Naomi Watts will be one of the main protagonists of the 74th edition of the San Sebastián Festival, which will recognize her career with one of its prestigious Donostia Awards. The actress and producer will receive the award next September 19, during a ceremony that will be followed by the screening of The Housewife (The Perfect Wife), directed by Ben Shirinian.
The San Sebastián festival announced this Monday the recognition of Watts, who becomes the second confirmed name to receive the Donostia Award this edition. The first was German filmmaker Werner Herzog, whose tribute was announced at the beginning of August.
Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Australia, Watts has an extensive career that spans both large international productions and films linked to independent cinema. Her career also includes numerous television works and several collaborations with some of the most recognized directors of recent decades.
Two Oscar nominations
The actress has been nominated twice for the Oscar for Best Actress. The first came for her performance in 21 Grams, Alejandro González Iñárritu's film released in 2003, where she shared the cast with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro.
Her second nomination was for The Impossible, directed by the Spanish J.A. Bayona. For this performance, she won, among other recognitions, the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award, and the Critics' Choice.
Watts also received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for St. Vincent, a film in which she worked alongside Bill Murray, and was part of the cast of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), again under Iñárritu's direction. The film ended up winning the Oscar for Best Picture.
But one of the fundamental roles of her career came before her nominations for major awards. It was in Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's film released in 2001 that marked her international consecration and continues to be considered one of the most relevant performances in contemporary cinema.
Her work in the film earned her, among other recognitions, the awards for best actress from the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics, as well as numerous awards granted by critics' associations.
A career alongside great directors
Throughout her career, Watts has worked with names such as Peter Jackson, David Cronenberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Haneke, Audrey Diwan, Noah Baumbach, and Rodrigo García.
Precisely with the latter, she returned to the San Sebastián Festival in 2009 to participate in the closing of the Official Section out of competition with Mother & Child (Madres e hijas).
Her relationship with audiovisuals has not been limited to cinema. The actress has also developed an important television career, with leading roles in productions such as The Watcher (Vigilante), from Netflix; The Loudest Voice (La voz más alta), where she played journalist Gretchen Carlson alongside Russell Crowe; and Gypsy, a series she also produced.
Watts worked again with David Lynch in Twin Peaks: The Return and also voiced a character in BoJack Horseman.
The Housewife, the film that will accompany the tribute
The audience of the San Sebastián Festival will be able to see Watts in The Housewife, which will be screened after the Donostia Award ceremony.
Ben Shirinian's film is set in 1964 and is based on a true case. Its story follows a young journalist who discovers that a former Nazi might be living hidden in New York. From there, he establishes a relationship with the wife of the man he considers a suspect. Watts is accompanied in the cast by actors such as Tye Sheridan, Luke Evans, Michael Imperioli, and Lena Olin.
For Shirinian, the film also marks his leap to feature films. Until now, the Canadian director had mainly developed his career in short films, with works such as Lost in Motion (2012), Lost in Motion 2 (2013), and Josef et Aimée (2015).
The 74th edition of the San Sebastián Festival will be held between September 18 and 26, with Naomi Watts and Werner Herzog as the first names announced to receive the Donostia Award.
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