Palm Springs, CA (December 4, 2023) – The Palm Springs International Film Awards  has announced that Colman Domingo is the recipient of the Spotlight Award, Actor for  his performance in Rustin. The Film Awards will take place on January 4, 2024, at the  Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running through January 15, 2024. The  event will be sponsored by Entertainment Tonight and IHG Hotels & Resorts. 

“In Rustin, Colman Domingo demonstrates his impressive talents bringing to life civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “For this career defining performance, it is our honor to present the Spotlight Award, Actor to Colman Domingo.” 

Domingo joins this year’s previously announced honorees Emma Stone (Desert Palm  Achievement Award, Actress), Cillian Murphy (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor),  Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Breakthrough Performance Award), Greta Gerwig (Director of the  Year), Jeffrey Wright (Career Achievement Award), Carey Mulligan (International Star 

Award, Actress) and Killers of the Flower Moon (Vanguard Award). Past recipients of the  Spotlight Award, Actor include Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, Brendan Fraser for The  Whale, and Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridge. All three went on to receive Academy  Award nominations for Best Actor, with Fraser receiving the Best Actor award. 

The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the  greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He made history, and in turn,  he was forgotten. Directed by DGA Award and five-time Tony Award winner George C.  Wolfe and starring Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo as Rustin, the film shines a  long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend  Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine and  inspired a movement in a march toward freedom. Produced by Academy Award winner  Bruce Cohen, Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis and George C. Wolfe, the Netflix film features  an all-star cast including Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH  Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, with Jeffrey Wright and  Audra McDonald. 

For three decades, Colman Domingo has worked in film, television, and theater. He was  nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and SAG Ensemble Award for Ma Rainey’s  Black Bottom and a second Spirit Award and Gotham Award for his work in Zola. He won  the 2022 Emmy Award, an Imagen and HCA Television Award for his incredible  performance as “Ali” in the critically acclaimed Euphoria. On stage, Domingo has been 

nominated for two Tony® awards as well as an Olivier Award. He has also been  recognized for his work as a playwright (A Boy and His Soul) and producer. Domingo will  next be seen in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple which is set to release on  December 25th, 2023. In 2024, Domingo produced and stars in A24’s film Sing Sing, Drive  Away Dolls and the limited Netflix series The Madness. His other credits include: If Beale  Street Could Talk, The God Committee, Without Remorse, Candyman, Ma Rainey’s Black  Bottom, Assassination Nation, First Match, Lucy in the Sky, Selma, Lee Daniels' The  Butler, Lincoln, Zola, Freedomland, True Crime, The Birth of a Nation and three films  directed by Spike Lee, including Miracle At St. Ana, Red Hook Summer and Passing  Strange. Domingo co-wrote, produced, and starred in the Academy Award shortlisted  animated short film “New Moon” and Executive Produced and starred in the short film  “North Star.” Domingo along with his producing partner Raul Domingo have produced a  myriad of work under their Edith Productions banner including the upcoming independent  feature It’s What’s Inside. 

About the Palm Springs International Film Society 

The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit  organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through  education and cross-cultural awareness. The Film Society produces the Palm Springs  International Film Festival (PSIFF) and Film Awards every January and Palm  Springs ShortFest in June. In addition to curating the best in international cinema,  PSIFF’s Film Awards has come to be known as the first stop on the campaign trail for the  Academy Awards®, and our Oscar®-qualifying ShortFest is the largest short film festival  and market in North America. Our festivals, year-round member screenings and  educational programs manifest our organization’s mission by nurturing and encouraging  new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding  audience horizons. 

Press Contacts: 

Scenario Communications  
PSIFF@scenariopr.com 

Daniel Mansour  
Marketing Manager, Palm Springs International Film Society
daniel@psfilmfest.org