British-born, Oxford educated Emerald Fennell is what you might describe as a triple threat. She cut her acting teeth appearing in close to a dozen television series including, “Call the Midwife,” and “Killing Eve,” for which she was both a writer and one of the executive producers. Most recently she starred as Camilla Parker Bowles in the highly acclaimed Netflix series “The Crown.”
To segue from writing for television to the big screen is a challenging transition and Fennell royally succeeded in doing so with her first narrative film, Promising Young Woman, which she wrote and directed. The film has already received over 100 nominations and has won multiple awards. With Oscar nominations upon us, Promising Young Woman has been shortlisted by just about every critic for Best Picture as well as Best Actress nominations for Carey Mulligan, who plays the lead role of Cassandra. The candy-colored look of the film is in sharp contrast to the underlying revenge theme which is a tribute to Fennell’s brilliant script and sharp direction, which keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last frame.
To honor her extraordinary filmmaking, she has been selected by the International Press Academy as the recipient of this year’s highly coveted Auteur Award, which recognizes a filmmaker’s creative vision and unique artistry, both of which Emerald Fennell has clearly demonstrated. She now joins the ranks of previous recipients of this award which includes, Guillermo del Toro, Baz Luhrmann, Robert Altman, George Clooney, Martin Burke, Robert M. Young, Julian Schnabel, Roger Corman, Alex Gibney, Peter Bogdanovich and Paul Williams, among others.
— Lady Beverly Cohn
