Venice Film Festival 2020: Tilda Swinton accepts Golden Lion with 'Wakanda Forever'
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The festival, which runs through September 12, comes at an important time for the film industry.
It was an eventful night yesterday as Venice Film Festival 2020 kickstarted with not as much glamour like previous years but still something to make us happy!
As the prestigious film festival started, actress Tilda Swinton was given a Golden Lion for career achievement. The British actress paid tribute to cinema as she came to accept the award and also paid a tribute to lost hero Chadwick Boseman, ‘Black Panther’ actor.
In a moving speech, Tilda paid tribute by saying, "my true motherland" and, closing with a simple "Wakanda Foever".
She said, "Cinema is my happy place, my true motherland. Its fellowship is my heart’s family tree. The names on the list of those awarded this honor, meanwhile, they are the names of my masters. They’re the elders of my tribe. The poets of the language I love above others. I sing their songs in the bath. I’m the punk kid film nut hitching a ride to the station to get to the foothills of the heights of their achievements."
She closed her speech with a tribute to Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer this week. “Wakanda Forever. Nothing but love,” she said, to a standing ovation.
Venice Film Festival is this year’s first mega award ceremony that has opened its doors for a physical festival with people coming in close contact with one another as the world shut down for months following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The festival, which runs through September 12, comes at an important time for the film industry. There are strict safety protocols in place for the attendees as they must wear masks at all times with temperatures being checked before entering screenings and every second seat in the cinemas will be left empty.