Honored guests

Colson Baker

Discovery Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening Taurus.

Colson Baker made his acting debut on television, starring in Cameron Crowe's Roadies for Showtime. Since his debut, Baker has appeared in several blockbuster films, including the Netflix films Bird Box with Sandra Bullock, Project Power with Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the Motley Crue biopic The Dirt, where he starred in the lead role of Tommy Lee. His other credits include Big Time Adolescence, Judd Apatow's The King of Staten Island, Nerve, and Gina Prince-Bythewood's Beyond the Lights.

His directorial debut feature film, Good Mourning, which he also co-wrote and starred in alongside Dove Cameron, Zach Villa, Whitney Cummings, Megan Fox, and Pete Davidson, had its theatrical and video-on-demand release in March 2022. Baker also directed actor Sydney Sweeney in a short film, Downfalls High, which was based on his No. 1-selling album Tickets to My Downfall. His newest film, Taurus, made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival, where it received rave reviews for his deeply stirring performance as a self-destructive musician. When not acting, writing, or directing, Baker is also known to the world as the powerhouse, multiplatinum selling recording artist Machine Gun Kelly.

Photography by Jonathan Weiner

Kerry Condon

Distinguished Performance Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening The Banshees of Inisherin.

First seen in the Oscar-nominated film Angela's Ashes, Irish actress Kerry Condon has garnered high praise for her numerous roles in some of Hollywood's most talked about films. Condon's film credits include the Academy Award-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Dreamland; Bad Samaritan; Dom Hemingway; The Last Station; and the Oscar-winning short film The Shore. She also lends her voice to F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Captain America: Civil War.

On TV, Condon has starred in Showtime's Ray Donovan and its successive film, Sharon Horgan's Women on the Verge, lauded Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, and HBO's Luck and Rome. On stage, Condon originated the role of Mairead in The Lieutenant of Inishmore as a 19-year-old, under the tutelage of her future The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh. In the same year, she played Ophelia in Hamlet, making her the youngest actress to ever play that role for The Royal Shakespeare Company. Condon also starred in the first production of After the End by Dennis Kelly. In 2009, she appeared in McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, for which she won a Lucille Lortel and a Drama Desk award. In addition to The Banshees of Inisherin, Condon will next appear in the upcoming thriller In the Land of Saints and Sinners alongside Liam Neeson and Ciarán Hinds.

Photography by Dylan Coulter

JD Dillard

Rising Star Director Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening Devotion.

JD Dillard has established himself as a director and writer to watch, with an extraordinary ability to captivate audiences through authentic yet innovative storytelling. Dillard made his directorial debut with Sleight, starring Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Sasheer Zamata, and Storm Reid. The film, which he co-wrote, was shot on a microbudget and went on to spark a bidding war after its rapturous debut at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, Dillard made his return to Sundance with his sophomore feature Sweetheart, a Blumhouse Productions thriller which he directed and co-wrote starring Kiersey Clemons in the leading role. Dillard has also directed episodes of The Outsider for HBO, The Twilight Zone for Paramount+, and Utopia for Amazon. He has also sold multiple television pilots. Dillard's third feature film is the highly anticipated historical war epic Devotion, produced by Sony Pictures and based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Adam Makos.

Mia Goth

Lumière Award

This award will be presented as part of the After Dark screening Pearl.

English actor Mia Goth has established herself as a rising star over the past several years. In 2013, Goth made her acting debut in Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac: Vol. II opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg and Shia LeBeouf. After appearing in the film Everest and the acclaimed TV series Wallander and The Tunnel, Goth starred in the science-fiction thriller The Survivalist, a breakout role that earned her a nomination for Most Promising Newcomer at the 2015 British Independent Film Awards. Her other film credits include A Cure for Wellness, Marrowbone, the Independent Spirit Award-winning Suspiria, High Life, Emma, and Mayday.

In 2022, Goth starred in the critically acclaimed horror thriller X, directed by Ti West, and its prequel Pearl, which she executive produced and co-wrote with West. Filmed in tandem with X, Pearl premiered internationally at the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Goth will next star in MaXXXine, the third and final chapter of West's trilogy. In addition to her acting career, Goth was featured as one of the faces of Prada's La Femme fragrance campaign, along with Dane DeHaan, Mia Wasikowska, and Ansel Elgort.

Jalyn Hall 

Socially Conscious Cinema Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening Till.

Actor Jalyn Hall has seen his star rise at an early age, with starring roles in the uber-popular CW series All American and upcoming films like the groundbreaking Till, where Hall will portray Emmett Till. Hall, an Atlanta native, was destined to star from an early age: as a determined four-year-old he knew he wanted to entertain and act, eventually convincing his mother to enroll him in actor's workshops around the area. He made his first credited appearances in three television series in 2017 and has since appeared in Black-ish, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Shaft.

In addition to Till, Hall will star in the upcoming Hulu film Bruiser, director Miles Warren's searing feature debut about fathers, families, and the effects of toxic masculinity. Hall recently wrapped production on the new Disney+ series, The Crossover, based on the bestselling, Newbery Award-winning novel-in-verse by author, poet, and educator Kwame Alexander. Hall will narrate the series and star as Josh Bell, one of two 14-year-old basketball phenom brothers who come of age on and off the court.

Nicholas Hoult

Vanguard Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening The Menu.

Nicholas Hoult has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors. Known for blockbusters like the X-Men series and award-winning films like The Favourite, his upcoming projects reflect his agility in international franchises as well as character-driven dramas. Hoult first received critical acclaim as an 11-year-old when he starred opposite Hugh Grant in About a Boy. He also appeared on the acclaimed television series Skins and starred in the films A Single Man, Warm Bodies, Equals, Mad Max: Fury Road, Rebel in the Rye, Tolkien, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and The True History of the Kelly Gang. Hoult's other credits include the Hulu animated series Crossing Swords, Newness, Sand Castle, Jack the Giant Slayer, Young Ones, Dark Places, and Clash of the Titans.

Hoult made his stage debut in the 2009 play New Boy alongside Mel Giedroyc and Ciara Jason, which opened to outstanding reviews and sold-out performances. He can currently be seen starring in Tony McNamara's critically acclaimed Hulu series The Great, which garnered him Emmy and Screen Actors Guild award nominations. Hoult recently launched his own production company, Dead Duck Films, with which he has a first-look TV deal with the producers of The Great's. His first project in development is the series Wildfire Johnny, adapted from a short story by author Kevin Wilson. Hoult will next star in Chris McKay's Renfield, a fantasy horror-comedy about a henchman to Dracula who leaves his work after falling in love.

Ron Howard

Lifetime Achievement in Directing Award

Join Howard for a discussion about his storied career at In Conversation with Ron Howard, immediately following the Signature Screening Thirteen Lives.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors. From critically acclaimed Oscar-winning dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, Howard has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films. Whether in front of or behind the camera, or for film, television, or documentaries, Howard has been a part of many of the most significant projects in every decade since the 1960s. He began his career in film as an actor, first appearing in The Journey and The Music Man and later starring in The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, and American Graffiti. Howard earned Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his film A Beautiful Mind.

Howard made his directorial debut in 1977 with the comedy Grand Theft Auto. He met longtime friend and business partner Brian Grazer in the early 1980s, beginning their collaboration with the hit comedies Night Shift and Splash. In 1986 the two founded Imagine Entertainment, which they continue to run together as chairmen in what is now one of the longest running partnerships in Hollywood. His other films include the documentary feature We Feed People and the feature films Hillbilly Elegy, Rebuilding Paradise, the Grammy-winning Best Music Film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Rush, The Da Vinci Code, and Frost/Nixon, among others. Howard is also the co-founder of Impact, a content accelerator whose mission is to discover, cultivate, nurture, and connect creative storytellers around the world. To date, Impact has built a community of over 75,000 writers across more than 140 countries.

Jonathan Majors

Spotlight Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening Devotion.

Emmy Award, Critics Choice Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Gotham Award nominee Jonathan Majors cemented himself as a Hollywood actor to watch following his screen debut in the 2017 ABC miniseries When We Rise. An accomplished stage actor and winner of the 2015 National Society of Arts and Letters National Drama Competition, Majors made his film debut in Scott Cooper's Hostiles and appeared in the films White Boy Rick, Captive State, Gully, and Jungleland. In 2019, he starred in his breakout role in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, earning two award nominations and recognition from The Hollywood Reporter as one of Hollywood's rising young stars.

Majors' other credits include the critically acclaimed Spike Lee war drama Da 5 Bloods; the HBO limited series Lovecraft Country, which earned him Emmy Award, Critics Choice Award, and NAACP Image Award nominations; the Netflix western The Harder They Fall; and his surprise appearance in the penultimate episode of the hit Marvel series Loki, setting up his starring role as Kang the Conqueror in upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars. In addition to his role in Devotion, his upcoming projects include Creed III, where Majors will play a mysterious villain facing off against director and actor Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed, as well as the films Magazine Dreams and The Man in My Basement, which Majors will executive produce and produce, respectively.

Photography by Emman Montalvan

Janelle Monáe

Spotlight Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Janelle Monáe is an eight-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, performer, and fashion icon. She is known worldwide for her inimitable style and visionary sound, which celebrates the spectrum of identity. Monae's album Dirty Computer was nominated for two Grammys, Album of the Year and Best Music Video. As a humanitarian, her recent honor as The Trevor Project's Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year Award, her position as a co-chair for When We All Vote, and her Fem the Future initiative empower other female filmmakers and inspire fellow creatives.

As an author, Monáe published her first book, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer — a collaborative effort among her and other writers — in April 2022. As an actor, Monáe has starred in Antebellum, Harriet, and the Savannah filmed Lady and the Tramp, in which she voiced the wise-cracking pound dog Peg. Her other credits include the Academy Award for Best Picture winner Moonlight and the Academy Award-nominated Hidden Figures.

Photography by Jheyda McGarrell

Jenna Ortega

Breakthrough Award

This award will be presented as part of the In Conversation with Jenna Ortega event, which immediately follows the After Dark screening X.

Jenna Ortega is one of Hollywood's most exciting and versatile actors working today. Audiences most recently saw Ortega starring in Ti West's horror thriller X, the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, and the indie film The Fallout, which won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2021 SXSW Festival. Ortega's rise to stardom began in 2014, when she was cast as young Jane in the critically acclaimed series Jane the Virgin. She also played the lead role in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle and lent her voice to the animated series Elena of Avalor and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.

Ortega's other film and TV credits include Yes Day, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and You. She will next appear as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's highly anticipated Wednesday, a series based on The Addams Family characters and created by Tim Burton. Her other upcoming credits include the next Scream sequel and the films Miller's Girl and Finestkind. In addition to film and television, Ortega authored her first book, It's All Love, which includes a series of encouraging and inspiring anecdotes about her life.

Photography by Irvin Rivera

Jeremy Pope

Distinguished Performance Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening The Inspection.

Actor Jeremy Pope has earned acclaim for his appearances on stage and screen. Pope made his television debut in the Netflix series Hollywood, garnering an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series and an African American Film Critics Association Breakout Performer Award. In 2019, Pope made history by earning two acting Tony Award nominations in the same season, receiving nominations for Best Lead Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in Tarrell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his Broadway musical debut as Eddie Kendricks in Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.

In 2022, Pope starred as Jean-Michel Basquiat opposite Paul Bettany's Andy Warhol in Anthony McCarten's world premiere of The Collaboration, which opened in London's Young Vic Theatre and will transfer to Broadway later this year. McCarten, director Kwame Kwei-Armah, Bettany, and Pope are currently in production on the feature film adaptation of the play, which will release in 2023. In addition to his leading role in The Inspection, Pope's screen credits include a recurring role in the final season of the FX series Pose and the films The Ranger and One Night in Miami.

Photography by Steve Gripp

Sandy Powell

Variety Creative Impact in Costume Design Award

This award will be presented as part of the In Conversation with Sandy Powell event.

Boldness, creativity, precision, and attention to detail are all hallmarks of three-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, who has become a recognizable personality in her own right thanks to her distinctive personal style. Powell has 15 Best Costume Design nominations, more than any living designer, and is the only living designer to have achieved a double nomination three times: in 2019 with The Favourite and Mary Poppins Returns, in 2015 for Carol and Cinderella, and in 1998 with Velvet Goldmine and Shakespeare in Love, her first win in the category. Powell studied at London's Central School of Art and began her career designing costumes for punk-influenced director Derek Jarman's Caravaggio. Her major breakthrough was the 1992 film adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando (screening Friday, Oct. 28 at the SCAD Museum of Art), earning Powell her first Oscar nomination.

Powell has earned additional Oscar nominations for The Wings of the Dove, Gangs of New York, Hugo, The Irishman, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Tempest, and won for The Aviator and The Young Victoria. Powell has also won three BAFTAs, for The Favourite, The Young Victoria, and Velvet Goldmine, and received an additional 13 nominations. Her work on The Favourite and Mary Poppins Returns also earned a Costume Designers Guild Award and nomination, a BIFA, and two Critics' Choice nominations. Powell's recent credits include The Glorias and Mothering Sunday. She is currently prepping for her next project, Disney's Snow White. Powell has also received multiple honors for her lasting impact on costume design and international film, including the Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award in 2010 and the London Film Critics' Circle Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film in 2020. In 2011, Powell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to the film industry. Her latest film, Living, screens Saturday, Oct. 29 at Trustees Theater.

Eddie Redmayne

Virtuoso Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening The Good Nurse.

Multiple award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne's celebrated career includes dozens of acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Redmayne is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, earning him a sweep of major acting awards at the Oscars, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTAs. The following year, he again received four Best Actor nominations for his starring role in The Danish Girl. Redmayne made his onscreen debut in the 2006 film The Good Shepherd. His other film credits include Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts Harry Potter prequel series as well as the films The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Aeronauts, Jupiter Ascending, Les Misérables, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Savage Grace, The Yellow Handkerchief, The Other Boleyn Girl, and Early Man.

Redmayne's acting credits also include the British television series Birdsong, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and the Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-nominated The Pillars of the Earth. A standout stage actor, Redmayne won both Tony and Laurence Olivier Awards for his performance in Michael Grandage's critically acclaimed theatrical production Red. He also received an Olivier Award nomination for his performance in The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? In addition to his role in The Good Nurse, Redmayne recently led the electrifying West End revival of Cabaret alongside Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley, earning him an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Henry Selick

Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award

This award will be presented as part of the Sketch to Screen screening Wendell & Wild.

Henry Selick is the creative force behind several beloved and award-winning animated films. His films, which combine fantastical, scary, and funny elements, are intended for "brave children of all ages." Selick has long believed that stop-motion, the oldest form of animation and his chosen technique, is the most magical and timeless of animated styles. Selick's credits include Coraline, Laika's first and still most successful feature film, which he wrote, directed, and co-produced; the iconic The Nightmare Before Christmas, which he directed for producer Tim Burton and Disney; and the stunning adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, which he directed for Disney. His latest stop-motion project, the Netflix film Wendell & Wild, is based on an original story and co-written and co-produced with Jordan Peele, who voices one of the titular characters along with Keegan-Michael Key.

Sadie Sink

Rising Star Award

This award will be presented as part of the Gala Screening The Whale.

Sadie Sink has already made a name for herself in the world of entertainment. She began her career on Broadway in the title role of the revival of Annie in 2013 and appeared alongside Dame Helen Mirren in the Tony Award-nominated The Audience in 2017. Sink joined the Emmy Award-nominated cast of the critically acclaimed hit Netflix series Stranger Things the same year, starring as Max, a girl who moves to Hawkins with a complicated history and a suspicious streak. Sink's other credits include The Glass Castle, based on the Jeannette Walls bestseller of the same name; the NBC series American Odyssey, where she starred alongside Anna Friel; the Netflix horror trilogy Fear Street; and guest appearances on TV shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Blue Bloods, and The Americans. Sink is currently in production on Berlin Nobody, starring Eric Bana and based on the Nicholas Hogg novel Tokyo.

Vanessa Burghardt

Breaking Big Honoree

This award will be presented as part of Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel.

Actor Vanessa Burghardt made waves at this year's Sundance Film Festival for her debut breakout role as Lola, a neurodiverse teen who strikes up a friendship with a bar and bat mitzvah DJ in Cooper Raiff's Cha Cha Real Smooth. Struggling to cast the right actor for Lola, actor and director Raiff recalled in a recent interview being "flooded with tears" upon watching Burghardt's audition tape for Lola — a role that earned the teen actor rave reviews for her performance. The film, starring Burghardt, Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann, and Raúl Castillo, won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance and was acquired by Apple TV+ in a bidding war.

Madelyn Cline

Breaking Big Honoree

This award will be presented as part of Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel.

Actor and South Carolina native Madelyn Cline impressed viewers with her starring turn in the hit Netflix series Outer Banks. From Boy Erased to Stranger Things to Vice Principals, Cline has earned accolades in an array of high-profile and cult projects over the course of the last three years. Bouncing between film and television, she recently starred in The Giant, What Breaks the Ice, and the music video for Kygo's remix of the Donna Summer hit "Hot Stuff," which has more than 30 million views on YouTube. Outer Banks, which introduced Cline to new fans when it premiered in April 2020, returns for a third season in early 2023. She will next be seen in Netflix's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery this holiday season opposite Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, and SCAD Savannah Film Festival Spotlight Award honoree Janelle Monáe.

Anna Diop

Breaking Big Honoree

This award will be presented as part of Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel.

Senegalese American actor Anna Diop will next star in Amazon Prime Video's highly anticipated and award-winning film Nanny. The debut feature from director and writer Nikyatu Jusu is a genre-bending film that blends psychological horror with culturally relevant issues of social identity, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status. The film won the Grand Jury Prize this year at the Sundance Film Festival, making it the first horror film to do so. Diop also appears in a lead role as Starfire in the DC Universe series Titans on HBO Max. She was also a series regular on FOX's 24 reboot, 24: Legacy, starring opposite Corey Hawkins; her other TV credits include Bosch, Greenleaf, and The Messengers.

Photography by Samuel Paul

Banks Repeta

Breaking Big Honoree

This award will be presented as part of Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel.

Actor Banks Repeta plays the lead role in James Gray's Armageddon Time opposite Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong. A North Carolina native raised in the natural preserves along the coast, Repeta is attuned to the rhythms of tidal life. His knowledge and love of the outdoors make him a natural surfer, skateboarder, and open-water swimmer. Growing up in a family of film professionals, he has been exposed to filmmaking his entire life. Repeta's feature film credits include The Devil All the Time, The Black Phone, and Uncle Frank. On television, he can be seen in the miniseries Manhunt: Unabomber opposite Sam Worthington, in Paul Feig's FOX comedy Welcome to Flatch, in Stephen King miniseries The Outsider, in the HBO limited series Lovecraft Country, and in the NBC series Gone.

Photography by Ron Fallica

Ty Simpkins

Breaking Big Honoree

This award will be presented as part of Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel.

Ty Simpkins quickly established himself as a highly sought-after actor in film. By 18, Simpkins had worked with some Hollywood's most notable directors, including Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, James Wan, Reed Morano, and Colin Trevorrow. Simpkins has starred in two of the highest-grossing blockbusters of all time, opposite Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt in Jurassic World and opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3. Simpkins made his feature film debut in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and has also appeared in the Insidious film series and the film Meadowland. Simpkins was recently honored as one of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival's Rising Stars for The Whale, starring opposite Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink. Simpkins will next appear as the lead in Patrick Wilson's directorial debut, Insidious 5, which follows his character from the first two films, and in The Re-Education of Molly Singer.