Photo Call: John Lasseter and Pixar Receive Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award in Venice

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 66th Venice International Film Festival (2nd-12th September 2009) was awarded to the American director and producer, John Lasseter – one of the protagonists of the innovation in contemporary animated cinema – and to the directors of Disney*Pixar. Exceptionally in the history of the Venice Film Festival, the award celebrates not only a single filmmaker, but also the contribution of all the directors of this visionary studio.

“John Lasseter is the protagonist of ‘Western’ contemporary animation cinema,” declared Marco Müller. “Always on the lookout for that point at which the avant-garde (whether artistic, technological or formal) meets the blockbuster and the director of magnificent films – such as Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999) and Cars (2006), Lasseter has not only contributed in a fundamental manner to bringing animation cinema to new heights as one of the great expressive forces of the new millennium, but has also become one of the symbols of the most precious, vital and inventive tradition of the great Hollywood cinema.”

“We are particularly pleased to award this Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to one of the great innovators and experimenters of Hollywood,” declared the President of the Venice Biennale, Paolo Baratta. “We believe that the presence of John Lasseter in Venice, with his fellow Disney•Pixar directors, will represent an extraordinary opportunity for them to meet young Italian and European animation filmmakers as part of a workshop organised with the Biennale.”

All photos courtesy and copyright Elisabetta Villa / Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

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