The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will honor American actress Patricia Clarkson, who this year won a Golden Globe for her performance in the HBO series Sharp Objects, selected episodes of which had their European avant-premiere at last year’s festival. Clarkson will be present at the festival’s closing ceremony to personally accept a Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.
Patricia Clarkson was already a well-respected actress who had appeared on and off Broadway when she made her big-screen debut in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987). The next year, she starred alongside Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool (1988). This was followed by roles in film and television movies and on TV series. Her performance in the dark comedy series Six Feet Under earned her two Emmy Awards (in 2002 and 2006) for best guest actress. She also won numerous awards, including a New York Film Critics Circle Award, for her role in the drama Far from Heaven (2002). In 2003, she received a Special Jury Prize at Sundance for her roles in All the Real Girls, Pieces of April, and The Station Agent. Director Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent was also a critics’ favorite, and Clarkson’s performance won her five different critics’ awards, including one from the National Society of Film Critics. For her role in Peter Hedges’s comedy drama Pieces of April about Thanksgiving in one dysfunctional family, she was nominated for a 2004 Oscar and Golden Globe, and also took home numerous awards from film critics and film festivals.
Clarkson has worked with many renowned film directors such as Lars von Trier (Dogville, 2003), Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, 2008), and Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island, 2010). Her extensive filmography, in which she has played dozens of very different characters, is evidence of her ability and willingness to work with a variety of genres. Recent examples of this diversity include the romantic drama October Gale (2014), the sci-fi action trilogy The Maze Runner (2014–2018), the drama The Bookshop (2017), the comedy The Party (2017), for which she won a British Independent Film Award, and the mysterious drama Out of Blue (2018). Her popularity with audiences has increased significantly since her Golden Globe-winning performance as Adora in Sharp Objects. She has also appeared in 11 episodes of the hit series House of Cards.
In 2014, Clarkson appeared in a Broadway production of The Elephant Man, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.
At the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Patricia Clarkson will present the film Learning to Drive, directed by Isabel Coixet.
