2024 honored guests

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Fellow Travelers.

One of Hollywood's most exciting actors working today, Matt Bomer's oeuvre includes critically acclaimed roles on stage, film, and television. Early roles on TV shows such as Traveler, Tru Calling, and Chuck preceded his breakout role on USA's White Collar, which remained one of the highest rated and most critically acclaimed scripted shows on cable during its six-season run. In 2014, he starred alongside Mark Ruffalo in Ryan Murphy's adaptation of The Normal Heart, winning a Golden Globe Award and Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as receiving his first Emmy Award nomination. His other TV credits include Glee, The New Normal, American Horror Story, The Last Tycoon, The Sinner, Will & Grace, Echoes, and Doom Patrol. Bomer's film credits include Flightplan, In Time, Space Station 76, Magic Mike, The Nice Guys, The Magnificent Seven, Walking Out, Viper Club, Papi Chulo, The Boys in the Band, and Maestro. On stage, he appeared in the Tony Award-winning 2018 Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band, a role he reprised on film. He also joined the star-studded readings of Dustin Lance Black's 8 on Broadway and in Los Angeles. Bomer most recently starred in and executive produced Showtime's Fellow Travelers, based on Thomas Mallon's novel of the same name. Starring alongside Jonathan Bailey, Bomer received Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Loot.

Joel Kim Booster is a Chicago-bred and Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. Booster received Emmy Award and Independent Spirit Award nominations for scripting the rom-com Fire Island, which he also starred in. The film also won a GLAAD Award and a 2023 Dorian Award, and was called an "instant classic" by the AV Club. In 2022, Booster was named one of the TIME100 Next as an emerging advocate and creative and a Variety Screenwriter to Watch. He was also recognized by The New York Times as one of the queer young comics redefining American humor. His first hourlong comedy special for Netflix, Psychosexual, was nominated for a Critics Choice Award and named one of the best comedy specials of 2022 by Variety. In his special, Booster explores his experiences and observations as a gay Asian American male, with commentary on identity, sexuality, cultural expectations, and more. Booster currently stars on the Apple TV+ series Loot playing Nicholas, Molly Novak's (Maya Rudolph) quirky assistant.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Frasier.

Kelsey Grammer has excelled at the highest level in theater, television, and film as an actor, producer, and director. An initial role as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers developed into the cornerstone of the Juilliard-trained actor's career. Grammer has played the celebrated character in three different series (Cheers, Wings, and Frasier) over a span of 20 years, tying the record for longest-running television character. He recently completed the first season of a revival of Frasier for Paramount+ and will next appear in the show Paper Empire. Grammer has won six Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award. His other TV credits include The Simpsons, Proven Innocent, The Last Tycoon, Killing Jesus, Partners, and Boss. Grammer's film credits include the X-Men series, Guardians of the Tomb, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Wanted Man, The Space Between, Money Plane, and Swing Vote. Grammer made his stage debut in 1981 before his TV breakthrough. He won a Tony Award for 2010's La Cage aux Folles, which marked his Broadway musical debut. Grammer founded his own TV production company, Grammnet NH Productions, nearly 30 years ago. He has since produced hit shows like the Emmy-winning Medium, The Game, Girlfriends, and You're Not a Monster. His most recent producing project, the Amazon docuseries Phat Tuesdays, explores Guy Torry's influential 1990s standup comedy showcases in Los Angeles.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Resident Alien.

Deanna Greif (M.F.A., performing arts, 2015) is a SCAD alum and casting professional in the film and television industry who has worked in the offices of award-winning casting directors like Kathleen Chopin, Rachel Tenner, and Cindy Tolan. Her scope of past projects ranges from intimate indie films and fantastical blockbusters to popular network TV and critically acclaimed streaming media darlings. Her experience includes work on TV projects like Apple TV+'s Severance, Prime Video's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Upload, FX's Peepshow, Disney+'s Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye, Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, CBS's Bull, and ABC's Emergence. Her film credits include The Invite, Wonka, The Creator, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Plan B, and Pacific Rim: Uprising, among others. She is passionate about storytelling as a means to connect us, and about supporting and advocating for performers and watching them flourish. Greif is a proud graduate of SCAD and the University of Colorado.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Lopez vs. Lopez.

George Lopez's illustrious and multifaceted career encompasses television, film, standup comedy, and late-night TV. Lopez has broken ground for Latino comics by embracing his ethnicity, confronting racial stereotypes, and fighting for his community on and off the stage. He is best known for co-creating, writing, producing, and starring in Warner Bros. Television's groundbreaking hit sitcom George Lopez, which ran for six seasons on ABC. The show remains a hit with viewers on both broadcast stations and cable TV's Nick at Nite, ranking as one of the top-rated shows on the network. Lopez also starred in and executive produced two more sitcoms, Lopez, and Saint George, and hosted the late-night talk show Lopez Tonight for TBS. An accomplished standup comic, Lopez has performed in four HBO specials and received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Comedy Album. Lopez's extensive film credits include the recent releases The Underdoggs, How the Gringo Stole Christmas, and Blue Beetle. His other credits include Walking with Herb, No Man's Land, The Tax Collector, El Chicano, Valentine's Day, The Spy Next Door, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and Spare Parts. He has also lent his voice to blockbuster animated films in the Rio, Smurfs, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Cats & Dogs franchises. Lopez currently stars in NBC's Lopez vs. Lopez alongside his real-life daughter Mayan Lopez. The family sitcom, currently in production for its second season, follows the pair in a fictionalized version of their real-life father-daughter relationship.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Star Trek: Discovery.

Sonequa Martin-Green is a versatile actor known for her groundbreaking, complex, and memorable performances across television, film, and stage. Martin-Green currently stars in Paramount+'s hit series Star Trek: Discovery, portraying the first Black, female captain in the Star Trek franchise's history. The series will air its fifth and final season in April. A native of Alabama and resident of Los Angeles, Martin-Green is widely known for her role as Sasha Williams on AMC's award-winning The Walking Dead. Her guest and recurring TV appearances include such fan-favorite TV series as New Girl, Once Upon a Time, The Good Wife, NYC 22, Army Wives, and Gossip Girl. On film, Martin-Green most recently starred in Warner Bros.' Space Jam: A New Legacy alongside LeBron James and Don Cheadle — the sequel to 1996's Space Jam, the highest-grossing basketball film of all time. She also received rave reviews for her role in the Sundance Film Festival hit Toe to Toe. Her other credits include The Outside Story, Holiday Rush, and Yelling to the Sky. On stage, she is best known for her critically acclaimed performance in Des McAnuff's Fetch Clay Make Man, where she starred as Muhammad Ali's first wife Sonji Clay. She also starred in the off-Broadway production of Outside People at New York City's Vineyard Theatre. Martin-Green will next star in the film My Dead Friend Zoe, which she also executive produced.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of SCAD Presents: chefATL.

Filipe Messeder (B.F.A., sound design, 2016) is an Emmy Award-winning supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer working across both scripted and nonfiction TV and film. Messeder won an Emmy for his work on Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's critically acclaimed Free Solo and is known for his work on Robert Eggers' film The Lighthouse and Soo Hugh's Apple TV+ series Pachinko. His other credits include Master of None, Ramy, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and Dickinson. Based in New York City, Messeder's upcoming projects include James DeMonaco's film The Home starring Pete Davidson.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of The Morning Show.

Writer and producer Charlotte Stoudt is currently running The Morning Show for Apple TV+, which received Golden Globe Award and Critics Choice Award nominations in 2024. The third season of the show was recognized by the AFI Awards as one of the Top 10 Television Programs of the Year in 2023. Stoudt's previous TV work includes the Netflix limited series Pieces of Her with Toni Collette, six seasons of Homeland, House of Cards, and the WGA winner Fosse/Verdon. Her development slate includes Murder Room, the true story of a homicide investigator known as the world's living Sherlock Holmes. Dinner Party, the virtual reality film she co-created about Betty and Barney Hill's reported UFO abduction, premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, the Tribeca Film Festival, and continues to play at venues around the world. Stoudt worked for many years as a dramaturg on productions at The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Ojai Playwrights Festival. She has also written on culture and politics for the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, Variety, and NPR. She holds a doctorate in English from Oxford University.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of The Buccaneers.

Josie Totah is a multitalented actress, writer, and producer. Totah began her career at 10 years old performing at the Hollywood Improv and moved on to recurring roles on Jessie and Glee before a breakout role in Chris Kelly's 2016 film Other People, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Totah also starred in and executive produced the NBC/Peacock reboot of Saved by the Bell, earning a 2022 Critics Choice Award nomination for her portrayal of Lexi, a sharp-tongued cheerleader and the most popular girl at Bayside High. Totah also voiced Natalie on the fourth season of Netflix's hit animated series Big Mouth, had a recurring role on the NBC series Mr. Mayor, and appeared in Amy Poehler's Netflix film Moxie. Totah can currently be seen starring as Mabel Elmsworth in Apple TV+'s The Buccaneers and recently wrapped production on the Legendary horror film Faces of Death. Totah also recently sold a pitch to NBC co-created with Saved by the Bell showrunner Tracey Wigfield and based on Totah's original idea, for which she is in the final stages of writing a pilot and is set to star in. Off camera, she also hosts the hit podcast Dare We Say for Crooked Media alongside her two best friends.

This award will be presented as part of the screening of Tokyo Vice.

Since Ken Watanabe made his American film debut in Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai — earning Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics Choice Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations — the actor has collaborated with some of most significant filmmakers of our time: starring in Clint Eastwood's World War II drama Letters from Iwo Jima in 2006, Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins in 2005 and subsequently on Inception in 2010, and Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005. Watanabe's English-language film credits also include Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, The Creator, Isle of Dogs, and two installments of the Transformers franchise. In 2006, Watanabe starred in and executive produced Memories of Tomorrow, winning his first Japanese Academy Award. In 2009, he earned a second Japanese Academy Award for The Unbroken and was nominated again in 2013 for Yurusarezaru Mono, a remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. On stage, Watanabe received a Tony Award nomination in 2015 for his performance as the King of Siam in Bartlett Sher's revival of The King and I, which marked his American stage and Broadway debuts. He later reprised the role on London's West End and in Japan. Watanabe began his acting career with the Tokyo-based theater company En, where his performance in Shitayamannen-cho Monogatari first caught the attention of critics and audiences. Watanabe also stars in and produces the Max Original series Tokyo Vice, which recently returned for its second season.