Kevin Spacey is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Teatro Antico in Taormina, Sicily. The award is presented as part of the Nations Awards, organized by Michel Curatolo and Marco Fallanca in association with the Senate of the Italian Republic and the Region of Sicily. Previous recipients include Gerard Depardieu, Abel Ferrara and Claudia Cardinale.
The award comes as Spacey, who’s made more headlines about allegations of sexual assaults than his work in recent years, has attempted to reclaim his public profile and his career in recent months. He has given a number of high profile interviews and will appear, in the role of the devil, in an upcoming film “The Contact,” one of the few he has appeared in since a a series of men came forward with accusations against Spacey’s conduct. He also starred in an American film called “Peter Five Eight” which had a premiere in Philadelphia.
“Kevin Spacey is a timeless monument of the history of cinema and the theater, who unquestionably deserves to have his career back,” Curatolo and Fallanca said.
“Every day both the public and industry miss his unbounded talent and we are extremely proud to be by the side of this extraordinary artist,” Curatolo and Fallanca asserted. The attempt at rehabilitation has seen him announced also as the guest of honor at the prestigious Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia, the announcement of which caused significant controversy.
Spacey has been found not guilty in a civil case in the U.S. involving actor Anthony Rapp as well as a U.K. criminal case which involved five men. A civil case in the U.K. by a man alleging Spacey sexually assaulted him is due to go forward in 2025.
The award ceremony, at which Spacey will give a performance, takes place July 21 as part of a summer of events in the historic Sicilian town. It is completely unconnected to the Taormina Film Festival which runs from July 13-19.