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Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) announces speakers to pay tribute to Pedro Almodóvar at the 50th Chaplin Award Gala, presented in partnership with Rolex, on April 28 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The Gala evening will feature renowned performer and artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov; actress and longtime Almodóvar muse Rossy de Palma; global pop powerhouse Dua Lipa; Emmy Award–winning actor, director, and writer John Turturro (The Room Next Door); and acclaimed filmmaker, writer, and artist John Waters. The Chaplin Award Tribute will feature excerpts from a selection of the beloved Spanish director’s work; appearances by actors, friends, and colleagues; and the presentation of the award itself.

Gala tickets are on sale now. Tribute-only tickets range in price from $80 – $500. Premium seating at the Chaplin Award Gala Tribute is available by purchasing Gala Dinner and Tribute tickets, available here or by contacting [email protected]. All proceeds from the Chaplin Award Gala benefit Film at Lincoln Center’s programs and activities as a nonprofit organization.

The Chaplin Award Gala is Film at Lincoln Center’s premier annual fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit’s wide-ranging programs, including film series, educational initiatives, and prestigious festivals like the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films. The Chaplin Award has been bestowed upon legendary actors and filmmakers such as Jeff Bridges, Viola Davis, Robert De Niro, Barbara Streisand, Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Altman, Billy Wilder, and Elizabeth Taylor. A full list of honorees can be found here. 

Pedro Almodóvar was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain, and left his small town for Madrid as a teenager to realize his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Arriving with few prospects, he secured “proper” employment at the National Telephone Company of Spain, which allowed him to purchase his first Super 8 camera. For the next 12 years, Almodóvar split his time between this serious day job and crazy nights collaborating with theater groups and punk bands, writing for underground magazines, and making short films with his friends. In 1980, after a year and a half of filming on a shoestring budget, Almodóvar made his feature-length debut with Pepi, Luci, Bom. Since then, he has never stopped writing and directing films, which include the Academy Award winners All About My Mother and Talk to Her.

His long-standing relationship with FLC began with New Directors/New Films screenings of What Have I Done to Deserve This? in 1985 and Law of Desire in 1987. His most recent feature, The Room Next Door marked his 15th NYFF selection, of which a record-setting nine titles have been gala presentations. He made his NYFF debut in 1988 with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (NYFF26) as the Opening Night selection, and again opened NYFF in 1999 with All About My Mother (NYFF37). Bad Education (NYFF42), Volver (NYFF44), and The Room Next Door (NYFF62) were selected as Centerpieces, and Live Flesh (NYFF35), Talk to Her (NYFF40), Broken Embraces (NYFF47), and Parallel Mothers (NYFF59) were Closing Night selections. Additional NYFF selections include The Flower of My Secret (NYFF33), The Skin I Live In (NYFF49), Julieta (NYFF54), Pain and Glory (NYFF57), The Human Voice (NYFF58), and Strange Way of Life (NYFF61).

Film at Lincoln Center gives special thanks to the 50th Chaplin Award Gala Co-Chairs Imelda and Peter Sobiloff and Nanna and Dan Stern; and Vice Chairs Susannah Gray and John Lyons, Tara Kelleher and Roy Zuckerberg, Wendy Keys, and Ronnie Planalp.

For information about attending the Gala, please contact [email protected].