Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Philadelphia,” the Talking Heads documentary “Stop Making Sense” and “Rachel Getting Married,” accepted the seventh annual Coolidge Award to a standing ovation Tuesday night at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline.
Demme joins past honorees as varied as actress Meryl Streep, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and Chinese director Yimou Zhang.
Demme, wearing a mismatched suit and sneakers with Rastafarian flag-colored stripes, called the Coolidge’s famous art deco theater a “mecca” for filmmakers.
“It is a home and a celebration of independent film more than anything,” Demme said to an audience of about 300. The crowd included some of his closest friends and collaborators, who gathered to celebrate his nearly 40&-year career directing full-length features, documentaries and rock performance movies.
“Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet, who hosted the ceremony, said the Coolidge honored Demme for his “relentless honesty” in storytelling.
“My guess is that he loves his audience and that he believes we’re capable of everything,” Lumet said.
“Thank you for the faith that you have in us,” she added, speaking to Demme.
Throughout the night, nine speakers told stories and sang praises of working with Demme, including “Rachel Getting Married” actor Bill Irwin, novelist Walter Mosley and famed low budget movie producer Roger Corman, who received an honorary Academy Award this year presented by Demme.
In a letter from Anne Hathaway, read at the ceremony, the “Rachel Getting Married” star called Demme “one of the greatest sharers.” Presenters frequently expounded on this theme, overwhelmingly calling Demme affable, enthusiastic and generous.
“Your belief in me is so strong that it almost overwhelmed my disbelief in myself,” said Beth Henley, a Pulitzer-winning playwright whose upcoming off-Broadway show “Family Week” will be directed by Demme.
“I want to talk a little bit about the beginning because I was there at the beginning,” said Tak Fujimoto, a cinematographer who worked with Demme in his first feature “Caged Heat,” as well as later productions such as “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Manchurian Candidate.”
“Early on,” Fujimoto said, “I could see a little glimmer of the way he was going to work. He would come in early and shake hands with everyone. He had this sort of genuine interest in people. He knew everyone from the truck drivers down to the grips by their first name.”
Later on in his career, Fujimoto said, Demme would continue shaking hands all around, but would also progress to hugging and kissing.
“Jonathan is very much in love with the people he works with and pushes everyone to do their best,” said Declan Quinn, a cinematographer who worked with Demme on features like “Rachel Getting Married” and “The Neil Young Trunk Show.”
Attendees said they came away impressed by both Demme’s body of work and his personality.
“When his friends and coworkers tribute him, you get a glimpse into understanding who he is and how he operates,” said Boston resident Stephan Gaun.
Gaun, who has worked on independent films, said it’s not typical for a director to get to know every member of a production crew and that Demme’s efforts to do so reflect well on his character.
When accepting the award, Demme thanked the speakers, his crew, the audience and the Coolidge and made sure to praise those who have worked on his films.
“When you do what I strive to do, which is working with the very best of the best, you may end up sitting in the Coolidge hearing this kind of stuff,” he said.
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