Pam Grier honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at Cine-Excess Fest
With a career that’s spanned 50 years, Pam Grier is being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK’s Cine-Excess Film Festival.
Few names spark instantaneous recognition like Pam Grier. Even if you haven’t seen any of her films, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the name, and are aware of the reputation it holds.
Celebrating 50 years as a working actress, Grier continues to be one of the hardest-working performers in any genre. At 71, she shows no signs of slowing down, and that should be refreshing to anybody who appreciates quality cinema.
Known for her appearances in women-in-prison films of the 1970s (The Big Bird Cage and The Big Doll House, among others), Pam Grier became one of the names at the forefront of the transgressive “blaxploitation” cinematic movement, essaying the titular no-nonsense characters in Coffy and Foxy Brown.
The greatest tribute to her exploitation glory days came in the form of Quentin Tarantino casting her in Jackie Brown. Adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, the filmmaker intended the role as a boost to a star who hadn’t gotten their proper due. The result was Grier’s first Best Actress Oscar nod.
Extending that bit of recognition further, Grier is now being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK’s Cine-Excess Film Festival. In addition to making a streamed address to attendees, the actress’ body of work will be explored within a greater cinematic context.
Cine-Excess describes the theme of this year’s festival as follows:
"“Titled ‘Representations as Weapons: Cult Film and the Politics of Resistance,’ this year’s Cine-Excess not only considers Pam Grier’s impact on cult film, but also charts the wider influence of blaxploitation cinema, race and ethnicity in horror remakes and LGBTQ+ representations across a range of film traditions.”"
The festival will also showcase “films which challenge existing perceptions around ethnicity, from Night of the Living Dead, Blacula and Candyman, to Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, which also tackle contemporary issues of race and class.”
Next. Quentin Tarantino. dark
The 14th edition of the Cine-Excess Festival runs from November 5 – 7. Pam Grier will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at a special live-streamed event on Friday, November 6.
Do you have a favorite Pam Grier performance? Let us know in the comments.