Annette Bening Honored at AFI's '20th Century Women' Premiere. A reel of her past films, along with her newest, '20th Century Women,' were screened at AFI Fest, followed by an exclusive dinner and afterparty in honor of Bening

19/11/2016 - Crowds braved the windy evening on Wednesday to gather in front of the TCL Chinese Theater to honor a woman who's whole-hearted performances both on stage and screen have transcended generations. Through her unrelenting devotion to truly becoming the character she's playing, Annette Bening has made her mark as one of the most prominent and respected actresses in history. A mother of four and wife of actor/filmmaker Warren Beatty, Bening made her Broadway debut in Coastal Disturbances in 1987; a performance that garnered her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Since then she's gone on to be nominated for four academy awards, won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for American Beauty, Golden Globe Awards for Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right and was nominated for a 2006 Emmy Award for Mrs. Harris. Wednesday night's tribute featured an on-stage conversation with Bening, a reel of her past roles and a screening of her new film from director Mike Mills, 20th Century Women.

"Is this really for me?," Bening joked with reporters before entering the theater. "I'm really grateful for this and that I get to share it with my family." Prior to the tribute, Bening was joined by her fellow 20th Century Women cast members Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig and Lucas Jade Zumann, along with director Mike Mills and producer Anne Carey. "Mike has a really beautiful sense of true human behavior which can sometimes be very sad and sometimes very funny," Carey said to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the tone of the film. "I think he's just absolutely dexterous at combining the two." Director Mike Mills also spoke with THR about his personal connection to the film. "In many ways it's a portrait of my mom," said Mills. "She's a very funny person person so the humor is in the heart and DNA of the script and the movie."

Set in 1979 Santa Barbara, 20th Century Women follows a brief moment in the life of Dorothea Fields (Bening). A witty, eccentric single mother in her late 50s, Fields is forced to question her own happiness while raising her maturing teenage son Jamie (Zumann) during a period of cultural change and youth rebellion. Fields forms a makeshift family with Abbie (Gerwig), the free-spirited punk photographer renting a room in her house, William (Crudup) the gentle handyman who helps restore the house in return for a room and Jamie's crush and neighbor Julie (Elle Fanning). All of whom, she enlists to help raise Jamie. 

"William has a gentle quality that I really appreciated," Billy Crudup said to The Hollywood Reporter. Crudup, who played master of time, space and matter Dr. Manhattan in Watchman, enjoyed the casualness of his role. "It's nice to have a sense of humor and sweetness." 20th Century Women is Bening's 28th film. It was produced by Annapurna Pictures and distributed by A24. The film is set for a Christmas release date.  

(Hollywoodreporter AWARDS)