Steven Spielberg to Receive MoMA Film Benefit Honor in NYC

Steven Spielberg to be honoured at Museum of Modern Art's Film Benefit in New York

New York, August 12

As part of the tribute, MoMA will host a screening series celebrating Spielberg's work at the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters.

Eight of Spielberg's films are part of MoMA's collection, including 'The Sugarland Express' (1974), 'Jaws' (1975), 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977), 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981), 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' (1982), 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' (1984), 'The Color Purple' (1985) and 'Empire of the Sun' (1987).

The announcement comes following the release of Spielberg's latest film, 'Disclosure Day', which stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson and Wyatt Russell, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Spielberg, an EGOT winner, has received numerous major honours during his career, including a Kennedy Center Honor, the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts from former US Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden respectively.

He has also won three Academy Awards and received a record nine Oscar nominations for Best Director. As a producer, he has received 14 Best Picture nominations.

"MoMA's support of Steven Spielberg extends back over a half-century, beginning when we helped introduce him to audiences as part of New Directors/New Films in 1974," said Rajendra Roy, MoMA's Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film.

"Since then, he has repeatedly demonstrated that being an artist and an entertainer can be simultaneous aspirations, though few have mastered the combination as expertly as he has. His global influence is unparalleled, and his dedication to film preservation is inspiring and completely aligned with the Museum's mission to save and celebrate film history," Roy added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Chanel, which has long supported the cinematic arts, has sponsored MoMA's annual Film Benefit since 2011 and has served as the lead sponsor of film at MoMA since 2021.

Spielberg will join a list of prominent filmmakers and actors previously honoured at the event, including Sofia Coppola, Samuel L Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Penelope Cruz, George Clooney, Laura Dern, Martin Scorsese, Julianne Moore, Tom Hanks, Cate Blanchett, Alfonso Cuaron, Tilda Swinton, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar, Kathryn Bigelow, Tim Burton and Baz Luhrmann.

MoMA's Department of Film cares for more than 30,000 films and 1.5 million film stills. Proceeds from the Film Benefit support the continued maintenance and growth of the museum's collection, along with virtual programming and film series, premieres, festivals and retrospectives, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

— ANI