David Cronenberg will be the first Canadian to be awarded a fellowship by the British Film Institute

Toronto-based director David Cronenberg may have made a splash with the debut of A Dangerous Method at TIFF this year, but the director’s lengthy career has been a diverse one: Cronenberg became the king of body horror with Videodrome, Shivers, The Brood, Scanners and Crash, and he’s also known among film students and fans for taking on William S. Burroughs’ literary neurosis in Naked Lunch. Cronenberg has received many accolades, including Oscar nods for Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, and now the British Film Institute is awarding him with a fellowship, making him the first Canadian ever to receive the honour.

Receiving the fellowship alongside Cronenberg is Ralph Fiennes, whose directorial debut Coriolanus will premiere at the London Film Festival. Cronenberg and Fiennes will receive the accolade at a gala on Oct. 26, with Cronenberg being celebrated for “exploring the darker impulses and inner lives of his characters” and Fiennes for “a singular career” of incredible performances, according to CBC News. Fiennes and Cronenberg join the ranks of such previous BFI fellows as directors Danny Boyle, Robert Altman, Orson Welles, Michelangelo Antonioni, Akira Kurosawa and Martin Scorsese, as well as actors John Hurt, Michael Caine, Bette Davis and Michael Powell, to name a few.

• David Cronenberg to receive British film honour [CBC News] • David Cronenberg and Ralph Fiennes Chosen to Receive a BFI Fellowship [Hollywood Reporter]