the award ceremony will be held on Monday September 1st at 4.30 pm in the Sala Grande

The Biennale di Venezia and Persol are pleased to announce that the American actress Frances McDormand has been awarded the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award 2014 at the Venice International Film Festival.

In commenting on this award, the Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera states: “The originality and immensity of Frances McDormand’s talent is well reflected in Olive Kitteridge, a project which she herself initiated, optioning the novel by Elizabeth Strout, and of which she is also executive producer. Another great manifestation of her vision, which we honor today with this award. Thanks to her long-standing experience in theatre, film and TV, dedicated to the search for truth, the career of Frances McDormandis not only that of an extraordinary actress but also reflects her consistent vision of art and of the world that is often in positive and aware contrast with today’s prevailing value system”.

Fabio d’Angelantonio, President Sunglass Hut andChief Marketing Officer Luxottica Group, states: “We are proud to continue our collaboration with the Biennale di Venezia’s Venice International Film Festival, for the tenth consecutive year. The PERSOL TRIBUTE TO VISIONARY TALENT AWARD this year will celebrate an artist who is truly unique. It is an honour for us to confer this award on Frances McDormand, a talent who perfectly embodies the characteristics that have always made Persol a beacon in the landscape of prestige accessories: art, authenticity, passion and uniqueness”.

The award ceremony for the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award 2014 to Frances McDormand will be held at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on Monday September 1st at 4.30 pm in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema).It will be followed by the screening, Out of Competition, of Olive Kitteridge directed by Lisa Cholodenko (USA), starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Bill Murray, John Gallagher Jr., Zoe Kazan, a four-part HBO miniseries adaptation of the eponymous Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Elizabeth Strout. Executive produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Frances McDormand and Jane Anderson from a teleplay by Anderson, the Playtone / As Is production will debut on HBO in the US in November.

Persol is the sponsor, for the tenth successive year, of the Venice International Film Festival.

Frances McDormand is the recipient of four Academy Award nominations: Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000), North Country (2005), and Fargo (1996), for which she received the Oscar for her performance as Marge Gunderson.

Her other films include Promised Land, Moonrise Kingdom, This Must Be The Place, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Burn After Reading, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Friends With Money, Laurel Canyon, Something’s Gotta Give, Wonder Boys, City By The Sea, Madeline, Primal Fear, Lone Star, Palookaville, Chattahoochee, Darkman, Hidden Agenda, Short Cuts, Beyond Rangoon, Paradise Road, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Raising Arizona, and Blood Simple.

In addition to Olive Kitteridge, she also produced the upcoming film Every Secret Thing which stars Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, and Dakota Fanning.

Frances studied at the Yale School of Drama. On Broadway, she received the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Other stage appearances include The Country Girl directed BY Mike Nichols on Broadway,  Caryl Churchill’s Far Away directed by Stephen Daldry at New York Theatre Workshop, her Tony-nominated performance as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Sisters Rosenzweig directed by Daniel Sullivan at Lincoln Center Theatre, The Swan at The Public Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire (this time as Blanche) at the Gate Theater in Dublin, and Dare Clubb’s Oedipus at the Blue Light Theater Company opposite Billy Crudup.  With The Wooster Group, she performed in To You, The Birdie! and North Atlantic.