Each year, the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) presents honorary awards to celebrated filmmaker, director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his life’s work. Paul Schrader will accept the award in person on Friday, October 1 before presenting his new film The Card Counter, which he wrote and directed; and give insights into his career at a ZFF Masters.

“It is a dream for me as a cinephile to pay homage to Paul Schrader at the ZFF. Paul makes American cinema the way we love it: entertaining and socially critical at the same time,” explains Christian Jungen, Artistic Director. “He is able like no other to create such disturbing anti-heroes in search of redemption as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or the poker player William played by Oscar Isaac in The Card Counter, who remain emblazoned on our minds long after the cinema experience is over. Paul is one of Hollywood’s great masters who also has plenty to share with us about his eventful life – which is why we are all looking forward to his ZFF Masters.”

Paul Schrader is equally delighted by the prospect of visiting the ZFF: “I am pleased to be honored by a very hip film festival in the beautiful city of Zurich. I have many fond memories and friends there, and am appreciative that this honor will allow me to visit those”.

Schraders œuvre comprises more than 30 films as a director or author. His most recent movie The Card Counter is the densely atmospheric neo-noir thriller starring an outstanding Oscar Isaac in the lead role as Iraq veteran William Tell tackles Schrader’s eternal themes of guilt and redemption as it leads us into the shadowy world of poker players and gamblers.

The Career and Lifetime Achievement Awards have been presented previously to Alejandro González Iñárritu, Harrison Ford, Hans Zimmer, Aaron Sorkin, Donald Sutherland, Marcel Hoehn, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Rolf Lyssy.