‘Till’ Honored With Stanley Kramer Award At PGA; Danielle Deadwyler Says “We Need More Stories That Showcase Diversity”

Till was honored by the PGA on Saturday night with the Stanley Kramer Award.

The film’s producer and co-writer Keith Beauchamp accepted the award and said, “We dedicate this film to Mamie Till-Mobley, who in her heroism chose to reframe her grief in order to raise the consciousness of mankind.”

“I was 10 years old when I first heard the story of Emmett Till,” Beauchamp recalled. “The journey to this story has been a humbling and rewarding experience.”

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He thanked the family of Emmett Till and Till director Chinoye Chukwu, along with the “exceptionally talented” Danielle Deadwyler. This last comment received an especially huge cheer from the audience, perhaps because Deadwyler was shut out of the Best Actress Oscar race.

Beauchamp also thanked his “dear friend and mentor Mamie Till-Mobley, whose faith in me is my greatest honor.”

Deadwyler plays Mamie in Till, which follows the aftermath of Emmett Till’s murder in 1955 from a brutal lynching. His mother vowed to expose the racism behind the attack while working to have those involved brought to justice.

Deadwyler was onstage Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton to present the award, calling Till an example of “using art to raise consciousness and awareness to help create change through action. It is so important that we collectively continue to create and nurture important subject matter, even if it means we must fight with an especial vigor and passion. We need more stories that showcase diversity across skin color, religion, gender, sexuality and ability.”

Till producer Barbara Broccoli has been quite vocal about how upset she is that AMPAS overlooked the movie with Oscar noms, telling Deadline’s Baz Bamigboye, “They looked away.”

The Orion and Eon theatrical release had a screening at the White House on February 16 with President Joe Biden saying, ““To everyone involved in this film, to paraphrase Maya Angelou: People will never forget how you make them feel.”

“People will never forget how you make them feel,” Biden added last week. “You know, you have that artist’s gifts of making us feel our common humanity.”

Till was nominated at the BAFTAs for Deadwyler’s performance. She’s also up at the SAG Awards on Sunday for Best Actress – Feature.