Ellen Burstyn to receive Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice 2025
Synopsis
Ellen Burstyn — Oscar winner, Exorcist icon, Scorsese collaborator — is heading to Venice to collect the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. The award will be presented at the screening of Maggie Gyllenhaal's short film dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, making it one of the most symbolically loaded ceremonies in recent festival memory.
Key Takeaways
Ellen Burstyn will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival .
The festival runs from 2 to 12 September .
Artistic director Alberto Barbera called her 'an actress of rare intensity and truth.' The award will be presented at the screening of Maggie Gyllenhaal 's short film Flesh Impact , dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on the centenary of her birth.
Burstyn won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , directed by Martin Scorsese .
Hollywood legend Ellen Burstyn is set to be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, scheduled from 2 to 12 September. The announcement confirms Burstyn's place among cinema's most enduring figures, recognised for a career spanning decades of transformative performances.
What the Festival Said
Venice's artistic director Alberto Barbera described Burstyn as 'an actress of rare intensity and truth,' crediting her with bringing 'depth and complexity to unforgettable female characters embodying the contradictions and transformations in the contemporary woman.'
In a detailed tribute, Barbera noted: 'Revealed in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, which portrayed the twilight of small-town America, and elevated to global stardom by the success of William Friedkin's The Exorcist, Burstyn won the Oscar for best actress for Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, the film manifesto about women reclaiming their identity and their freedom.'
A Career Built on Emotional Truth
Barbera highlighted Burstyn's collaborations with some of the most significant directors of her era — Alain Resnais in Providence, Paul Schrader in Hardcore, Bob Rafelson in The King of Marvin Gardens, Paul Mazursky in Alex in Wonderland and Harry and Tonto, Darren Aronofsky in Requiem for a Dream, and Christopher Nolan in Interstellar.
Barbera added that Burstyn 'made fragility and methodical discipline the tools of an approach to acting grounded in emotional truth, attentiveness and generosity toward one's characters,' calling her artistry 'an absolute model of authenticity in performance and civic engagement within the craft of acting.'
Burstyn's Own Words
The actress responded with characteristic warmth. 'Wow! I not only get to travel to one of my top most favorite cities in the whole world, I get to return home carrying a Golden Lion in my arms. The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Venice Film Festival! I feel so honored, so happy, so filled with gratitude! Wow indeed,' she said in a statement.
The Occasion and the Film
The Golden Lion will be presented to Burstyn on the occasion of the screening of director Maggie Gyllenhaal's short film Flesh Impact. Dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on the centenary of her birth, the film showcases Burstyn's 'uncommon talent as a performer,' according to the festival. The convergence of two iconic female presences — Monroe as muse and Burstyn as performer — gives the ceremony an added layer of cultural resonance.
Notably, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement has previously been awarded to figures such as Alain Delon and Liliana Cavani, placing Burstyn in distinguished company. With the 83rd edition set to open on 2 September, her honour is expected to be one of the festival's most celebrated moments.
Point of View
But the kind of sustained, director-driven work that reshapes how audiences understand women on screen. What is worth noting is the framing around Gyllenhaal's Monroe tribute — pairing Burstyn's honour with a film about Hollywood's most mythologised female victim is a deliberate curatorial act. It signals that Venice is using its lifetime award not just to celebrate a career, but to make an argument about the kind of cinema — and the kind of women — that should be remembered.
NationPress
14 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ellen Burstyn and why is she receiving the Golden Lion?
Ellen Burstyn is an Academy Award-winning Hollywood actress best known for her roles in The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. She is receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in recognition of her decades-long career defined by emotional depth and transformative performances.
When and where will the Golden Lion be presented to Ellen Burstyn?
The award will be presented during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs from 2 to 12 September. The ceremony will coincide with the screening of Maggie Gyllenhaal's short film Flesh Impact.
What is Maggie Gyllenhaal's film Flesh Impact about?
Flesh Impact is a short film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on the centenary of her birth. The Venice Film Festival has said the film showcases Ellen Burstyn's 'uncommon talent as a performer.'
Which directors has Ellen Burstyn worked with over her career?
Burstyn has collaborated with some of cinema's most celebrated directors, including Peter Bogdanovich, William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Alain Resnais, Paul Schrader, Bob Rafelson, Paul Mazursky, Darren Aronofsky, and Christopher Nolan.
What did Ellen Burstyn say about receiving the honour?
Burstyn expressed joy and gratitude in a statement, saying: 'I not only get to travel to one of my top most favorite cities in the whole world, I get to return home carrying a Golden Lion in my arms. I feel so honored, so happy, so filled with gratitude!'
