Maggie Gyllenhaal was among the celebrities to be honored during the 24th SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Thursday, October 28, in Savannah, Georgia.
During the ceremony, the New York City native received the Rising Star Director Award in recognition of her directorial debut in the psychological drama film The Lost Daughter.
Seemingly one of her passion projects, Gyllenhaal also wrote the screenplay for The Lost Daughter and served as one of the producers.
Honored: Maggie Gyllenhaal, 43, received the Rising Star Director Award in recognition of her directorial debut in the psychological drama film The Lost Daughter
Gyllenhaal, 43, showed off her unique fashion sense decked out in a black-patterned suit.
To help put her fingerprint on the overall ensemble, the jacket was paired with a black bustier, and the pants were tucked into calf-high black boots.
Rounding out the look, The Deuce star had her brown tresses styled in a bob cut with a part on the left.
Gracious: The actor and director was humbled by the attention her film, The Los Daughter, received at the event
Unmistakable: Gyllenhaal showed off her unique fashion sense in a black-patterned suit
Passion project; Gyllenhaal wrote, directed and produced The Lost Daughter, which is a psychological drama that stars Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson in the two leads
Other honorees on the night included Kenneth Branagh, who received the Lifetime Achievement In Acting And Directing, as part of the gala screening of his black-and-white coming of age comedy-drama Belfast; Ruth Negga got the Spotlight Award for black-and-white drama film Passing; Dylan Penn received the Rising Star Award for the drama film Flag Day, which was directed by her father Sean Penn; and Adrien Brody would get the Vanguard Award for the comedy-drama film The French Dispatch;
The others to be recognized with awards were Clifton Collins, Jr., Harry Gregson-Williams, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Sandy Powell, Odessa Young, Simon Rex, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Aunjanue Ellis, and Mike Mills.
A key stop on the Academy Awards festival circuit, the Savannah Film Festival kicked off on Saturday, October 23, and goes through October 30.
During the week the festival will screen 157 films, including 45 narrative feature films, 15 documentary feature films and 97 shorts, with 14 world premieres, one U.S. premiere and three North American premieres, with 63 of these films directed by women.
Honored: Bella Mencia presented Gyllenhaal with the Rising Star Director Award
Congratulations: Gyllenhaal and Mencia, who wore a black spaghetti-strap dress and black and white-patterned heels, snuggled up for photos on the red carpet
First time a charm: Gyllenhaal made her directorial debut with The Lost Daughter
The cast for The Lost Daughter, which is based on Elena Ferrante’s 2006 book of the same name, is led by Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson.
The storyline follows a college professor (Colman) who, while on a summer holiday, finds herself becoming obsessed with another woman and her daughter, which prompts memories of her own early motherhood to come back and unravel her.
Along with Colman and Johnson, the movie also stars Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, Jessie Buckley, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Paul Mescal, Dagmara Domińczyk, Jack Farthing and Alba Rohrwacher.
The psychological drama film made its world premiere last September at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where Gyllenhaal won the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay.
It is scheduled to have a limited release in the US on December 17, and then begin streaming on Netflix starting on December 31.
Making in impact: The psychological drama film made its world premiere last September at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where Gyllenhaal won the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay
Positive response: The lost Daughter received a four minute standing ovation at its opening night world premiere at the Venice Film Festival
Coming: The Lost Daughter is scheduled to have a limited release in the US on December 17, and then begin streaming on Netflix starting on December 31