Iconic Canadian actress Pamela Anderson will be honored at the 20th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) with the festival’s Golden Eye award in honor of her “versatile career.” Anderson will present her latest feature, Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, at the 2024 Zurich Festival and will receive her award on Oct.4.
In The Last Showgirl, which premiered in Toronto, Anderson plays Shelley, a 50-year-old showgirl facing the end of her long-running Las Vegas show. THR‘s review praised her performance, done “with an undiluted sense of heartbreak”
“She completely immersed herself in her character, turned Shelley’s inner life inside out with her facial expressions and made sure that we sympathized with her,” said ZFF Artistic Director Christian Jungen, who called Anderson’s turn in the film “a terrific performance, perhaps the best of her career, which deserves an Oscar nomination.”
The Last Showgirl co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette, Shelley’s colleague who helps her navigate an uncertain future, Billie Lourd as her estranged daughter Hannah and Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song as two of Shelley’s younger showgirl colleagues. Dave Bautista plays Eddie, the show’s stage manager who has a personal history with Shelley.
Anderson and director Gia Coppola will present The Last Showgirl to the festival audience after the Golden Eye award ceremony.
Other VIPs being honored at Zurich this year include Alicia Vikander, Jude Law and Kate Winslet. Roeg Sutherland, co-head of CAA’s Media Finance department and its International Film Group, will receive ZFF’s Game Changer Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions within the film industry.
The 20th Zurich Film Festival runs Oct. 3-13.