Karla Sofía Gascón to Receive Best International Actress Award in Venice in Wake of Scandal

Karla Sofía Gasón, the Oscar nominated star of Emilia Peréz whose campaign caught fire when incendiary tweets surfaced amid awards season, is set to touch down in Venice this weekend to pick up an award for best international actress.

The honor, called a Kinéo Award, is presented by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage with the Kinéo Cultural Association. It launched in 2002 with a mission of promoting Italian cinema, and according to the official website, it’s the “only award voted by a huge audience” in collaboration with the association of cinemas ANEC. Previous winners include Ennio Morricone, Milena Canonero, Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dante Ferretti, Alba Rohrwacher, Pier Francesco Favino, Giancarlo Giannini, Sienna Miller, Mads Mikkelsen and more.

Gascón confirmed the news on Instagram last week, and organizers for the event announced that the actress will be present at a Saturday press conference at the Lido’s Hotel Excelsior. Also confirmed to attend are fellow honorees Aras Aydin, Monica Guerritore, Massimiliano Gallo, Tatiana Luter and Cristiana Capotondi.

It won’t be Gascón’s first comeback bid in the wake of her awards season scandal. The Hollywood Reporter recently debuted a first look at her newest movie, a 19th century-set Spanish western Trinidad, directed by Laura Alvea and José Ortuño. The English-language feature filmed in the Canary Islands but is set primarily in the United States. It stars Gabriela Andrada as Trinidad, a woman who flees persecution in Spain for the wild west. Along the way, she earns renowned for her skills with weapons, but also becomes a target of enemies, such as the widow Bronson (Gascón).

She’ll pick up the prize during what will be a busy weekend during the 82nd Venice Film Festival. It’s unclear yet if Gascón will be walking the red carpet at any of the major movie premieres at Sala Grande.