On February 5 local time, the British Academy of Film announced that this year's Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to the famous film costume designer Sandy Powell (Sandy Powell). She will receive the top honor at an awards ceremony on February 19.
Sandy Powell has won three Bafta Academy Awards.
Sandy Powell has been in film for more than 30 years. Sandy Powell has designed costumes for films such as "Shakespeare in Love", "Gangs of New York", "Carol" and "The Irishman". 15 finalists, three wins. Now receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Academy of Film, she has become the first film costume designer to be honored since the award category was first presented in 1971.
Gangs of New York
"I feel flattered to be able to receive this recognition, especially because I am the first costume designer to receive this award, which makes me very proud." Powell said after learning the good news, "I am very lucky to be able to present myself My biggest hobby has turned into a lifelong career. What is even more fortunate is that I have had the opportunity to work with many top professionals in the film industry. Receiving this honor does not mean the end, and I still have many expectations for the future. "
The 62-year-old Sandy Powell was born in an ordinary working family in London, England. She had a strong interest in sewing since she was a child. She loved to use her mother's sewing machine to make clothes for her precious dolls, and then learned to tailor clothes. After graduating from St. Martin's School of Arts in London, she joined a local independent theater company at a young age, designing costumes for various stage performances full-time.
In the 1980s, she got acquainted with director Derek Jarman through someone's introduction, and began to embark on the road of film costume design. Powell designed costumes for Jarman's "Caravaggio", "The Last of England", "Edward II" and "Wittgenstein" in four consecutive works, and quickly became an eye-catching new costume designer in the British film industry. After Powell became famous, he did not forget this Bole. In 2020, the Vision Cottage where Jarman lived is facing the risk of being sold privately. The actor Tilda Swinton launched an initiative to raise funds to protect the cabin, and Powell also actively responded. That year, when she attended the British Academy Awards and the Oscars, she wore a white suit. A total of 100 stars were invited to sign the clothes for auction to raise funds.
In order to preserve the cottage where Jarman lived, Powell (center) asked the stars to sign her costumes for the auction to raise funds when she attended the 2020 Oscar ceremony.
In 1992, Powell was nominated for Best Costume Design at the 66th Academy Awards for his beautiful costumes designed for Tilda Swinton, the heroine of the film "Orlando", which spanned both genders, and eventually lost to "The Age of Innocence". "The costume designer Gabriella Pescucci (Gabriella Pescucci), but let the director of "The Age of Innocence" Martin Scorsese firmly remember her name.
"Orlando"
Ten years later, when Martin Scorsese started filming Gangs of New York, he immediately thought of inviting Powell to design the costumes of the late nineteenth century in the film. Since then, the two have collaborated on many works such as "The Great Aviator", "The American Version of Infernal Affairs", "Shutter Island", "Hugo", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "The Irishman", calling it Scorsese's royal costume The design can't be overstated.
"The Great Aviator"
In addition to Jarman and Scorsese, Powell has collaborated with Irish director Neil Jordan as many as five times, creating films with different backgrounds such as "The Crying Game", "Interview with the Vampire", and "Michael Collins". The works have designed clothing in very different styles but equally great.
During Sandy Powell's Oscar journey, there were even three or so fights. At the 77th session held in 1999, her costumes for "Velvet Gold Mine" and "Shakespeare in Love" were both shortlisted, and the latter successfully won. Just the year before, Powell was also nominated for the award, but the costumes she designed for "Wings of Desire" failed to shake the solid position of "Titanic" in the hearts of Oscar judges. Fortunately, after a year, Powell's dream came true. At this time, she is only 39 years old, has been nominated for four Oscars and the owner of an Oscar statuette, and can be called the most popular costume designer in the British and American film circles.
"Shakespeare in Love"
After that, Sandy Powell won two Oscars for "The Great Aviator" and "Young Victoria". At the 88th Oscar held in 2016, two Powell works competed on the same stage again, but this time the grand prize was finally won by her fellow Londoner Jenny Beavan (Jenny Beavan). Compared with the costumes Powell designed for "Carol" and "Cinderella", the post-apocalyptic costumes in "Mad Max: Wild Road" seem to be more able to capture the hearts of Oscar judges.
"Young Victoria"
In 2019, the Powell-to-Powell situation came up for the third time. However, the costumes she designed for "Mary Poppins 2" and "Beloved" failed to win the Marvel movie "Black Panther" in the end, and when she was nominated for an Oscar for the 15th time in her life the following year, the costumes of "The Irishman" Design eventually lost to "Little Women".
In his hometown of England, starting with "Orlando", Sandy Powell has been nominated for Best Costume Design at the British Academy of Film Awards 16 times so far, winning three times with "Velvet Goldmine", "Young Victoria" and "The Favorite", the same record shining.
"Sandy Powell is not only a great costume designer, but also a great storyteller," said Jane Millichip, chief executive of the British Academy of Film, in announcing this year's Lifetime Achievement Award winner Shi said, "The costumes she designed are so beautiful that people are intoxicated, and at the same time provide narrative functions for the characters in the play, making them vivid and three-dimensional."
