Colman Domingo to receive the 2025 Lumière Award at the 34th Philadelphia Film Festival
The Emmy-winning actor and West Philly native is being honored for his contributions to cinema and to Philadelphia.
As the 34th Philadelphia Film Festival wraps up on Sunday, organizers have a parting gift.
On Friday, the Philadelphia Film Society, which is the parent organization for the festival, announced that Emmy-winning actor and West Philly’s very own Colman Domingo is the recipient of the society’s 2025 Lumière Award.
The award honors Domingo’s “extraordinary contributions” as an actor, writer, and director, as well as his deep ties to Philadelphia, according to a statement.
“[Domingo’s] impressive ability to channel raw emotion, compassion, conviction, intensity, humor, and charisma into each of his roles is truly remarkable,” Andrew Greenblatt, CEO of the Philadelphia Film Society, said in the statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to honor Colman Domingo with our 2025 Lumière Award.”
Domingo grew up in the city with his stepfather, Clarence Bowles, who sanded hardwood floors, and his mother, Edith Bowles, who worked in a bank. He attended Temple University, where he studied journalism before dropping out at 21 to make headlines of his own as a stage actor.
In the years since, he has emerged as a transformative talent on the Broadway stage and in Hollywood. He starred as Billy Flynn in the Broadway revival of Chicago in 2010 and was nominated the following year for a Tony for his work on the musical The Scottsboro Boys.
His starring roles in films such as the 2023 biopic Rustin and the 2024 drama Sing Sing earned him consecutive Academy Award best actor nominations.
Domingo joins former Lumière Award honorees M. Night Shyamalan, Bruce Willis, Adam McKay, and Lee Daniels, who were all recognized for their cinematic achievements and meaningful contribution to the City of Brotherly Love.
Along with Domingo’s honor, PFS presented its Audrey Evans Impact Award for Social Change to boxer Christy Salters and the film Christy.
The award is named after Evans, a pioneering pediatric oncologist and Ronald McDonald House cofounder, who worked for decades at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.