Actress and producer Naomi Watts will receive the second Donostia Award at the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain, festival organisers announced on Monday.
The British-born, Australian-raised actress will accept the lifetime achievement award on September 19 during a gala ceremony at the Kursaal Palace in San Sebastian. The presentation will be followed by a screening of her new film, The Perfect Wife, which stars Watts and marks the feature directorial debut of Canadian director Ben Shirinian.
Festival organisers, known locally as Zinemaldia, previously revealed on August 7 that the first Donostia Award of this year's festival will be presented to German director, screenwriter, producer, and actor Werner Herzog. The 74th edition of the film festival is set to take place from September 18 to September 26.
The Donostia Award was established in 1986 to recognise legendary figures in world cinema for their extraordinary career contributions. Named after Donostia, the Basque language name for San Sebastian, the honour is presented annually during the festival. The San Sebastian International Film Festival, founded in 1953, is one of Europe's major competitive film festivals alongside Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
The award gala will take place at the Kursaal Palace, a modernist complex designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. Situated along Zurriola Beach in San Sebastian, the building serves as the central auditorium and red-carpet venue for the festival's primary events.
Oscar nominations and major screen roles
Watts has established a career that spans both auteur cinema and major commercial productions across film and television. Over her career, she has earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress.
Her first Oscar nomination came for her performance in the 2003 drama 21 Grams, directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu. Starring alongside Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, Watts earned additional nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, alongside extensive critical acclaim.
She received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role in the 2012 survival drama The Impossible, directed by Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. Her portrayal of a mother surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami won her a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics Choice Award, and multiple international prizes.
Watts also earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role in the comedy St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray. She appeared in Iñarritu's 2014 satire Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Breakthrough in Mulholland Drive and return to Spain
According to festival organisers, Watts achieved her international breakthrough in David Lynch's 2001 psychological mystery film Mulholland Drive. Her performance earned Best Actress honours from the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics, as well as awards from critics associations worldwide.
The festival noted in a release that more than two decades after its premiere, her performance in Mulholland Drive remains widely regarded as a benchmark of modern filmmaking and one of the finest acting achievements in recent cinema.
Throughout her career, Watts has collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers including Peter Jackson, David Cronenberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Haneke, Audrey Diwan, Noah Baumbach, and Rodrigo Garcia.
Watts previously visited the San Sebastian festival in 2009 alongside director Rodrigo Garcia to close the Official Section out of competition with their drama Mother and Child. Her attendance on September 19 for the Donostia Award gala and the screening of The Perfect Wife will mark her latest appearance at the Spanish festival.
