It was a memorable, festive evening last night at the 48th Chaplin Award Gala presented by Film at Lincoln Center. This year’s honoree, Viola Davis, became only the third CEGOT (Chaplin, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winner), joining Audrey Hepburn and Mike Nichols.
On hand to honor Davis were Meryl Streep (the 35th Chaplin Award recipient and Davis’ co-star in Doubt), Jessica Chastain (Davis’s co-star in The Help and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), Jayme Lawson (Davis’s co-star in The Woman King), Gina Prince-Bythewood (director of The Woman King), George C. Wolfe (director of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Nights in Rodanthe), and, presenting Davis with her award, her Widows director, Steve McQueen.
In addition to last night’s festivities, Film Comment Co-Deputy Editor Devika Girish recently interviewed Davis for the latest episode of the Film Comment Podcast, digging into some of the most memorable on-screen moments of Davis’s career, as well as how she shapes her formidable performances by being a keen observer of life. Listen to the episode below!
After scrolling through the photos and listening to the podcast above, read Soraya Nadia McDonald’s extended essay on Viola Davis for Film Comment here.
