Arnold Schwarzenegger will receive the Golden Icon Award at this year’s Zurich Film Festival, which takes place Sept. 24-Oct. 4, it was announced Tuesday by festival directors Karl Spoerri and Nadja Schildknecht.
The Golden Icon Award serves as the festival’s most prestigious symbol of recognition and is awarded in appreciation of the lifetime achievements of an actor or actress. It will be bestowed to Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at the Corso Cinema.
In addition to receiving ZFF’s Golden Icon Award, Schwarzenegger will present his latest film “Maggie” and discuss his body of work at a workshop presented within the public ZFF Masters series, now in its 10th installment.
“We are extraordinarily proud to welcome Arnold Schwarzenegger one of Hollywood’s most iconic legends, to Zurich and are delighted that he will share his films and stories with our public,” said ZFF Artistic Director Karl Spoerri. “Arnold has had a transformative career that no one in Hollywood can match and established himself as a global brand, even beyond the box office. We are honored to present him with our Golden Icon award at this year’s festival.”
Schwarzenegger is one of the most recognized individuals on the planet, and in an effort to give back to the country that allowed him to accomplish so much, he ran for public office and was elected California’s 38th Governor.
As governor, Schwarzenegger worked with leaders of both major political parties to address the greatest challenges facing the state in a bold and historic manner. His leadership put California at the forefront of the nation in addressing climate change, pushing for the development of renewable energies, rebuilding critical infrastructure, investing in stem cell research, and putting in place health care and political reforms.
Since leaving office in 2011, Schwarzenegger has continued to promote state and local clean energy efforts by founding the non-profit R20: Regions of Climate Action. Additionally in 2013, he established the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, devoted to seeking bipartisan solutions to environmental, economic, and other public policy issues. He serves as chair of the think-tank’s board and also holds a public policy professorship at the school.
Schwarzenegger has combined his love of global issues and entertainment to serve as executive producer and correspondent on Showtime’s Emmy-winning climate change docu-series, “Years of Living Dangerously.”
Most recently, Schwarzenegger starred in the critically-acclaimed independent drama “Maggie” and the global box office hit “Terminator: Genisys,” in which he reprises one of his most famous roles.
The 11th Zurich Film Festival will open with Matthew Brown’s dramatic biopic “The Man Who Knew Infinity” starring Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel. Additional ZFF Gala Premieres include the Nicholas Hoult thriller “Kill Your Friends,” Noah Baumbach’s “Mistress America,” Catherine Hardwicke’s “Miss You Already,” Ben Wheatley’s “High-Rise,” Stephen Frears’ “The Program,” Johnny Depp’s crime drama “Black Mass,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario,” James Ponsoldt’s “The End of the Tour,” the Emma Watson thriller “Colonia,” Anton Corbijn’s “Life” and “A Walk in the Woods” starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.