Cerermony - Producers Guild Awards 2023 : Till will receive the Stanley Kramer award

By Mulder, 19 december 2022

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today that the United Artists and Orion Pictures film Till will be honored with the 2023 Stanley Kramer Award. Till will receive the award at the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2023, at The Beverly Hilton.

The Stanley Kramer Award honors a production, producer, or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues. Producer and director Stanley Kramer is responsible for some of the most pivotal social issue films in American history, including Inherit the Wind, On the Beach, The Defiant Ones, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Past recipients of the Stanley Kramer Award include: Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, Get Out, Loving, Fruitvale Station, The Normal Heart, The Hunting Ground, An Inconvenient Truth, and Hotel Rwanda.

Till is a profoundly emotional and cinematic film about the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. In Mamie’s poignant journey of grief turned to action, we see the universal power of a mother’s ability to change the world.

“Till is a remarkable film and an incredible achievement for producers Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly, and Fredrick Zollo as well as director Chinonye Chukwu,” said Producers Guild of America Presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line. “This team fought for years to see Mamie Till-Mobley’s story told on the big screen, venerating her legacy and the enduring love she had for her son, Emmett. We are humbled and thrilled to bestow this award on a film that compassionately depicts the events, and mother-son bond, that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Till inspires all of us to work towards realizing Mamie’s purpose, justice for her son Emmett and all those who have been harmed by hatred and prejudice."

"We are very grateful to the Producers Guild for honoring our film Till with this prestigious award as Stanley Kramer was a visionary filmmaker whose films and life inspired us all,” said producers Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly, and Fredrick Zollo in a joint statement. “Our film honors the legacy of Mamie Till-Mobley and her son Emmett, and all of those who came before and after them who fight for the pursuit of justice here in the United States and around the world.”

Till is produced by Keith Beauchamp, p.g.a., Barbara Broccoli, p.g.a., Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly, Fredrick Zollo, p.g.a. Till is directed by Chinonye Chukwu and written by Michael Reilly & Keith Beauchamp and Chinonye Chukwu. It stars Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg.

The 2023 Producers Guild Awards Event Chairs are Mike Farah Chief Executive Officer at Funny Or Die and Joe Farrell, Chief Creative Officer at Funny Or Die. The 2023 Producers Guild of America Awards are produced by Anchor Street Collective for the Producers Guild of America. Branden Chapman is Executive Producer, Carleen Cappelletti is Co-Executive producer, Matt Ullian and Jane Sarkin of Boldface Partners are talent executives, and Jim Piccirillo is Director. The PGA Awards team also includes Diane Salerno (Six Degrees Global) managing sponsorship, and the PGA’s PR agency of record, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis for PR.

Sponsors of the 2023 Producers Guild Awards include Cadillac, the Official Vehicle, Delta Air Lines, the Official Airline, Glenfiddich Scotch, and GreenSlate, a PGA Partner.

Synopsis :
A young widow raising her 14-year-old son alone, Mamie Till-Mobley is also the only black woman working for the US Air Force in Chicago. When Emmett is murdered for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi in 1955, Mamie shakes things up by insisting that her son's coffin be left open at the funeral and that public opinion understand the horror he suffered. A strong gesture to refuse oppression and hatred. She also gave Jet magazine the exclusive rights to publish the photos of her mutilated son, so that the whole world was moved by this particularly atrocious lynching. Mamie Till courageously joined the civil rights movement and became an active activist for the NAACP, the leading African American advocacy organisation, calling for greater social justice and access to education for the black community.

Till
Directed by Chinonye Chukwu
Written by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, Chinonye Chukwu
Produced by Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly, Frederick Zollo
Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg
Cinematography : Bobby Bukowski
Edited by Ron Patane
Music by Abel Korzeniowski
Production companies : Orion Pictures, Eon Productions, Frederick Zollo Productions, Whoop, Inc.
Distributed by United Artists Releasing (United States), Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates : October 1, 2022 (NYFF), October 14, 2022 (United States), January 6, 2023 (United Kingdom), February 8, 2023 (France)
Running time : 130 minutes

(Source : press release)