This year’s 51st edition of Film Fest Gent in Belgium has honored British actress Emily Watson (b. 1967) with its Lifetime Achievement Award, a.k.a. the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award, referring to Belgian-born Joseph Plateau (1801-1883).

The Joseph Plateau Honorary Award is presented to distinguished guests of Film Fest Gent whose achievements have earned them a special and distinct place in the history of international filmmaking. The award itself is a replica of professor Joseph Plateau’s phenakistiscope, the device he designed to illustrate his theory of the persistence of vision, which became the basic principle behind the idea of ‘moving images.’

Wim De Witte, the Festival’s program director, was the Master of Ceremonies yesterday as he read the eulogy for Ms. Watson, stating that Film Fest Gent was delighted and honored to welcome her as their guest of honor.

‘Film Fest Gent is delighted and honored to welcome Emily Watson to the opening night of the 51st edition, where we will be screening two of her latest films, “Midas Man” and tonight’s opening film, “Small Things Like These” by our compatriot Tim Mielants. She is an actress and a personality who comes in consistently and manages to bring quality to every film in which she appears.’

‘Dear Emily, quality is your trademark and part of your DNA. This was evident from your very first film, “Breaking the Waves” [1996] by Lars von Trier. You once compared portraying the complex character of Bess in this film to falling backward off a cliff, but with this role, you made both personal and cinematic history. The Academy [of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences] embraced you for a nomination as Best Actress [in a Leading Role], which they repeated for “Hilary and Jackie” [1998], the opening film of our Festival in 1998.’

‘Both films, and your theater career with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the National Theatre, marked the beginning of a filmography that now nearly spans fifty titles. In addition to Lars von Trier, you have worked with directors such as Robert Altman, Sir Alan Parker, Jim Sheridan, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson, resulting in magnificent films like “Gosford Park” [2001], “Angela’s Ashes” [1999], “The Boxer” [1997], “War Horse” [2011], “Punch-Drunk Love” [2020].’

‘However, alongside these well-known titles, films like “Oranges and Sunshine” [2010], “The Book Thief” [2013], or “God’s Creatures” [2022] are just as significant. “Small Things Like These” belongs in that same esteemed category. Through your deeply felt performances, you have often heightened the social impact of a film or a television series, like, for example, “Chernobyl” [2019]. After “Oranges and Sunshine,” apologies were issued by British and Australian authorities for the deportation of thousands of so-called orphaned children—a scandal from last century that bears similarities to the one in our opening film. In “God’s Creatures,” you portrayed a mother who unconditionally protects her son, accused of rape—sparking a debate about the boundaries of maternal love.’

‘In short, you just don’t break waves; you also make them. With your passionate performances in films, television, TV series, and on the stage, you are among the top actresses. And time and again, your life-like characters touch the heart and the mind. They earned you thirty-three international awards so far, the latest being the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Actress at the Berlinale for your role of Sister Mary in tonight’s film. Allow us to add one more award, the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award, named after the Ghent professor who discovered the physical principles that formed the basics of cinema, an art that you represent and champion in an eminent way. Thank you for being with us. Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome and warm applause to Miss Emily Watson.’

In her acceptance speech (feature image), Ms. Watson said, ‘Thank you very much. It’s really an honor to be here. It sounds like I had a plan, I never really had a plan. They just kind of came knocking and I followed, and it’s been an incredible adventure. This is truly an honor, and I’m very glad to be here in this film with this incredibly gifted filmmaker [Belgian-born Tim Mielants]. It’s really an honor. Thank you so much.’

Prior to the screening of “Small Things Like These,” Tim Mielants introduced the film to the audience, and a video message by lead actor Cillian Murphy was shown on screen.

“Small Things Like These” (2024, trailer)

Previous recipients of the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award are actors, actresses, film directors, producers, composers and other notable international film professionals: 1991 André Delvaux, Michel Legrand 1992 Alain Cuny, Carl Davis 1993 Robert Altman, Philippe Sarde 1994 John Hurt, Jean-Claude Petit, Henri Storck 1995 James Earl Jones, Gabrielle Claes 1997 Gina Lollobrigida, Sydney Pollack, David Puttnam 1998 Peter Ustinov, Robert Wise, Alain Resnais, Shohei Imamura, Elmer Bernstein 1999 Sandra Bullock, Stanley Donen, Irwin Winkler, Peter Greenaway, Bonnie Arnold 2000 Morgan Freeman, Hans Zimmer 2001 Roger Corman, Richard Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck, Roy E. Disney, Bertrand Tavernier, Gabriel Yared 2002 Juliette Binoche, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Reno, Blair Underwood, Hanna Schygulla, Roland Verhavert, Jan Van Raemdonck 2003 Tony Curtis 2004 Richard Attenborough 2005 Mike Leigh, Alan Ladd Jr., Nand Buyl, Zbigniew Preisner 2006 Agnès Varda 2007 Kathleen Turner, Danny Glover, Walter Hill 2008 Woody Harrelson, Richard Jenkins, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald 2009 Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Claude Miller 2010 Catherine Deneuve, Paul Greengrass, Dirk Brossé 2011 Isabelle Huppert, Norman Jewison, Chris Lomme, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne 2012 Emmanuelle Riva, Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani 2013 Paul Schrader, István Szabó, Jacques Debrulle 2015 Christopher Plummer, Alan Parker 2016 Ken Loach, Jeremy Thomas 2017 Greta Scacchi, Johan Leysen, Pierre Drouot 2018 Dirk Impens 2019 Geraldine Chaplin, Agustí Villaronga 2020 Viggo Mortensen 2021 Harry Kümel, Andrea Arnold 2022 Raoul Servais, Céline Sciamma 2023 Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Terence Davies 2024 Emily Watson, Michel Khleifi