The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will honor Viggo Mortensen with the Festival President’s Award and present his film ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt,’ which he wrote and directed, at the festival’s opening ceremony.
The versatile actor started his career in the mid-1980s. He appeared in several films including Peter Weir’s ‘Witness’ (1985), Renny Harlin’s ‘Prison’ (1987), and David Anspaugh’s ‘Fresh Horses’ (1988). He also starred in the Los Angeles premiere of Martin Sherman’s play ‘Bent’ (1987) and received the Dramalogue Critics Award for his performance. Beyond acting, he pursued various artistic interests such as poetry, music, painting, and photography. Viggo Mortensen is the author of multiple poetry books and is the founder and editor of Perceval Press, established in 2002.
In 2005, Viggo Mortensen’s role in ‘Eastern Promises’ earned him his first nominations for the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes, and he won the prize for Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards. He received his second Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Sigmund Freud in the biographical drama ‘A Dangerous Method’ (2011) directed by David Cronenberg. Mortensen also received Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations for his role as the father of an off-the-grid family in Matt Ross’ ‘Captain Fantastic’ (2016), and for his role as Tony in the triple Oscar-winning film ‘The Green Book’ (2018). ‘Captain Fantastic’ won the Audience Award at the 2016 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Mortensen gained international fame and the acclaim of the general public thanks to his role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s epic saga ‘The Lord of the Ring’s (2001–2003). The three films in this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga are among the most successful projects in international cinematic history, with the third instalment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), winning eleven Academy Awards.
His feature directing debut was 2020‘s Falling, which was inspired by events from his childhood. Besides writing, directing, producing, and acting in the film, he also composed the music.
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’, which will be screened at the opening ceremony of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, is Viggo Mortensen’s second outing as director. As with his debut, he wrote the screenplay, acted as director and producer, composed the music, and performed one of the lead roles.
“We are excited to bring a truly unique experience to the Czech audiences this year. On July 4th, we will release in theatres across the country the opening film of Karlovy Vary Film Festival – The Dead Don’t Hurt. Just few days after the festival’s opening ceremony that traditionally attracts maximum media attention. We believe that many film lovers in our territory will enjoy the proposition of watching such a great and spotlighted film on their local screens and experience piece of the festival’s best content on their own.“ said the Distribution Company Aerofilms CEO Ivo Andrle.
