Accolades for '80s Art Star

Last night, Julian Schnabel took home the Gucci Group Award, given to an artist for his or her contribution to film, for his Le Scaphandre et le Papillion (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) from a ceremony at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice. British Vogue reports it here Yahoo's got a press release here. The event coincided with the 64th Venice Film Festival, which runs through September 8th as part of the Venice Biennale.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, netting Schnabel the prize for best director. (It was also in the running for the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize.)

See the trailer here:

The film is an adaptation of former French Elle editor-in-chief Jean-Dominique Bauby's chronicle of life after suffering a stroke that left his mind unscathed but his ability to speak gone and his body completely paralyzed — a condition known as locked-in syndrome — save for the movement of his left eye. Bauby dictated his memoir by blinking that eye according to a code that corresponded with letters of the alphabet. Schnabel said that he "wanted the film to be a tool, like [Bauby's] book, a self-help device that can help you handle your own death."

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is headed for yet another cinematic happening this fall: It will be screened at the New York Film Festival, which runs from September 28th to October 14th.

Photo Credit: Gucci Group