Ethan Hawkeapplauded his daughterMaya Hawkeat theToronto International Film Festival.
As Ethan, 52, introducedWildcat, his new movie he directed starring Maya, 25, in Toronto Monday, he praised Maya’s “blistering intelligence and commitment” in her role as novelist Flannery O’Connor.
“Most of all, I want to thank you for the job,” Ethan said, generating laughter from the film festival audience. (She is an executive producer on the project.) “She hired me and I did my best to come through for you."
Ethan Hawke and Maya Hawke attend the “Wildcat” premiere during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 11, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Wildcatstars theStranger Thingsactress as O’Connor in a film that “[imagines] the young writer as she perfects her process, committing to her unique and deeply personal fiction at the cost of her own comfort and contentment,” according to anofficial festival description.
The father-daughter filmmaking duo (Ethan shares Maya with his ex-wifeUma Thurman) were able to appear in Toronto on Monday during theongoing Screen Actors Guild strikedue toWildcat’sinterim agreementwith the guild.
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As the pair spoke with PEOPLE on the red carpet Monday, Maya said “the making of the film was unspeakably special and one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
“To get to be at this festival and to have a waiver and approval from our union during a strike to be here and celebrate film and independent film and to get to see this movie with an audience, which is so rare now, is just the ultimate privilege and I feel so, so lucky to be here today, for a variety of reasons,” she said. Ethan added, “Ditto."
Maya Hawke and Ethan Hawke attend the “Wildcat” premiere during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 11, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario.Frazer Harrison/Getty
The new movie marks Ethan’s fifth time directing a feature film; he also directed the 2022 docuseriesThe Last Movie Stars, which focused on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s life and relationship.
Wildcatalso starsLaura Linney, Philip Ettinger, Rafael Casal, Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), Steve Zahn (The White Lotus), Vincent D’Onofrio, Alessandro Nivola, Christine Dye and Willa Fitzgerald.
Wildcatmade itsworld premiereat the Telluride International Film Festival on Sept. 1. The film does not yet have a release date.
source: people.com
