Nicolas Cage is getting his long-awaited recognition for being a beacon of cinema over the course of his almost half-century-long career.
The Oscar-winning actor will be recognized with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting during the 2023 SFFILM Awards, which will take place Monday, December 4 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The award has been given out to actors such as Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Robert Duvall, Robin Williams, and Adam Driver. Margot Robbie received the honor in 2022.
Cage appears in this year’s critically acclaimed dark comedy “Dream Scenario.” His classic films range from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Moonstruck,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air.” Cage previously has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and later earned a second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.”
Cage additionally directed the film “Sonny” and produces through his Saturn Films production banner.
In addition to Cage’s honor, the 2023 SFFILM Awards will further recognize “Barbie” filmmaker Greta Gerwig, “American Fiction” director Cord Jefferson, and Oscar-winning “Stamped from the Beginning” documentarian and “Cassandro” director Roger Ross Williams.
Gerwig will be honored with the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction, presented by “Barbie” actor Ryan Gosling. The award is presented annually to “one of the masters of world cinema,” and is given in memory of the founder of the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1957.
The Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling will be bestowed upon director Williams, presented by Raúl Castillo. Williams formerly made history as the first Black director to win an Academy Award with “Music by Prudence.” Williams recently made his scripted feature debut with “Cassandro,” which premiered at this year’s Sundance. The newly named Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling “acknowledges the critical importance that storytelling plays in the creation of outstanding films and is presented annually to a filmmaker whose work exemplifies brilliance, ambition, independence,” per the official statement.
“American Fiction” first-time filmmaker Jefferson will be given the George Gund III for Virtuosity Award, presented by John Ortiz. The award is presented to “one of world cinema’s outstanding visionaries, regardless of their craft,” with the award supported by activist, arts advocate, and philanthropist Agnes Gund. Jefferson is an Emmy-winning screenwriter who has contributed to “Watchmen” and “Master of None.”
“Greta, Roger, Cord, and Nicolas all wear many creative hats, develop bold new ideas, and are distinguished in more than one field,” SFFILM director of programming Jessie Fairbanks said of this year’s honorees. “We selected these four individuals because each person brings a fearlessness to the craft of cinema, pushing the art form and offering incisive commentary on the world. We need their voices now more than ever.”
SFFILM’s executive director Anne Lai added, “SFFILM has been part of San Francisco’s cultural landscape for over six decades. It is an organization that has led the way in showcasing singular voices in film like our honorees Greta Gerwig, Roger Ross Williams, Cord Jefferson, and Nicolas Cage. SFFILM Awards Night celebrates filmmakers who have honed their storytelling skills and built their careers with time and investment from organizations like ours and we are grateful to our guests whose generous support sustains us, and helps us grow.”
The annual awards ceremony is a fundraiser to benefit rising filmmakers and support arts programs through the nonprofit. The SFFILM Awards are sponsored by Lucasfilm, Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, and A24.
