Italian
Zoe Saldana will receive the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. The “Emilia Perez” actor becomes the second recipient of the award, following Colman Domingo’s inaugural win last year.
The recognition comes as Saldana also competes in the Supporting Actress of the Year category for Jacques Audiard’s musical drama “Emilia Perez.” Her career spans major franchises including “Avatar,” “Star Trek” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with starring roles in four of the highest-grossing films ever made.
Saldana’s recent work includes producing and starring in TV series “Special Ops: Lioness” and “The Absence of Eden,” focusing on U.S.-Mexico border trafficking. Earlier this year, she shared the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with “Emilia Perez” co-stars Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.
Popular on Variety “I’m honored and thrilled to receive the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation from the London Film Critics’ Circle, a group I greatly admire and respect,” Saldana said. “This has been a wonderful year for film with so many striking and indelible roles for women. To have had the opportunity to work in this industry for twenty-five years has been a privilege and to perform the role of Rita in ‘Emilia Perez’ has been the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Critics’ Circle chair Rich Cline noted Saldana’s impact across genres, from motion-capture work in “Avatar” to producing female-driven narratives.
Malcolm, a longtime Critics’ Circle member and former president who died in 2023 at age 91, served as chief critic for The Guardian and The Evening Standard, and was a former director of the London Film Festival and governor of the British Film Institute.
The awards, voted on by 208 U.K. critics, consider films released in British cinemas or streaming platforms between mid-February 2024 and mid-February 2025. Sean Baker’s “Anora” and Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” lead this year’s nominations with seven nods each.
The ceremony takes place Feb. 2 at London’s May Fair Hotel. Hosted by critic Mark Kermode, it will stream live on the Critics’ Circle YouTube channel.
