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Nathan Lane will receive the Visionary Award at the Virginia Film Festival next month.
The Tony and Emmy-winning actor is being recognized as an artist whose culture-defining body of work and enduring contributions have
changed the course of modern cinema.
The event will include a 30th anniversary screening of “The Bird Cage” followed by Lane in conversation with Turner Classic Movies primetime host Ben Mankiewicz.
The festival, a program of the University of Virginia and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, takes place Oct. 21-25 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Nathan Lane has that rare and magical ability to make audiences laugh while also touching their hearts,” said VAFF Artistic Director Ilya Tovbis. “’The Birdcage’ is an iconic film of courage, warmth and comic brilliance as well as a watershed moment for LGBTQ+ cinema. We are proud to celebrate this anniversary and recognize his enduring impact with the Virginia Film Festival Visionary Award.”
“Nathan Lane is a true visionary: an artist whose wit, emotional depth and fearless originality have made him one of the defining performers of his generation,” Tovbis continued. “Thirty years after ‘The Birdcage,’ his performance as Albert remains as hilarious, moving and culturally significant as ever.”
Directed by film legend Mike Nichols and written by Elaine May, “The Birdcage” stars Robin Williams and Lane as Armand and Albert, owners of a Miami drag club who try to pretend they’re not a gay couple when Armand’s son invites his future father-in-law, ultra-conservative Sen. Keeley (Gene Hackman), to dinner.
In addition to “The Birdcage,” Lane’s more than 35 films also include “The Lion King,” “The Producers,” “Stuart Little,” “Beau Is Afraid” and “Spellbound.”
