Rome [Italy], September 15 : British producer David Puttnam, whose illustrious career includes classics such as 'Chariots of Fire', 'The Killing Fields' and 'The Mission', will be honoured with the inaugural Industry Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Rome Film Festival, according to Variety.
Puttnam, 84, whose works have earned 10 Oscars, 10 Golden Globes, 25 BAFTAs and nine Emmys, as well as a Palme d'Or for The Mission, will receive the accolade from Italian director and screenwriter Uberto Pasolini (Full Monte). Pasolini began his career under Puttnam as a location scout on The Killing Fields.
Starting in London in the early 1970s, Puttnam collaborated with renowned directors including Alan Parker, Ken Russell, Adrian Lyne and Ridley Scott, producing some of the 1980s' most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films.
In 1986, he became CEO of Columbia Pictures in the United States but resigned after 16 months. Back in the U.K., he continued to produce indie auteur cinema such as Istvan Szabo's "Meeting Venus" (1991) starring Glenn Close, according to Variety.
Puttnam ended his film career in 1997, at 56, and transitioned to politics. He was elected to Britain's House of Lords in 1997. He retired from Parliament in 2021 but remains active in education through Atticus Education, which provides audiovisual seminars worldwide, as per the outlet.
Beyond filmmaking, Puttnam has served in leadership roles with the U.K.'s Film Distributors' Association and the National Film and Television School, and works as a UNICEF U.K. ambassador, WWF global ambassador, and associate professor at University College Cork.
The Rome Film Festival's 20th edition is scheduled for October 15-26, reported Variety.