Diane Kruger receives Golden Eye

From Lower Saxony to Hollywood: One of the most in-demand actresses of our time, Diane Kruger has worked for such legendary directors as Quentin Tarantino, Wolfgang Peterson, Robert Zemeckis, Fatih Akin, Neil Jordan, Agnieszka Holland, Benoît Jacquot and Bille August. Kruger is set to attend the 19th Zurich Film Festival as a star guest and receive the Golden Eye for her outstanding acting skills and her invariably courageous choice of roles. “Thank you Zurich Film Festival for this wonderful recognition. I’m honored and proud to be part of the impressive list of past honorees. I look forward to return to Zurich and celebrate with all of you in October!” states Diane Kruger.

Previous award winners are among others Eddie Redmayne, Iris Berben, Kristen Stewart, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Malkovich, Helen Hunt and Olivia Colman.

"One of cinema's most versatile character actresses"

"Diane Kruger is one of cinema's most versatile character actresses. She not only becomes wholly absorbed in each and every role she takes on, but also imparts her characters with great depth," enthused Christian Jungen, ZFF's Artistic Director. "In addition to her powerful charisma, she possesses the rare ability to captivate audiences with her irresistible, somewhat enigmatic aura. Just like her idol Romy Schneider, Kruger also established herself in France, the motherland of auteur cinema, where she now enjoys considerable renown and widespread admiration as a star in her own right. And she is thrilling and thriving just as much in Hollywood, where she has wowed in blockbusters like TROY and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. For these reasons, we are truly delighted to be welcoming Diane Kruger back to Zurich and presenting her with the Golden Eye for her services to cinema."

Kruger will present her latest movie VISIONS in Zurich, where it will celebrate its international premiere at the festival. In French director Yann Gozlan's psychological thriller, she plays a married airline captain whose life flies out of control when she bumps into an old flame.

An internationally renowned German actress

Born in 1976 in Germany (Algermissen, Lower Saxony), Diane Kruger is an internationally renowned actress who has forged a name for herself in both Hollywood and European film productions. She began her career as a model before turning her hand to acting.

Kruger's breakthrough role came when she played Helen alongside Brad Pitt in Wolfgang Peterson's TROY (2004). She earned international renown for her role in Quentin Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009), a movie that sees her embody the German-born Bridget von Hammersmark in a performance that garnered her numerous accolades. The list of further significant movies in which she has starred includes Benoît Jacquot's LES ADIEUX À LA REINE (2012) and in the role of Katja Sekerci in Fatih Akin's AUS DEM NICHTS (2017). The latter brought her the Award for Best Actress at Cannes.

Already a guest at ZFF in 2022

The Zurich Film Festival already screened a movie featuring Diane Kruger in the lead role in its Gala Premieres section in 2022. Kruger presented the film-noir thriller MARLOWE by Oscar-winner Neil Jordan (THE CRYING GAME) to the Zurich audience together with actor colleague Liam Neeson. In it, Diane Kruger plays a femme fatale who hires a private detective (Liam Neeson) to shadow her ex-husband in 1930s Hollywood.

Diane Kruger will receive the Golden Eye Award on 2 October right before presenting her new movie VISONS.