Michael Mann received the prestigious Lumière Award from Isabelle Huppert, thus following in the footsteps of previous winners at the Lyon Film Festival.
The 2024 laureate praised him as “a demanding, lyrical, and sensual director” whose work continues to “surprise and disturb.”
The American filmmaker joins the ranks of other screen legends such as Jane Campion, Clint Eastwood, Jane Fonda, and Martin Scorsese.
“I accept this wonderful honour with gratitude, in the spirit we all share to create dramatic cinema, and also in the spirit of imagination that resides in each of us here, to be touched, transported, and awakened by everything cinema can offer,” Michael Mann said at the Centre des Congrès before sharing a personal memory: “My father came to France during World War II. He would be extremely proud to be here with us."
The director of Collateral, Ali, and The Last of the Mohicans also praised the festival as “an amazing celebration that humanises our work.” During the masterclass at the Théâtre des Célestins earlier in the day, Mann shared insights about a sequel to Heat, which is set to begin production next summer after negotiations with the involved actors are finalised.
Stars flocked to Lyon throughout the week, including Chinese director John Woo, who revisited several of his films with the audience.
Festival-goers also had the chance to see numerous previews, such as Scott Cooper’s film about Bruce Springsteen and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
