My Own Private Idaho with Gus Van Sant

GUS VAN SANT
2026 LOFTY ACHEIVEMENT AWARD

The Loft Film Fest is honored to present Gus Van Sant with a 2026 Lofty Achievement Award for his extraordinary body of work that has expanded the language and vision of cinema.

Van Sant is one of the most audacious and accomplished American filmmakers of his generation. He is widely celebrated as a leading figure of the New Queer Cinema movement and a master at bridging independent arthouse aesthetics with mainstream Hollywood cinema.

His breakthrough film Drugstore Cowboy (1989) established him as a leading figure in the U.S. indie scene. He went on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Director for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Milk (2008), both also nominated for Best Picture. With Elephant (2003), an unflinching portrait of youth and violence, he won the Palme d’Or and Best Director at Cannes. His most recent work, Dead Man’s Wire (2026), premiered at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.

In addition to making groundbreaking films, Van Sant is a painter, photographer and musician.

The Lofty Achievement Award will be presented to Gus Van Sant before the screening of My Own Private Idaho. He will introduce the screening of Mala Noche.

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
Mike Waters (River Phoenix) lives on the street and befriends the somewhat older and streetwise Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) who shows him how to survive. Waters suffers from narcolepsy and can fall asleep at any moment in any circumstance. Favor comes from a rich family and is rebelling against his own background. The stunning cinematography and poetic directorial vision create a hypnotic, dream-like atmosphere in this multi-award-winning masterpiece.

Gus Van Sant, 1991, USA, 104 minutes, R