SCAD Savannah Film Festival to Honor Director Jon M. Chu with Vanguard Director Award
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (Sept.4, 2025) — The 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival announced today that acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu will receive the Vanguard Director Award in recognition of his visionary storytelling. Chu will be honored on Sunday, Oct. 26, during an award presentation that will include a conversation about his career—including this year's epic conclusion to Universal Pictures' global Wicked phenomenon, Wicked: For Good — and will feature select clips from Chu's filmography. Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival — the largest university-run film festival in the world — returns for its 28th year Saturday, Oct. 25 through Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
"Jon M. Chu embodies what it means to be a Vanguard," said Christina Routhier, senior executive director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. "From guiding global icons with a steady, inspired hand, to collaborating with authors, designers, and musicians at the highest level, Chu's vision turns cultural moments into cinematic milestones. For SCAD students, his career is a masterclass in how storytelling shapes culture, with this conversation offering an inside look into his groundbreaking contributions to worldwide cinema. We are excited to honor a storyteller whose artistry will continue to inspire audiences and empower the next generation of filmmakers."
Known for his visually stunning blockbuster films and kinetic work across various genres, Chu carries a unique storytelling ability that has earned him the honor of inclusion on The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 list as well as Variety's New Hollywood Leaders. Most recently, Chu directed Universal Pictures' critically acclaimed Wicked, starring Academy Award-nominated actors Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, which garnered 10 Oscar nominations, among them Best Picture.
This year, Chu helmed Wicked: For Good, starring Erivo, Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum. The film is set to release on Friday, Nov. 21. Next, Chu is attached to direct a highly anticipated biopic for Britney Spears as well as Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! His additional recent projects include the critically acclaimed adaptation of the musical In the Heights and the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which was nominated for numerous awards, including a SAG Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a PGA Award. It was the first contemporary studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast and the film opened a new chapter in Asian American representation in Hollywood. Chu's previous films also include G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Now You See Me 2, Justin Bieber's Never Say Never, and many more projects which, overall, have grossed more than $1.3 billion in the worldwide box office. He also penned a memoir, Viewfinder, following his journey from growing up in Silicon Valley to transitioning to Hollywood and helming major studio projects.
Festival passes for 2025 are available now. Individual event tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 3.
About the SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 75,000 people attend the eight-day festival. The festival has become a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, hosting exclusive screenings, competition films, feature films, documentaries, shorts, animated films, panel discussions, and workshops at SCAD's historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces. Presented in Savannah, a premier film hub in the Southeast, the festival promotes quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.
Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @savfilmfest. For additional information and tickets, visit filmfest.scad.edu.
SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2025 study found that 99% of recent SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.
About the SCAD School of Film and Acting
With resources that rival Hollywood studios, award-winning professors, stunning locations, two professionally run casting offices, and stellar film and television festivals, the SCAD School of Film and Acting is the ideal place for students to launch into the multibillion film and television industry. The SCAD acting, cinematography, editing, film and television, production design, and sound design programs prepare students to command roles on stage, screen, and behind the scenes through instruction that includes real-world experience on productions for short films, live performances, TV sitcoms, dramatic series, music videos, commercials, and more.
Additionally, SCAD is making a significant investment in the futures of the university's School of Film and Acting and School of Animation and Motion students with the completion of a Hollywood-style film backlot at SCAD Film Studios. The landmark 11-acre, three-phase expansion includes the backlot, a next-generation LED volume stage for virtual productions — one of two owned and operated by the university, along with a second at SCAD Atlanta's SCAD Film Studios — and new soundstages, among other features. The expanded SCAD Film Studios is the largest and most comprehensive university film studio complex in the nation.
During the 2024 festival, SCAD unveiled a magnificent new 17,500 sq. ft. production and costume design building next to the SCAD Film Studios backlot. This state-of-the-art facility includes space for costume design sewing labs, a fabulous industrial garment conveyor, and massive production design scene shops for building, welding, painting, and much more. This facility further highlights the university's commitment to collaborations across filmmaking disciplines.
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