In 2024, in celebration of its milestone 10th season, the festival added a new award - a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award will be presented annually to an individual in the Film or Television field who is originally from Georgia or has long-established themselves as a resident of Georgia and whose talent has, in a fundamental way, advanced the art of film and/or television, whose accomplishments have been recognized by scholars, critics, professional peers and/or the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.

 

2024

Marietta native Robert Patrick is the recipient of the inaugural CIFF Lifetime Achievement Award.

Known for portraying villains and authority figures, Robert is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations.

Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked his interest in acting and entered film in 1986. After playing a supporting role in Die Hard 2 (1990), he came to prominence as the T-1000, the antagonist of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - a role he reprised for cameo appearances in Wayne's World (1992) and Last Action Hero (1993). His other film credits include Fire in the Sky (1993), Striptease (1996), Cop Land (1997), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Ladder 49 (2004), Walk the Line (2005), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), We Are Marshall (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009), and Safe House (2012).

In television, Patrick played FBI Special Agent John Doggett in The X-Files, Colonel Tom Ryan in The Unit, DHS agent Cabe Gallo in Scorpion, Auggie Smith / White Dragon in Peacemaker and Shane Langston in Reacher. He has played ongoing roles in series such as 1923, The Outer Limits, The Sopranos, Elvis, Burn Notice, Last Resort, Sons of Anarchy, its spin-off Mayans M.C., Jamie Hawkins in The Night Agent, and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series.