Ethan Hawke presents the Italian premiere of Wildcat, his latest directorial film
The Lucca Film Festival announces another Italian premiere: Ethan Hawke, an American actor, screenwriter, writer, director, and producer, will present his latest film Wildcat, in which he directs his daughter Maya, from his previous marriage to Uma Thurman, on September 26th. He will receive the Golden Panther Award, hold a public masterclass, and present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Paul Schrader, who directed him in First Reformed.
The festival is presenting an extensive retrospective of Mr. Hawke’s films: audiences will have the opportunity to experience gems such as Dead Poets Society, Gattaca, the Before trilogy (Sunrise, Sunset and Midnight), Boyhood, Blaze and Seymour: An Introduction.
Hawke has received four Academy Award nominations: in 2002 as Best Supporting Actor for Training Day, in 2005 for Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset, in 2014 in the same category for Before Midnight, and in 2015 for Best Supporting Actor for Boyhood.
At the age of 14, he made his debut in the film Explorers (1985) alongside River Phoenix. He studied acting at the British Theatre Association in England and at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. At 21, he founded and directed the first theater company in New York City, the Malaparte Theater Company, providing young artists with a space to develop their craft.
He first gained international attention with his starring role in Dead Poets Society and went on to perform in Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, Great Expectations, Training Day, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Purge, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, First Reformed, 24 Hours to Live, Juliet, Naked, Stockholm, The Truth, Tesla, Black Phone, Zeros and Ones, and Raymond & Ray.
Hawke made his directorial debut in 2001 with Chelsea Walls, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He directed the feature films The Hottest State (a film adaptation of his novel, premiered at the Venice Film Festival), Blaze (Sundance, Locarno FF), and the documentary Seymour: An Introduction (Telluride, TIFF). In 2022, Hawke directed The Last Movie Stars for CNN Films and HBO Max, a documentary about the life and career of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples.
His novels include The Hottest State (1996) and Ash Wednesday (2002).
The Lucca Film Festival has honored international cinema greats such as Oliver Stone, David Lynch, Susan Sarandon, Isabelle Huppert, Rutger Hauer, George Romero, Paolo Sorrentino, and Willem Dafoe.
It is a highlight of Tuscany’s cultural scene, made possible with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, the Municipality of Lucca, Vivi Lucca Events, Lands of Giacomo Puccini, and the Chamber of Commerce of North-West Tuscany. Main sponsors include Banca Generali Private Wealth Management (Paolo Tacchi) and Banca Pictet. The event is part of the National Cinema and School Images Plan promoted by MiC and MIM, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture – Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual, the Tuscany Region, Fondazione Sistema Toscana, Manifatture Digitali Cinema, Sofidel, Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, Fondazione Giacomo Puccini and Puccini Museum – Casa Natale, Audi Center Terigi, Tenuta del Buonamico, Martinelli Luce, Naturanda, and Futuro3D. Collaborators include SIAE – Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, Tecno Servizi, Ristorante Giglio, Palazzo Pfanner, Over The Real, Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, Augusto Passaglia Artistic, Musical, and Coreutico High School, N. Machiavelli Classical High School, and ISIS Pertini.
Special thanks to ANSA, Rai Toscana, Rai Radio 3, Movieplayer.it, Film4Life, Festival Scope, A.C.S.I. – Italian Sports Centers Association, Italian Federation of Amateur Theater (FITA), Trenitalia, Fic Uicc, Cinit Ucca Arci, Fedic, Corte Tripoli, Lucca Film Club, Cineforum Ezechiele 25:17, Cinema Centrale Astra and Moderno Cinema, Cinema Arsenale, University of Pisa, University of Florence, Fondazione Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Pisa al Cinema, Cineteca Bologna, National Film Archive, Luigi Boccherini Music Institute, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Italia, Donne all’Ultimo Grido Association, SPAM! Network for Contemporary Arts, Lucca Comics & Games, Photolux Festival, and Lucca Classical Music Festival.
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