The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Dreamgirls, The Color Purple) will be honored with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at this year's Film Festival, taking place December 5-13. Glover will be on hand for the special tribute and presentation at the Atlantis Theater on the evening of Friday, December 6th. The announcement was made by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool.
"Danny Glover is an extraordinary man whose accomplishments in Hollywood are equaled by his humanitarian achievements," said Vanderpool. "We're honored to recognize his amazing career at the Bahamas International Film Festival."
Actor, producer and humanitarian Danny Glover has been a commanding presence on screen, stage and television for more than 25 years. As an actor, his film credits range from the blockbuster Lethal Weapon franchise to smaller independent features, some of which Glover also produced. In recent years he has starred in an array of motion pictures including the critically-acclaimed Dreamgirls directed by Bill Condon and in the futuristic 2012 for director Roland Emmerich. In addition to his film work, Glover is highly sought after as a public speaker, delivering inspiring addresses and moving performances in such diverse venues as college campuses, union rallies and business conventions.
Glover has gained respect for his wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts, with a particular emphasis on advocacy for economic justice and access to health care and education programs in the United States and Africa. For these efforts Glover received a 2006 DGA Honor and was honored with a 2011 "Pioneer Award" from the National Civil Rights Museum. Internationally Glover has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program from 1998-2004, focusing on issues of poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Glover was presented in 2011 with the prestigious Medaille des Arts et des Letters from the French Ministry of Culture and was honored with a Tribute at the Deauville International Film Festival. Currently Glover serves as UNICEF Ambassador.
In 2005 Glover co-founded NY based Louverture Films with writer/producer Joslyn Barnes. The company is dedicated to the development and production of films of historical relevance, social purpose, commercial value and artistic integrity. Among the films Glover has executive produced at Louverture are: the César-nominated Bamako, Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Oscarâ and Emmyâ nominated Trouble The Water, the award winning The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, and the 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The House I Live In. He has also associate produced Elia Suleiman's The Time That Remains, and the 2010 Cannes Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
A native of San Francisco, Glover trained at the Black Actors' Workshop of the American Conservatory Theatre. It was his Broadway debut in Fugard's Master Harold...and the Boys that brought him to national recognition and led director Robert Benton to cast him in his first leading role in 1984's Academy Award-nominated Best Picture, Places in the Heart. The following year Glover starred in two more Best Picture nominated films: Peter Weir's Witness and Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. In 1987 Glover partnered with Mel Gibson in the first Lethal Weapon film and went on the star in three hugely successful Lethal Weapon sequels. Glover has also invested his talents in more personal projects including the award-winning To Sleep With Anger which he executive produced and for which he won and Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor; Bopha!¸Manderlay, Missing in America and the film version of Athol Fugard's play Boseman and Lena. He also starred in The Royal Tenenbaums, Saw, Shooter, and Death at a Funeral.
On the small screen, Glover won an Image Award, a Cable ACE Award and earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the HBO Movie Mandela. He has also received Emmy nominations for his work in the acclaimed miniseries Lonesome Dove, the telefilm Freedom Song and as a director he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Showtime's Just a Dream. Most recently, Glover was a co-star on the popular television series Touch, and will appear in the upcoming HBO Original Movie Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight.
Celebrating its 10th year, the Bahamas International Film Festival has established itself as a marquee international Festival in the Caribbean region, discovering and promoting independent voices and talent from around the world and showcasing a diverse array of international films.
BIFF 2013 kicks off on Thursday, December 5th and will run through Sunday, December 13th. For the second consecutive year, BIFF will be coming to Harbour Island (December 9-11) and Governor's Harbour December (11-13), showcasing a diverse presentation of films from around the world accompanied by a group of local and international filmmakers.
About the Bahamas International Film Festival: The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout the Bahamas and the world.
