Jesse Eisenberg Is Getting Polish Citizenship and Wants to Work More in Europe: In the U.S., the “Kind of Films I Love Are Increasingly Difficult to Make”

The actor, writer and director was welcomed with a huge ovation and honored with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival President’s Award before a screening of Richard Ayoade's 'The Double' in the Czech spa town.

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, A Real Pain, When You Finish Saving the World) will in the coming days receive Polish citizenship and hopes to spend more time making movies in Central Europe because the kind of films he likes to create are more and more difficult to make in Hollywood, he said on Saturday.

The actor, writer and director shared the news as he received a standing ovation and massive collective hug, figuratively speaking, at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic on Saturday. The actor, writer and director was honored with the fest’s President’s Award before a screening of The Double, directed by Richard Ayoade, in which Eisenberg plays the lead role.

Holding the award statuette in the Grand Hall of the Hotel Thermal, the “headquarters” of the Czech festival, Eisenberg said: ”Being here has particular meaning for me right now, because in exactly one week I am receiving my Polish citizenship. I pursued Polish citizenship because of my family’s heritage, but also because I want to spend more time in my life and my career working in Europe, specifically Central Europe.”