Career Achievement Award to be given to actress Lucy Liu in Locarno

American actress Lucy Liu will receive the Career Achievement Award on Thursday, August 14, during the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival. That same evening, the actress will present Eric Lin’s new film, Rosemead (2025), alongside the rest of the cast. On Friday, August 15, Lucy Liu will participate in a public conversation at the Forum @Spazio Cinema.

A critically acclaimed actress and director with over thirty years of experience, Lucy Liu has starred in films that have grossed more than $3.7 billion worldwide. From her iconic roles in Kill Bill, Charlie’s Angels, Chicago, Set It Up, Presence, and Red One, she has continued to redefine what it means to be a successful woman in Hollywood. In Rosemead, a gripping drama inspired by a true story in which she also serves as producer, Liu plays a terminally ill woman racing against time to protect her son from his violent obsessions.

She rose to prominence with her role in Ally McBeal, which earned her Emmy and SAG nominations, establishing her early on as a pioneering figure in television. Her notable series credits include Why Women Kill, Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Star Wars: Visions, and A Man in Full. A versatile artist, Liu has also directed episodes of Marvel’s Luke Cage, Elementary, Why Women Kill, and American Born Chinese (2023). Her short documentary Meena (2014), focused on human trafficking, was widely praised, while as a producer she has supported impactful projects such as Freedom’s Fury and Redlight. Most recently, she produced and voiced The Pirate Queen (2024), an Emmy-nominated VR experience soon to be released as a graphic novel.

Liu is also an accomplished visual artist: her sculptures and mixed-media paintings have been exhibited in international galleries and museums including the National Museum of Singapore, the Napa Valley Museum, and the New York Studio School. For her contribution to the arts, she received the Harvard University Arts Medal. She is currently working on a commissioned series of paintings for 2026 by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne. A UNICEF ambassador for over twenty years, she has received prestigious honors for her humanitarian efforts, including the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award and the Women’s World Award.