Luminous Annette Bening To Be Honored by AFI

I was pleased to see that The American Film Institute (AFI) will honor actress Annette Bening with a Tribute and Centerpiece Gala screening at AFI FEST on Wednesday, November 16. Calling Bening “a modern-day icon of American cinema,” AFI FEST Director Jacqueline Lyanga said, “She brings her characters to life with an emotional intelligence that is luminous and powerful.”

The evening’s tribute will include a screening of Annapurna Pictures’ 20th Century Women (Dir. Mike Mills), which stars Bening as “a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion.” I can’t wait to see it!

I’ll never forget Bening’s neurotic real estate agent role in American Beauty. The film was made in 1999 (hard to believe), but her performance is still wonderful and fresh. (If you need a reminder, there are a couple of clips on YouTube.)

Congratulations, Annette!