The Critics Choice Association (CCA) unveiled the honorees and details for its upcoming Diversity Celebration series. Among those receiving awards are celebrated stars Zoe Saldaña, Joan Chen and Tyler Perry.
The Diversity Celebration series — which includes the Celebration of Latino Cinema and Television, Celebration of AAPI Cinema and Television and Celebration of Black Cinema and Television — is meant to honor and celebrate the achievements of diverse voices in film and television.
“These celebrations are vitally important to our organization. By focusing on the incredible achievements from our honorees, we shine a light on underrepresented and under appreciated storytellers,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin in a press release.
Zoe Saldaña will be the first to receive her award at the fourth annual Celebration of Latino Cinema and Television, held on Oct. 22 at the Egyptian Theatre.
Saldaña will receive the Groundbreaker Award for her role in the Netflix film Emilia Pérez, which won the Jury Prize and whose female cast won the Best Actress Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Saldaña has had a prolific career of over 20 years, during which she became the only actor or actress to have starred in four films which grossed more than 2 billion dollars.
The third annual Celebration of AAPI Cinema and Television will be held on Nov. 12 at the Egyptian Theatre, and will honor Joan Chen with the Career Achievement Award.
Chen, who is best known for her roles in the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, for which she won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award in 2007, will receive the award for her most recent performance in Dìdi, which won the Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
In addition to acting, Chen is a celebrated director. Her film Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl won the Golden Horse Award for Best Director, Best Film, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1998 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.
The seventh annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, the last in the CCA’s Diversity Celebration series, will be held on Dec. 9 at the Fairmont Century Plaza and will honor actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry with the Icon Award.
With his new film The Six Triple Eight for Netflix, Perry has worked on 24 feature films, 20 stage plays, 17 television shows, and written two bestselling books. Additionally, Perry is founder and owner of Tyler Perry Studios, a film studio in Atlanta. He was presented with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2021.
Additional honorees for the three events will be announced closer to each event date.
The largest critics organization in North America, the CCA represents more than 600 media critics and entertainment journalists. Their Diversity Celebration series will be sponsored by Delta Airlines, IMDbPro, Milagro Tequila and more.
