SCAD announces Laurence Fishburne to receive lifetime achievement award at 2021 SCAD aTVfest
ATLANTA, Ga. — The Savannah College of Art and Design proudly announces that Laurence Fishburne will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 SCAD aTVfest. Now in its ninth year, the university's annual signature event celebrating all things television and streaming will be a virtual experience taking place Feb. 4-6, 2021.
Fishburne will join previously announced honorees: Bryan Cranston (Your Honor) will receive the Icon Award, Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha) will receive the Spotlight Award, Javicia Leslie (Batwoman) will receive the Rising Star Award, Chrissy Metz (This Is Us) will receive the Vanguard Award, Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country) will receive the Distinguished Performance Award, and Kenan Thompson (Kenan) will receive the Virtuoso Award. Honorees are scheduled to attend virtual screenings and participate in conversations regarding their performances and careers. The festival will also showcase programming from ABC, Amazon, Apple TV+, CBS, The CW, Freeform, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Hulu, National Geographic, Netflix, NBC, OWN, SHOWTIME®, and more!
Laurence Fishburne has achieved an impressive body of work not only as an actor but also as a producer and director. Acting since the age of 10, he starred on the daily television drama One Life to Live before making his feature film debut at age 12 in Cornbread, Earl and Me. At age 15, he was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's classic Apocalypse Now. Fishburne can currently be seen alongside Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross in ABC's Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated comedy series Black-ish, for which he serves as executive producer. Previously, he starred on the hit series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, appeared in the NBC thriller series Hannibal, and won an Emmy Award for his role in the drama TriBeCa. His many film credits include Boyz n the Hood, Gardens of Stone, The Color Purple, School Daze, King of New York, The Matrix trilogy, and his Academy Award-nominated performance as Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do With It. Fishburne also received an NAACP Image Award and Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for TV film The Tuskegee Airmen. In addition to his expansive film and television work, Fishburne won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theatre World, and Tony awards for his portrayal of Sterling Johnson in Two Trains Running in 1992 and earned a second Tony nomination in 2011 for the one-man show Thurgood. In 2000, Fishburne founded Cinema Gypsy Productions with his longtime manager and producing partner Helen Sugland. They have produced numerous award-winning and nominated projects, including Thurgood, Five Fingers, Akeelah and the Bee, Once in the Life, and more. Fishburne has also served as an ambassador for UNICEF since 1996 and was honored by Harvard University as Artist of the Year in 2007 for his humanitarianand performing arts contributions.
About SCAD aTVfest
As Georgia's only festival dedicated to television, SCAD aTVfest celebrates the best of design, creativity, and innovation in television and streaming media. Now in its ninth year, this international television festival brings together professionals from all aspects of content production, including broadcast, cable, web, social media, and advertising, to discuss current industry trends and showcase the top shows on TV. Traditionally held in Atlanta, this year's virtual presentation, Feb. 4-6, 2021, continues the festival's legacy of excellence. Past SCAD aTVfest honorees include Megan Boone, David Boreanaz, Zach Braff, Connie Britton, Kim Cattrall, Matt Czuchry, Jenna Elfman, Ellie Kemper, Justin Hartley, Terrence Howard, Eric McCormack, Jennifer Morrison, Christina Ricci, and Hunter Schafer as well as the casts of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, How to Get Away with Murder, The Walking Dead, Black Lightning, and many more acclaimed shows.
Visit atvfest.com for a full event schedule and follow the festival on Facebook at facebook.com/atvfest and on Instagram @scadfilm and @scaddotedu. Connect with SCAD and aTVfest by using the hashtags #SCAD and #aTVfest.
SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 academic degree programs in more than 40 majors across its locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga.; Lacoste, France; and online via SCAD eLearning and SCADnow.
SCAD enrolls approximately 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The innovative SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and other advanced learning resources, and affords students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned research lab and prototype generator. In 2019, the prestigious Red Dot Design Rankings placed SCAD as the No. 1 university in the U.S. and in the top two universities in the Americas and Europe for the fourth consecutive year. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. In a study of Spring 2019 SCAD graduates, 99% were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.
For more information, visit scad.edu.
Media contacts
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Michelle Gavin
Executive Director of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing, SCAD
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