Sandra Oh and Stephanie Beatriz will be honoured at the Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Film Festival in 2022.
Oh will be given the James Schamus Ally Award, which honours a great ally to the LGBTQ community, and Beatriz will be given the Fusion Achievement Award, which honours an individual who has made a significant contribution to LGBTQ storytelling, arts, and media visibility. The awards will be presented on April 8 at the film festival’s opening night. The festival’s in-person phase runs from April 8 to 13, with the programme shifting online from April 13 to 17.
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Outfest Fusion’s award honours Oh’s efforts on screen as well as her public activism for the LGBTQ community. Oh has been a lifelong supporter of the festival, attending at the Outfest Honors Gala to benefit their Legacy Project for LGBTQ cinema preservation and awarding close friend Alec Mapa with his own Outfest Fusion Achievement Award in 2014.
“Ms. Oh’s allyship is far-reaching, unwavering and all-encompassing, standing up for the countless individuals that continue to feel a sense of ‘othered’ in our society. She has been a true trailblazer and consistent advocate before and now throughout her career, and we are honored to call her a friend of Outfest for nearly two-decades,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro stated.
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The award-winning performer is now starring in BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” for which she also acts as executive producer. She has had many Emmy nominations, as well as Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award victories. Patti in “Under the Tuscan Sun” and Dr. Cristina Yang on “Grey’s Anatomy” are two of Oh’s other well-known roles.
“Outfest’s mission closely aligns with my own desire to drive change and creativity, and I am humbled to be chosen for this incredible honor,” Oh said.
Beatriz is honoured with the Fusion Achievement Award for her body of work and commitment to bisexual visibility. Michaela Coel, Nisha Ganatra, Angela Robinson, Rose Troche, Wilson Cruz, Alec Mapa, Patrik-Ian Polk, Cheryl Dunye, Brickson Diamond, and Rikka Beadle-Blair have all received the award in the past.
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“In order for representation to be truly meaningful, it needs to be nuanced and authentic,” Navarro said of Beatriz, noting that through her work in hits like “Encanto,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “In the Heights,” “Stephanie has brought bold, original and engaging characters to life on screen whilst also proudly standing up for our community as well as immigrant rights.”
He continued, “As a queer, immigrant, women-of-color that has openly embraced and discussed her bisexuality, she has proliferated an often misunderstood, missing or broadly stereotyped representation for what amounts to what may be one of the largest self-identified queer populations in the world. We are inspired and honored by her bravery.”
The whole schedule of free in-person and virtual events, panels, and workshops for the 10-day festival, presented by IMDbPro and Hyundai, will be released on www.outfestfusion.com.