Writer-director Charles Burnett, actor Donald Sutherland, cinematographer Owen Roizman and Belgian director Agnes Varda were named this week as recipients of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Honorary Awards.
The awards—in the form of an Oscar statuette—will be presented during the Academy’s ninth annual Governors Awards ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood.
Honorary Awards are given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
Burnett, a native of Watts, was hailed for his film’s portrayal of “the African American experience,” beginning with his inaugural feature “Killer of Sheep” in 1977. His other films include “To Sleep with Anger,” “The Glass Shield,” “Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation” and the documentaries “America Becoming” and “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property.”
Sutherland, known to younger movie goers as President Snow in “The Hunger Games” film series, has appeared in more than 140 films in a six-decade career. His credits include “The Dirty Dozen,” “M*ASH,” “The Day of the Locust,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Ordinary People” “The Italian Job” and “Pride & Prejudice.”
Roizman has been nominated for five Oscars — for “The French Connection,” “The Exorcist,” “Network,” “Tootsie” and “Wyatt Earp.”
His other cinematography credits include “Three Days of the Condor,”
“Absence of Malice,” “The Addams Family” and “Grand Canyon.”
Varda wrote and directed her first film, “La Pointe Courte,” in 1956 without any formal film training, and she is credited with inspiring the
“French New Wave” genre. Over 60 years, she has directed films including
“Cleo from 5 to 7,” “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” “Vagabond” and “The Gleaners and I.”
