Sterling K. Brown and Talia Ryder will be honored with acting awards at the 46th Denver Film Festival this weekend.
Brown will receive the Excellence in Acting Award for his performance in Cord Jefferson’s satirical drama “American Fiction,” which opened the festival on Nov. 3. A second screening has been added for Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. MST, where Brown — a three-time Emmy winner, who also starred in IFC’s “Biosphere” earlier this year — will participate in a conversation with writer, producer and podcast host Larry Wilmore.
Ryder will be on hand on Nov. 12 during the Denver Film Festival awards ceremony to accept the Rising Star Award for her role in Sean Prince Williams’ drama “The Sweet East,” which is a part of the festival’s official selection. She will also engage in a conversation after the screening of her film.
Brown and Ryder’s honors were added following the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike on Wednesday. “We wanted to pay tribute to Sterling K. Brown and Talia Ryder for their depth as actors, their incredibly exciting films this season and Sterling’s status as a trailblazer in the industry” stated Matthew Campbell, the festival’s artistic director, making the announcement.
Brown won an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his role as Randall in the popular NBC series “This Is Us,” which ran for six seasons. He also won at the Golden Globe and SAG Awards, making history as the first African American actor to win the lead actor drama prizes. In film, Brown has starred in “Biosphere,” “Waves,” “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul,” “Black Panther” and “Marshall,” among many other titles.
Ryder has previously appeared in the indie drama “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” which earned her nominations for a Film Independent Spirit Award and a Critics’ Choice Award, and also appears in this year’s “Dumb Money.”
Additional festival honorees include Anthony Chen, Michael Shannon, Andrew Haigh, and the filmmakers behind “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” They will also attend the festival in-person to accept their awards.
