Zoe Saldaña, star of the critically acclaimed Emilia Pérez has been named the second recipient of the London Critics’ Circle’s Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation. She is also nominated for Supporting Actress of the Year for her performance in the film. Saldaña will receive the award at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday, 2nd February 2025. Actor and filmmaker Colman Domingo was the inaugural recipient.
“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,” says Saldaña. “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 25 years has been a privilege and to perform the role of Rita in Emilia Pérez has been the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“Critics have long been fans of Zoe Saldaña’s ground-breaking work,” says Rich Cline, chair of London Film Critics’ Circle, “from her astonishingly nuanced turns in genre pieces like Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy to her pioneering role producing complex female narratives. And in Emilia Pérez she wowed us with a beautifully nuanced, full-bodied performance from the heart.”
The award is named in memory of the legendary critic Derek Malcolm, who died at 91 in August 2023. Malcolm was a long-standing member of the Critics’ Circle and served a term as its president. In addition, he was chief critic for The Guardian and The Evening Standard; along with host of The Film Club on the BBC, book publisher, honorary president of Fipresci, a former director of London Film Festival and governor of the British Film Institute.
The nominations for the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards were announced yesterday, with Sean Baker’s Anora and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist leading with seven nominations each. Edward Berger’s Conclave and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance followed with six nominations each, while Emilia Pérez gained five nominations. Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and Rich Peppiat’s Kneecap both earned four nominations.
The winners in all categories will be announced at London’s May Fair Hotel on 2nd February 2025 during a ceremony hosted by critic Mark Kermode.