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Tag: SCAD Savannah Film Festival

  • SCAD Savannah Film Fest: Spike Lee and Sydney Sweeney Among Seven in Second Wave of Honorees (Exclusive)

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    The sizable roster of talent set to accept honors at the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the nation’s largest university-run film festival, just got even longer. Just days after announcing 10 prominent honorees, the fest is set to announce seven more, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

    Also headed to Georgia: Park Chan-wook (writer/director of Neon’s No Other Choice) for the International Auteur Award; Brendan Fraser (star of Searchlight’s Rental Family) for the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award; Spike Lee (writer/director of A24’s Highest 2 Lowest) for the Legend of Cinema Award; Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (star of Neon’s Sentimental Value; Amanda Seyfried (star of Searchlight’s The Testament of Ann Lee); Kristen Stewart (director/producer of The Forge’s The Chronology of Water); and Sydney Sweeney (star/producer of Black Bear’s Christy).

    They join previously announced honorees Will Arnett (writer/star of Searchlight’s Is This Thing On?) for the Luminary Award; Hannah Beachler (production designer of Warners’ Sinners); Craig Brewer (writer/director of Focus’ Song Sung Blue); Rose Byrne (star of A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) for the Luminary Award; Miles Caton (star of Warners’ Sinners) for the Rising Star Award; Jon M. Chu (director of Universal’s Wicked); Zoey Deutch (star of Netflix’s Nouvelle Vague) for the Breakthrough Performance Award; Joel Edgerton (star of Netflix’s Train Dreams) for the Vanguard Award; Rian Johnson (writer/director of Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery); Jennifer Lopez (star of Roadside’s Kiss of the Spider Woman); Mark Hamill (star of Neon’s The Life of Chuck) for the Lifetime Achievement Award; Oscar Isaac (star of Netflix’s Frankenstein) for the Icon Award; Dylan O’Brien (star of Roadside’s Twinless) for the Lumiere Award; Benny Safdie (writer/director of A24’s The Smashing Machine) for the Maverick Director Award; Miles Teller (star of A24’s Eternity); and Tessa Thompson (star/producer of Amazon/MGM’s Hedda) for the Distinguished Performance Award.

    “I’m overjoyed with the lineup of remarkable honorees joining us this year,” Christina Routhier, the fest’s executive director, said in a statement. “Their contributions to the industry are truly inspiring, and I’m especially excited for the opportunities our students and audiences will have to learn from them, which is what make the SCAD Savannah Film Festival such a singular and transformative experience.”

    At this year’s edition of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which will run Oct. 25-Nov. 1, the honorees will participate in award presentations, moderated conversations and master classes with SCAD students.

    Kayla Rocca

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    Scott Feinberg

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  • SCAD Savannah Film Fest: Mark Hamill, Tessa Thompson and Oscar Isaac Among 10 Set for Honors

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    Later this month, a veritable parade of A-list movie stars and filmmakers will head south to collect honors at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the nation’s largest university-run film festival, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

    Among them: Will Arnett (writer/star of Searchlight’s Is This Thing On?) and Rose Byrne (star of A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) for the Luminary Award; Miles Caton (star of Warners’ Sinners) for the Rising Star Award; Zoey Deutch (star of Netflix’s Nouvelle Vague) for the Breakthrough Performance Award; Joel Edgerton (star of Netflix’s Train Dreams) for the Vanguard Award; Mark Hamill (star of Neon’s The Life of Chuck) for the Lifetime Achievement Award; Oscar Isaac (star of Netflix’s Frankenstein) for the Icon Award; Dylan O’Brien (star of Roadside’s Twinless) for the Lumiere Award; Benny Safdie (writer/director of A24’s The Smashing Machine) for the Maverick Director Award; and Tessa Thompson (star/producer of Amazon/MGM’s Hedda) for the Distinguished Performance Award.

    They join previously announced honorees Hannah Beachler (production designer of Warners’ Sinners); Craig Brewer (writer/director of Focus’ Song Sung Blue); Jon M. Chu (director of Universal’s Wicked); Rian Johnson (writer/director of Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery); Jennifer Lopez (star of Roadside’s Kiss of the Spider Woman); and Miles Teller (star of A24’s Eternity).

    And another wave of honorees is expected to be announced soon.

    “The 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival brings together a constellation of cinematic luminaries whose work has captivated audiences and shaped the cultural landscape,” Christina Routhier, the festival’s senior executive director, said in a statement. “From visionary directors to the most compelling performances of the season, these honorees exemplify the artistry that define today’s moviemaking. For our students, this festival is more than a celebration — it’s an unparalleled opportunity to engage with and learn from the very creators whose work inspires them. The presence of these individuals in Savannah offers a rare glimpse into the creative process and serves as a catalyst for the next generation of storytellers from our university.”

    At this year’s edition of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which will run Oct. 25-Nov. 1, the honorees will participate in award presentations, moderated conversations and master classes with SCAD students.

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    Scott Feinberg

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  • ‘Awards Chatter’ Live Pod: Zoe Saldaña on 25 Years in Biz, Showing Full Range in ‘Emilia Pérez’ and Willingness to Perform Song “El Mal” on Oscars

    ‘Awards Chatter’ Live Pod: Zoe Saldaña on 25 Years in Biz, Showing Full Range in ‘Emilia Pérez’ and Willingness to Perform Song “El Mal” on Oscars

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    Zoe Saldaña, the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, which was recorded in front of an audience at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, has been a screen actress for 25 years. She has been described as “the queen of the film franchise,” having starred in installments of the Avatar, Avengers, Guardians and Star Trek series. (She’s the only person ever to have been part of four films that grossed more than $2 billion.) But this year, with her performance as an attorney recruited to help a cartel leader with a top-secret mission in Jacques Audiard’s unconventional musical Emilia Pérez, she has reminded people that she’s also much more.

    Those who have already seen Emilia Pérez have gone wild for it. It received an 11-minute standing ovation following its world premiere at May’s Cannes Film Festival, where the festival’s jury awarded Saldaña and her principal co-stars — Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz — the best actress prize. And the film and its stars have been garnering acclaim and accolades ever since. Soon, everyone will have the opportunity to see the film: it debuted in select U.S. and Canadian theaters on Nov. 1 en route to a Nov. 13 debut on Netflix in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

    In the meantime, though, Saldaña has been reflecting on her roller coaster of a journey to this point. As she discusses during this episode, her father was killed in a car crash when she was just nine years old, leading her mother to send her and her sister to live with relatives in the Dominican Republic. There, she fell in love with dance, which led to acting — she sang in local music theater productions and danced in her first film, 2000’s Center Stage. But she wasn’t called upon to sing or dance again until Emilia Pérez. (It’s also the first film in which she has had the opportunity to act in her native language, Spanish.)

    In the intervening years, as she describes it, she nearly quit the biz (after a bad experience on 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), had her faith in it restored (by Steven Spielberg on the set of 2004’s The Terminal) and then, quite by accident, stumbled into “space” thanks to James Cameron, J.J. Abrams and Kevin Feige. In-between her big studio, VFX-heavy projects, she has often returned to smaller-scale art house ventures — among them 2011’s Colombiana, 2013’s Out of the Furnace and 2014’s Infinitely Polar Bear. But it is Emilia Pérez that has reminded others — and Saldaña herself — of the extent of her talent and range.

    In just a few months, she will almost certainly find herself an Oscar nominee for the first time, in the category of best supporting actress, for Emilia Pérez. One of the tunes that she performs in the film, “El Mal,” is, in the category of best original song, also a frontrunner, and Saldaña, upon being asked, confirms that she would be willing to perform it on the Oscars telecast if it is nominated and she is invited to do so. It’s all new and exciting territory for someone who has been around for a long time, if never fully seen and appreciated … until now.

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    Scott Feinberg

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