Zardoz / Honorary Disruptor Award to John Boorman
It is the year 2293. A race of humans known as the Brutals worship a flying stone head called Zardoz, who provides them with weapons in exchange for food. But a Brutal Exterminator named Zed (Sean Connery) grows curious, uncovering the mysteries surrounding their society.
John Boorman's follow up to the box office smash Deliverance couldn't have been more different. Eschewing the Georgia mountains and rapids for a post-apocalyptic future world (in reality, County Wicklow), and featuring Connery in a role which couldn't have been further away from the James Bond films for which he was renowned, the film left many viewers puzzled on its' initial release, but has since undergone a reevaluation and achieved cult status, with James Oliver from Reader's Digest commenting that "the sheer boldness of Boorman’s vision and his willingness to take risks is exhilarating".
A visionary sci-fi like no other.
Photo: Carolyn Cole, LA Times
CIFF HONORARY DISRUPTOR AWARD: JOHN BOORMAN
CIFF's Honorary Disruptor Award, dedicated to the free spirits of the film world, will be awarded this year to filmmaker John Boorman (in absentia). The ceremony will precede the screening of Zardoz.
Cherie Lunghi, star of Excalibur and pictured above, will accept the award on John's behalf. The ceremony will also include video messages from Callum Turner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Liam Neeson, Juliette Binoche, Brendan Gleeson, Seamus Deasy.
Watch our Director of Programming, Aurélie Godet talk about why she picked this film as one of her must-see movies of CIFF 2025, here.
