Variety to honor Lena Waithe at Palm Springs International Film Festival brunch

Emmy-award winning writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe will be honored by Variety at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Waithe will receive the Creative Impact in Producing Award on January 3 as part of Variety's annual "10 Directors to Watch" brunch at the Parker Palm Springs.

Waite's most recent project was as a screenwriter and producer for Universal Pictures and Makready's Queen & Slim. The film received the Impact Award and was listed as one of the top 10 Best Films of the Year by the African-American Film Critics Association.

"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."

Other honorees of the brunch announced so far include Robert De Niro and Todd Phillips.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival starts on January 2 and runs through January 13. Visit psfilmfest.org for more information.