Lena Waithe continues her winning streak.
The Emmy award-winning writer will be honored with the Creative Impact in Producing Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January.
Waithe’s big screen debut as screenwriter and producer has been with Queen & Slim, which dropped last month. But most of her work can be seen on TV on such shows as Master of None, The Chi, Boomerang and the highly-anticipated Twenties.
Earlier this year, it was also announced that Waithe had signed on to develop a new series for HBO with Kid Fury. The Chicago native will executive produce the untitled series, which has been called a dark comedy following a 20-something gay Black man juggling adulthood and life in New York City as he struggles with depression.
“Lena Waithe is one of the most prolific writer-actor-producers working in Hollywood right now, with an extraordinary ability to get projects with black filmmakers and talent produced for film and television,” says Claudia Eller, Variety editor-in-chief. “With Queen & Slim, Lena wrote and produced a story that has been central to the conversation regarding representation and storytelling in the Black community. Her determination to get these stories told is inspiring.”
The award is part of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, presented by AT&T.
Congrats to Waithe!