Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” receives the Stanley Kramer Award at the 2023 Producers Guild Awards

The main drama of Chinonye Chukwu To for MGM’s Orion and United Artists Releasing will be honored with the Stanley Kramer Award at the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards to be held on February 25, 2023 at The Beverly Hilton.

Named after the director and producer responsible for some of the most important social films in American history, including Inherit the wind, At the beach, The insurgents and Guess who’s at dinner — The Stanley Kramer Award recognizes a production, producer or other individual whose action or contribution raises public awareness of important social issues. Previous award winners include Rita Moreno and Jane Fonda, as well as films such as Leave, Loving, Fruitvale station, The normal heart, The hunting ground, An inconvenient truth and Hotel Rwanda.

Written by Michael Reilly & Keith Beauchamp and Chukwu, To tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) whose quest for justice for her 14-year-old son Emmett Louis Till (Jalyn Hall) became a stirring moment that led to the birth of the civil rights movement. Emmett Till, of course, was the African-American teenager who was kidnapped, tortured and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of flirting with white woman Carolyn Bryant and became a posthumous civil rights icon. Mamie decided to have an open casket at Emmett’s funeral and did jet The magazine that published David Jackson’s funeral photos was driven by her motivation to make sure people everywhere knew what happened to her son.

Released in theaters on October 14, following its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, Deadwyler later won the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. To also with Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett and Whoopi Goldberg. Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Reilly and Frederick Zollo acted as producers.

“To is a remarkable film and an incredible achievement for producers Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Levine, Michael Reilly and Frederick Zollo and director Chinonye Chukwu,” said PGA Presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line. “This team has fought for years to bring Mamie Till-Mobley’s story to the big screen and honor her legacy and the enduring love she had for her son, Emmett. We are humbled and excited to present this award to a film that compassionately portrays the events and mother-son bond that set the civil rights movement in motion. To inspire us all to work towards Mamie’s goal, justice for her son Emmett and all those harmed by hate and prejudice.

“We are very grateful to the Producers Guild for recognizing our film To with this prestigious award because Stanley Kramer was a visionary filmmaker whose films and life inspired us all,” producers Beauchamp, Broccoli, Goldberg, Levine, Reilly and Zollo added in a joint statement. “Our film honors the legacy of Mamie Till-Mobley and her son Emmett and all who fought before and after them in the pursuit of justice here in the United States and around the world.”

Anchor Street Collective will produce the 2023 PGA Awards for the Producers Guild of America, with Branden Chapman as executive producer and Carleen Cappelletti as co-EP. This year’s event chairs are Funny or Die CEO Mike Farah and CCO Joe Farrell.