Michael Douglas to Receive Honorary Palme D’Or at Cannes

Hollywood star Michael Douglas will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The festival will pay tribute to the acclaimed actor and hand him the award during the opening ceremony on May 16.

“It is always a breath of fresh air to be at Cannes, which has long provided a wonderful platform for bold creators, artistic audacities, and excellence in storytelling,” Douglas said.

As part of the tribute, the festival will screen an unreleased documentary by Amine Mesta on Douglas titled "Michael Douglas, The Prodigal Son" on the festival site for two days, on May 14-16 at 6 pm. The doc was produced by Folamour and will be broadcast on Arte.

The doc synopsis reads: “This special documentary shows us how Michael, an actor, and producer like his father Kirk, had to embrace their resemblance throughout his remarkable career in order to assert his difference. The time to learn how to become Michael when your name is Douglas,”.

Douglas has a long history with the festival, first hitting the Croisette for the festival’s 32nd edition for the premiere of "The China Syndrome" alongside director James Bridges and co-stars Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon.

In 1992, thirteen years later, Douglas joined Sharon Stone and Dutch filmmaker on the Croisette to debut "Basic Instinct", which participated in Competition. Douglas had a third go in Competition in 1993 with Joel Schumacher’s "Falling Down".

The "Fatal Attraction" actor made his last appearance at Cannes in 2013 for the debut of Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded ensemble drama "Behind the Candelabra". The film, which also starred Matt Damon, played in Competition, winning the off-shoot Palm Dog prize.

Previous recipients of the honorary award include Forest Whitaker, Jodie Foster, and Bernardo Bertolucci. The gong was first awarded to Ingmar Bergman in 1997.

From my first time here in 1979 for The China Syndrome to my most recent premiere for Behind the Candelabra in 2013, the Festival has always reminded me that the magic of cinema is not just in what we see onscreen but in its ability to impact people all around the world," Douglas added.

"After more than 50 years in the business, it’s an honor to return to the Croisette to open the Festival and embrace our shared global language of film.”