CHICAGO — Cinema/Chicago and the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival are proud to announce a special tribute to two-time Academy Award®-winner and three-time Golden Globe®-winning actress Jane Fonda. A Tribute to Jane Fonda takes place on Saturday, July 29 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago and will feature an on-stage conversation with Fonda, giving insight into her experience and approach to her craft, accompanied by iconic clips from her illustrious career. The celebratory evening will conclude with the presentation of The Chicago International Film Festival's Gold Hugo Career Achievement Award to Fonda for her contributions to both film and television.
Led by evening sponsor SAGE Private Wealth Group, the Tribute will be co-chaired by Cinema/Chicago Governing Board Member Lauren Robishaw and Director of Decorative Arts at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers Corbin Horn. The celebratory evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a festive reception including cocktails, small plates and a silent auction followed by the conversation with Fonda. After the main event concludes, guests are invited to a special after-party at the Radisson Blu with music and dancing.
"To call Jane Fonda an icon is an understatement," said Lauren Robishaw. "With tremendous bravery and poise, she has defined what it means to be an entertainer, a revolutionary, a survivor and, above all, a formidable woman. I am in awe of her achievements and her spirit and cannot wait to see what roles she takes on in the future, both on screen and off."
Corbin Horn added, "Jane Fonda is fabulous—there's no other word to use. She has already been an inspiration for fifty years, and then along comes Grace and Frankie, and Jane is more enthralling than ever. We are watching someone electric, at the apex of her career, and at the top of her life."
Cinema/Chicago Founder and CEO Michael Kutza stated, "I have grown up on the films of Jane Fonda from Barbarella and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? to Klute and Coming Home—and I am now enchanted all over again by her television series Grace and Frankie. She continually reinvents herself in exciting and brilliant ways."
In addition to evening sponsor SAGE Private Wealth Group, evening partners include American Airlines, Sound Investment AV, Chloe Wine Collection and Wansas Tequila.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the expansion of Cinema/Chicago's year-round Education Program. The program provides free film screenings to more than 7,000 Chicago Public School students annually through twice monthly screenings during the school year, daily screenings during the Chicago International Film Festival and curriculum support and study guides for educators. The expanded program will include an in-school film program. Our Education Program also includes the annual CineYouth Festival, a three-day competitive international film festival dedicated to showcasing the talent of the next generation of filmmakers, twenty-two years old and younger every May and our Student Film Council for Chicagoland high school students with a passion for cinema. The Film Council meets monthly throughout the academic year to explore Chicago's thriving film community.
About Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, and Vassar College. In her early twenties, Fonda studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York.¨ ¨
Fonda is a two- time Academy Award®-winner ( Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home ), a three-time Golden Globe® winner and was the 2014 recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her credits include Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, Rollover, On Golden Pond, The Morning After and The Dealmaker.
In 2007, Fonda received an Honorary Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, one of only three people ever to be granted this honor until then. In 2009, she received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Moisés Kaufman's 33 Variations on Broadway.
Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda's Workout in 1982. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings and seven bestselling books, selling 17 million copies all together. The original Jane Fonda's Workout video remains the top grossing home video of all time.¨¨
In 2011, Fonda appeared in Et Si On Vivait Tous Ensemble, a French comedy, followed by Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, co-starring Catherine Keener. She appeared as Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels' The Butler in 2013, and with Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell in Better Living Through Chemistry. In 2014, she starred in director Shawn Levy's This is Where I Leave You, with Tina Fey and Jason Bateman.
For three seasons Fonda appeared as media mogul Leona Lansing in Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom on HBO of which she received an Emmy nomination. Most recently, she appeared in Youth, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino ( director and co-writer of Italy's Academy Award®-winning Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty ). She received a Golden Globe® nomination for her performance.
Fonda currently stars in Netflix's hit series, Grace and Frankie, which premiered its third season in April 2017. She also stars in Netflix's upcoming theatrical feature film Our Souls at Night, opposite Robert Redford, which will be released in November 2017.
Ticket and Event Information
Cinema/Chicago's Tribute to Jane Fonda takes place Saturday, July 29, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago. To purchase tickets ( starting at $200 ) or for more information visit: www.chicagofilmfestival.com .>B>
About SAGE Private Wealth Group
Since the aunch in 2011, SAGE Private Wealth Group has grown to become the largest Raymond James Financial Services office for assets under management ( AUM ) in the state of Illinois ( based on client assets ). www.SAGEprivatewealth.com to learn more. SAGE Private Wealth Group, 444 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 3220, Chicago, IL 60611, 312.321.1800.
About Cinema/Chicago
Cinema/Chicago, the parent organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year- round non-profit arts and education organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of film and the moving image. For more information visit chicagofilmfestival.com .
