Helen Mirren to be honored at 2013 PSIFF

Helen Mirren will be honored at the 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in January.

The festival will present the Academy Award winning actress with the International Star Award January 5 at the Awards Gala.

In a statement, released Wednesday, the festival said the International Star Award recognizes an actor or actress who has achieved both critical and commercial international recognition throughout their body of work.

“With more than four decades’ worth of memorable film, television and stage performances, Helen Mirren continues to be one of the most outstanding actresses of her generation,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.

“In Hitchcock, Mirren delivers another virtuoso performance as Alma Reville, wife to the great master of cinema, who was integral to creating his classic films including the masterpiece Psycho,” said Matzner.

Past International Star Award honorees include Javier Bardem and Gary Oldman.

The festival’s statement said Mirren has won international recognition for her work on stage, screen and television. For her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 of The Queen, she received an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

She was also named Best Actress by virtually every critic’s organization from Los Angeles to London. Mirren earned Oscar nominations for her roles in The Madness of King George, Gosford Park and The Last Station.

Her performance in Gosford Park also earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations, several critics groups’ awards, and dual SAG Awards, one for Best Supporting Actress and a second as part of the winning ensemble cast.

The British actress’ other film credits include Age of Consent, The Long Good Friday, Excalibur, The Mosquito Coast, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Door, Where Angels Fear to Tread, Some Mother’s Son, Calendar Girls, The Clearing, Shadowboxer, State of Play, The Tempest, RED, The Debt, Arthur, Brighton Rock. Mirren is currently in production on Red 2.

Mirren also received a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination Wednesday for her performance in Hitchcock.

The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees the cast of Argo, Bradley Cooper, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Naomi Watts
and Robert Zemeckis.

The Awards Gala will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center, hosted by Mary Hart.

The Festival runs January 3-14.