Summary
- Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement awarded to Ellen Burstyn
- The ceremony took place on September 7, 2026 at the Venice Film Festival
- Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced the actress
- The presentation preceded the screening of Flesh Impact
Ellen Burstyn was moved to tears as she received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on September 7, 2026 at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The Sala Grande audience welcomed her with a prolonged standing ovation. Wearing a yellow dress, the 93-year-old actress became emotional as she prepared to speak. “You’re making me cry,” she said, before thanking the festival for an honour that joins her Oscar, Tony and Emmy awards.
Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced Burstyn, connecting recognition of a lifetime’s work with her next screen performance. The ceremony preceded the screening of Gyllenhaal’s new short, Flesh Impact, in which Burstyn plays an imagined older version of Marilyn Monroe.
Emotion and a memory of working with Scorsese
In her speech, Burstyn treated the award as a moment to reflect on what she has learned as well as what she has achieved. Her recollections included a night-driving scene during the making of Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
As she recalled, the director and cinematographer’s presence in the car restricted her view. She followed the white line on the road to stay on course, turning the memory into an amusing story from the shoot. At the end, the same image took on a political dimension: she hoped her country, the United States, could find its own white line.
The official broadcast includes the short films’ red carpet, followed by the presentation of Burstyn’s award.
A career of complex female characters
The Biennale’s board approved the honour following a recommendation by artistic director Alberto Barbera. In his tribute, Barbera emphasised the emotional truth of her performances and her ability to give depth to complex, contradictory female characters.
Burstyn won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Actress for 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The film follows a widowed mother travelling with her son as she tries to rebuild her life, in one of the defining roles of 1970s cinema.
It followed Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream, in 2000, added Sara Goldfarb to her filmography, a woman whose desire to appear on television leads to devastating addiction. Her work also includes Interstellar and Pieces of a Woman.
She also won a Tony in 1975 for Same Time, Next Year, followed by Emmys for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2009 and Political Animals in 2013. These honours reflect a career developed across cinema, theatre and television.
The Marilyn who never grew old
Flesh Impact screens out of competition in Venice Open. Running 22 minutes, it is dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on the centenary of her birth. Dakota Johnson plays Monroe at the height of her fame, while Burstyn embodies the older Marilyn the world never knew. Peter Sarsgaard and Sepideh Moafi also appear.
Gyllenhaal wrote and directed the film, with cinematography by Lawrence Sher and editing by Affonso Gonçalves. In her director’s statement, she describes it as an exploration of being an artist in the public eye, with particular attention to the experience of an actress.
The title comes from a phrase once used to describe Monroe’s luminous physical presence on camera: viewers felt they could touch her through the screen. The film considers that public image alongside her creative and personal life.
Burstyn’s appearance at this year’s festival also includes Kornél Mundruczó’s Place to Be, premiering on September 9. PTTL’s festival preview covered her planned honour before the event began. The festival runs until September 12.
Our take
The pairing of a lifetime honour with a new role gives Burstyn’s presence in Venice particular weight. Flesh Impact asks her to embody an age Monroe never reached, creating room to think about ageing, public image and the roles cinema makes available to women.
Frequently asked questions
Which award did Ellen Burstyn receive in Venice?
Ellen Burstyn received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on September 7, 2026, at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. It is an honorary distinction, separate from the competition’s Golden Lion for best film.
Who introduced Ellen Burstyn at the ceremony?
Director Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced her before the screening of “Flesh Impact”, Gyllenhaal’s short film featuring Burstyn.
Who does she play in “Flesh Impact”?
Burstyn plays an imagined older version of Marilyn Monroe, while Dakota Johnson portrays the younger Monroe. The 22-minute film screens out of competition in Venice Open.
