LOVE FOR ALL

Andra Day and Michaela Coel To Receive Honors at Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival

Andra Day and Michaela Coel will be recognized at this year's Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival on April 17. The weeklong festival seeks to exhibit and celebrate the cultural and creative achievements from QTBIPOC creators through a week of screenings, panels, workshops, and awards.
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Andra Day and Michaela Coel will be recognized at this year’s Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival on April 17. The weeklong festival seeks to exhibit and celebrate the cultural and creative achievements from QTBIPOC creators through a week of screenings, panels, workshops, and awards.

Andra Day and Michaela Coel will be recognized at this year's Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival on April 17. The weeklong festival seeks to exhibit and celebrate the cultural and creative achievements from QTBIPOC creators through a week of screenings, panels, workshops, and awards.
Steve Vas / Featureflash / Shutterstock

Oscar nominee and star of Lee DanielsThe United States vs. Billie Holiday, Day will receive the James Schamus Ally Award for her “alliance to the LGBTQIA+ community.” Her powerful ballad, “Rise Up” has since become an anthem in the battle against adversity.

Chewing Gum star and creator of I May Destroy You, Michaela Coel will be honored with the Fusion Achievement Award.

“Coel’s work in ‘Chewing Gum,’ ‘I May Destroy You,’ and more portrays complex characters who have helped open the door for more empathetic conversations about the issues facing members of this QTBIPOC community,” festival executive director Damien Navarro said in a statement.

Day and Coel have both been making headlines in recent months for their powerful performances onscreen. Offscreen, the two have used their voices as Black women to fight for the representation and creative expression of marginalized communities.

“Outfest Fusion believes that honoring one of the most incredible, talented, and inspiring voices and storytellers of our generation will inspire Outfest Fusion’s Black creators, across all mediums, and also send a strong message within the industry that we need to include, support, and finance exponentially more independent voices,” Navarro said.

Outfest Fusion Festival will take place from April 16-20. Click here to find out more.