The Egyptian Theatre returned to service on Capitol Hill this weekend as the venue reopened to host an award ceremony honoring veteran actress Laura Dern and kick off its month of screenings as part of the 40th annual Seattle International Film Festival.

Dern appeared Saturday to receive her Dale Chihuly-designed SIFF award for outstanding achievement in acting and to take part in an on-stage interview session as part of a special screening of the David Lynch classic Wild at Heart.

Thursday, SIFF officials made it official and announced the nonprofit arts organization had inked a 10-year lease for the shuttered theater and would embark on a summer renovation with plans for a full reopening of the venue this fall.

Saturday, Dern thanked the crowd and surprise presenter Eddie Vedder and added that the people of Seattle were getting back a beautiful and historic theater in the form of the old Egyptian.

In the meantime, The Egyptian (SIFF schedule) along with The Harvard Exit (SIFF schedule) will host dozens of films in coming weeks as the 2014 festival plays out.