Zoe Saldaña, the star of numerous blockbuster franchises — among them Avatar, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Trek — who is currently the subject of best supporting actress awards buzz for her performance in Jacques Audiard’s highly-unconventional musical Emilia Pérez, has been tapped to receive the SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s Vanguard Award, the fest announced Tuesday.
Saldaña, 46, who is the only performer in history to have starred in four films that have grossed more than $2 billion, and who shared the best actress prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with her Emilia Pérez costars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz, will be presented with her award following a screening of Emilia Pérez on the evening of Friday, Nov. 1, at the SCAD Trustees Theatre.
Earlier that evening, at 5:15pm ET, the actress will sit down with yours truly at the SCAD Museum of Art, in front of a festival audience, for a career-retrospective conversation that will be recorded for subsequent posting as an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.
“The SCAD Savannah Film Festival could not be more delighted to continue its legacy of honoring outstanding talent by presenting this award to Zoe Saldaña,” Christina Routhier, the fest’s executive director, said in a statement. “Her exceptional body of work, including her masterful performance in Emilia Pérez, is truly worth celebrating. We are so thrilled to celebrate her talent and esteemed career.”
Other honorees at this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which will take place Oct. 26-Nov. 2, include Saldaña’s costar Gascón (Distinguished Performance Award), as well as Colleen Atwood (Creative Impact Award for Costume Design), Annette Bening (Lifetime Achievement Award), Jerry Bruckheimer (Legend of Entertainment Award), Colman Domingo (Spotlight Award), Jharrel Jerome (Lumiere Award), Richard Linklater (Lifetime Achievement in Screenwriting Award), Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Award), Isabela Merced (Rising Star Award), Steve McQueen (Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award), Lupita Nyong’o (Virtuoso Award), Daisy Ridley (Lumiere Award) and Sebastian Stan (Maverick Award).
