare 17 Oscars - including 11 for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and gross $3billion globally.
Jackson said: “To be honoured with an Honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes is one of the greatest privileges of my career.
“Cannes has been a meaningful part of my filmmaking journey. In 1988, I attended the Festival Marketplace with my first movie, Bad Taste, then in 2001 we screened a preview sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were important milestones in my career. This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Festival de Cannes for being recognised among the filmmakers and the artists whose work continues to inspire me.”
Festival President Iris Knobloch said “for its 79th year, the Festival welcomes and thanks a filmmaker of boundless creativity who has brought prestige to the heroic fantasy genre.”
Festival Director Thierry Frémaux confirms that there is "clearly a before and an after Peter Jackson. Larger-than-life cinema is his trademark, and his all-encompassing art of entertainment is particularly ambitious. He has permanently transformed Hollywood cinema and its conception of the spectacle. But Peter Jackson is not only a great technician; he is above all a tremendous storyteller. And an unpredictable artist: what will his next universe be?"
The filmmaker's range has stretched from low-budget features including Bad Taste and Meet The Feebles, through to the Tolkein epics, also featuring a remake of King Kong. He has also taken on large documentary projects, including 2018's World War I film They Shall Not Grow Old and miniseries The Beatles: Get Back (2001).
