Lena Waithe to Be Honored by Variety With the Creative Conscience Award at Frameline48
Lena Waithe will be honored with the Variety Creative Conscience Award at the 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48), which is hosted by the arts nonprofit Frameline, in San Francisco on Saturday, June 29.
The award recognizes an individual in the entertainment world who personifies the industry’s dedication to humanitarian, cultural and charitable causes. This honor celebrates Waithe’s career as a filmmaker and entrepreneur, along with her work to champion the Black and queer communities.
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Waithe will participate in a Q&A with Variety senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay.
“Lena Waithe’s historic Emmy win seven years ago signaled the arrival of a major creative talent who was clearly only beginning to shake up the entertainment industry,” said Steve Gaydos, Variety EVP of global content and executive editor. “Today, they stand as a dynamic example of what can be accomplished when you combine a blazing artistic sensibility with a fierce determination to move marginalized voices to the forefront of film and television culture. Waithe is a wonderful example of what a truly ‘Creative Conscience’ can achieve.”
“A remarkable writer, performer, and producer, Lena Waithe has shared her platform with generosity and resolve by empowering other Black and queer artists. Last year, Frameline screened D. Smith’s illuminating documentary, ‘Kokomo City,’ which Waithe executive produced. It’s a prime example of Waithe using her power and voice to uplift essential queer, trans and Black stories,” said Allegra Madsen, executive director of Frameline. “It’s an honor to host this essential conversation, and we are overjoyed to partner with Variety in presenting Lena Waithe with the much-deserved Variety Creative Conscience Award.”
Waithe is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, actor and the founder of Hillman Grad, a media and production company that empowers underrepresented voices and amplifies stories of diverse communities. Its slate includes projects at Warner Bros, Netflix, BET, Disney, Amazon, Universal, Focus, HBO, Max and Showtime.
Through her production company, Waithe started the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab in 2020, which offers marginalized filmmakers networking opportunities and career mentorship from industry professionals. Hillman Grad has mentored roughly 600 actors, 120 writer-directors and 30 producers. Waithe also has an ongoing partnership with Indeed and 271 Films for the Rising Voices program. The initiative awards 10 BIPOC filmmakers up to $100,000 to make short films that will be showcased at the Tribeca Festival in New York.
Waithe is an executive producer on “The Chi,” which is currently in its seventh season. She also served as executive producer on the HBO documentary “Being Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Documentary,” which premiered at SXSW in 2023. In 2019, she made her feature film screenwriting debut with “Queen and Slim,” starring Jodie Turner and Daniel Kaluuya.
As an actress, she has appeared in “Big Mouth,” “Master of None,” “Westworld,” “Ready Player One,” “This is Us” and more.
An 11-day celebration of film and queerness, the 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48) is the oldest and longest-running LGBTQ film festival in the world. Curated from over 1,600 submissions and invitations, Frameline48 is the largest film festival in California, with over 120 films screening in theaters across the San Francisco Bay Area from June 19–29, 2024. The festival is hosted by Frameline, an arts nonprofit that works year-round to empower queer and trans filmmakers and distribute LGBTQ films.
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