THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES SUSAN SARANDON AS HONORARY CHAIR AND MARTIN SCORSESE TO PRESENT AT THE 39TH ANNUAL CHAPLIN AWARD HONORING CATHERINE DENEUVE

CHIARA MASTROIANNI AND ARNAUD DESPLECHIN ALSO CONFIRMED AS PRESENTERS

New York, NY (March 9, 2012) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today that Susan Sarandon will act as Honorary Chair for this year’s Gala, as well as the initial presenter line up for the upcoming 39th Annual Chaplin Award to include Martin Scorsese, Chiara Mastroianni and Arnaud Desplechin. This year’s Chaplin Award will be presented to Academy Award-nominee Catherine Deneuve on the evening of Monday, April 2, 2012 at Alice Tully Hall. The event will be attended by a host of notable guests and celebrities honoring the film legend’s groundbreaking career and will feature film and television clips commemorating her prolific career, culminating in the presentation of The Chaplin Award.

The Gala is the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and tickets are now available for purchase – please go to Filmlinc.com or call the Gala Hotline, 212. 875.5685. Tickets include admission to the Gala Tribute and a post-celebration reception.

The Film Society’s Annual Gala began in 1972 and honored Charlie Chaplin – who returned to the US from exile to accept the commendation. Other honorees include many of the film industry’s most notable talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas and most recently, Sidney Poitier.

PAST FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER GALA TRIBUTE HONOREES

2011 Sidney Poitier
2010 Michael Douglas 
2009 Tom Hanks    
2008 Meryl Streep    
2007 Diane Keaton    
2006 Jessica Lange    
2005 Dustin Hoffman   
2004 Michael Caine   
2003 Susan Sarandon  
2002 Francis Ford Coppola    
2001 Jane Fonda    
2000 Al Pacino    
1999 Mike Nichols    
1998 Martin Scorsese   
1997 Sean Connery    
1996 Clint Eastwood  
1995 Shirley MacLaine    
1994 Robert Altman    
1993 Jack Lemmon     
1992 Gregory Peck     
1991 Audrey Hepburn    
1990 James Stewart & Paul Newman  
1989 Bette Davis    
1988 Yves Montand     
1987 Alec Guinness
1986 Elizabeth Taylor
1985 Federico Fellini
1984 Claudette Colbert
1983 Laurence Olivier
1982 Billy Wilder
1981 Barbara Stanwyck
1980 John Huston
1979 Bob Hope
1978 George Cukor
1975 Joanne Woodward
1974 Alfred Hitchcock
1973 Fred Astaire
1972 Charles Chaplin 

Film Society of Lincoln Center
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, the Film Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, currently planning its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.  Additional support for the Chaplin Award Gala is provided by Trump International Hotel & Tower New York. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow #filmlinc on Twitter. 

For Media specific inquiries, please contact:
John Wildman, (212) 875-5419
[email protected]

David Ninh, (212) 875-5423
[email protected]