Martin McDonagh to be honoured at Zurich Film Festival

Martin McDonagh is to be honoured at the Zurich Film Festival as it premieres his latest film, Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell.

The director will receive the festival's A Tribute To... Award in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to cinema," and will also take part in a masterclass in which he will offer "insights into his creative process."

Wild Horse Nine, based on the synopsis, is set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, and centres on CIA agents Chris (Malkovich) and Lee (Rockwell) as they set out from Santiago to Easter Island.

They are stationed alongside their boss and bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island's iconic statues, as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris' newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana de Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone's trip to this remote paradise sideways.

Festival CEO Christian Jungen described McDonagh as a "master of dark comedy and character writing."

"Through his personal signature style, he showcases a rare ability to captivate audiences through the interplay of meticulously crafted cinematography, atmospheric settings and clever storytelling, combined with an artistic intuition for striking the perfect balance between the absurd and the familiar.

"His wonderfully curious character never fails to draw us in, and he has a remarkable gift for manoeuvring them into absurd predicaments through screenplays of exceptional wit and precision."

McDonagh previously picked up Academy Award nominations for Best Picture with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin, for Best Director with The Banshees of Inisherin, and for Best Original Screenplay for In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin.