Naomi Watts dedicates Donostia Award to David Lynch
Naomi Watts dedicated her Donostia Award to David Lynch on Saturday night, 19 September, in San Sebastián.
The British actress and producer received the prize, which honours career achievement, before a screening of her new film The Housewife, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She arrived at the festival on Friday to collect the honour, Reuters reported.
Watts was introduced by J.A. Bayona, who directed her in 2012's The Impossible. That role brought her a second Oscar nomination, after her first for 21 Grams in 2003.
Her speech looked back and forward. She shouted out Tom Holland, who made his live-action debut aged 15 in The Impossible. She then turned to Lynch, her director on Mulholland Drive.
Lynch changed her life, she said, by giving her a role she could not have dreamed of. Watts, now 57, told the audience she was 31 when launching Mulholland Drive and was told her career would be finished by 40.
It was not. Watts achieved international fame with Mulholland Drive in 2001, and the festival describes that performance as ranked among the finest in contemporary cinema. She said she was grateful, as a woman of her age, to be part of shifting the narrative about women on screen.
For fans, this means more Watts to come. She said she would like to work with Paul Thomas Anderson, Deadline reported.
The award gala on 19 September was hosted by Jon Plazaola and scheduled for 22:15, the festival had announced. It forms part of the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival, which runs from 18 to 26 September 2026.
The Housewife is directed by Ben Shirinian and co-stars Tye Sheridan, Michael Imperioli and Luke Evans.
