Colman Domingo Set for Voice and Visibility Award From NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Colman Domingo has new plans on his weekend schedule.
The Oscar nominated actor has been selected to receive a Voice & Visibility Award from NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ+ film festival. He’ll receive the shine this Saturday at the city’s SVA Theatre during a program that will also feature a conversation between Domingo and Vanity Fair staff writer Chris Murphy.
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Per NewFest, “individuals awarded this honor are recognized for exceptionally demonstrating NewFest’s mission to give voice and visibility to LGBTQ+ stories and artists. Recipients have played an active and essential role in empowering and advancing the LGBTQ+ community in the media.” NewFest executive director David Hatkoff called out one of Domingo’s roles as evidence he fits the bill.
“Colman Domingo’s Academy Award-nominated performance as queer trailblazer Bayard Rustin in Rustin, the opening night film of NewFest’s 2023 festival, was one for the ages,” Hatkoff stated. “His work in television, film and theater has resonated with LGBTQ+ audiences for more than 20 years, and he has channeled his infectious personality to bring voice and visibility to queer communities of color and the LGBTQ+ experience overall.”
A NewFest alumnus, Domingo snagged Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for his work as the activist and political leader in the Netflix film directed by George C. Wolfe. News of the Voice & Visibility honor comes as he’s receiving more acclaim for starring in and executive producing A24’s Sing Sing from director Greg Kwedar. Domingo stars as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a participant in New York State’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program which is run out of the film’s eponymous prison and sees the incarcerated producing and acting in stage productions.
An accomplished actor, writer, director and producer, Domingo’s high-profile screen credits include Fear the Walking Dead, Euphoria, Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Color Purple, The Butler, Candyman and Zola. Through his production company Edith Prods., he’s shepherded a number of projects including executive producing It’s What’s Inside. The film hit Netflix this past weekend after being acquired by in a blockbuster deal out of the Sundance Film Festival. Domingo next stars in Netflix’s limited series The Madness, out Nov. 28.
During a prior interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Domingo opened up about how his recent successes have impacted how he wants to use his voice and visibility. “Whether it’s working on Rustin or playing other civil rights leaders, I am more mindful of how my voice has been used as an artist on all these platforms. I am starting to understand how I’m most useful by telling complex, interesting stories of marginalized people. And I never want to do the same thing twice,” he explained. “My work has become very purposeful and mindful, and I realized that that’s a great thing for me.”
The 36th edition of NewFest runs Oct. 10-22 in-person throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn and streaming virtually throughout the United States.
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