David Oyelowo to Receive Breakthrough Performance Award @ PSIFF Awards Gala
Palm Springs, CA – The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present David Oyelowo with the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor for his critically acclaimed performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava DuVernay’s Selma at its annual Awards Gala. The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and the cast of The Imitation Game. Presented by Cartier, and hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-12.
“David Oyelowo’s transformation into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is truly outstanding,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “He perfectly recreates King’s mannerisms and speech cadence, and moreover, captures the spirit of one of the greatest leaders in history, giving audiences a rewarding portrait of this iconic man that is deeply layered and effecting. For this phenomenal portrayal it is an honor to present him with the 2015 Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor.”
Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’o, Carey Mulligan, Felicity Huffman, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Renner. In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson and Nyong’o went on to receive Academy Awards®, while Huffman and Renner received nominations.
Selma is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s Selma tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history. The Paramount Pictures film is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Oyelowo, Wilkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Alessandro Nivola, Giovanni Ribisi, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, with Tim Roth and Oprah Winfrey, who also serves as a producer.
In addition to Selma, David Oyelowo appeared in several other films this year including A Most Violent Year, Interstellar, and Default. His other credits include Lee Daniel’s The Butler, Lincoln, The Middle of Nowhere, Jack Reacher, The Paperboy, Complicit, Red Tails, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help, 96 Minutes, The Last King of Scotland, among many others. His upcoming film projects are Captive, Nightingale, Nina and Five Nights in Maine.
His theatre credits include “The Suppliants,” “The God Brothers,” “Prometheus Bound,” and the title role in “Henry VI,” which won him The Ian Charleson Award and an Evening Standard award nomination. His TV credits include Spooks/MI:5, Born Equal, A Raisin in the Sun, As You Like It and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. He won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor and was also nominated for a BAFTA for the same role for his work on Small Island and won the Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his performance in Five Days.
About The Palm Springs International Film Festival: The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Kate Winslet.
Official PSIFF Press Release
Edited by Vanessa McMahon
