SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (Aug. 25, 2025)—The 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival announced today that global icon and multihyphenate Jennifer Lopez will receive the Virtuoso Award in honor of her performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman and her trailblazing career across film, television, music, and entertainment. Lopez will receive the award following a live recording of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, hosted by THR Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg, in front of a festival audience on Saturday, Nov. 1. Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival — the largest university-run film festival in the world — returns for its 28th year Saturday, Oct. 25 through Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to welcome Jennifer Lopez to Savannah,” said Christina Routhier, Senior Executive Director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. “Her performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman is a revelation and having an artist of her global stature join us is a landmark moment for our festival and our community. Her influence across entertainment is unmatched, and we’re thrilled to celebrate her multifaceted career on our stage with The Hollywood Reporter. This is also an extraordinary opportunity for SCAD’s acting and film and television students. Lopez’s career offers invaluable lessons in versatility, resilience, and creative vision. Moments like these not only inspire, but they also elevate our entire program, showcasing the exceptional talent and ambition that define SCAD.”
Jennifer Lopez is an award-winning actress, producer, singer, and businesswoman who has cemented her place as one of the most influential entertainers of all time. A Time 100 honoree, Forbes’ Most Powerful Celebrity, and the first to grace People magazine’s cover for Most Beautiful Woman in the World, Lopez is the only woman to have a No. 1 album and No. 1 film in the same week. Her career spans more than 35 films and over 80 million records sold, with more than 18 billion music video views and 15 billion global streams. Her record-breaking streaming reign continued in 2025 with the premiere of Unstoppable, which soared to the No. 1 spot globally on Prime Video, alongside recent films like Atlas and The Mother underscoring her unparalleled streaming dominance.
Beyond the screen, Lopez has earned accolades across every sector of entertainment, including the MTV Generation Award, Billboard Icon Award, and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Her business ventures include Nuyorican Productions, a first-look deal with Netflix, and the creation of Limitless Labs, a philanthropic effort supporting Latina entrepreneurs across the U.S. Her philanthropic passion continues with support of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, and action as a global advocate for girls and women at the United Nations Foundation.
Written for the screen and directed by Bill Condon, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a visually stunning and emotionally charged movie musical adaptation starring Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, and Tonatiuh. Both Lopez and Luna also serve as executive producers. Valentín (Diego Luna), a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). Condon’s visionary new adaptation is based on the acclaimed 1976 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Argentinian writer Manuel Puig and the 1985 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical hit of the same name by playwright Terrence McNally and composer/lyricist team John Kander and Fred Ebb. The film will be released by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on Friday, Oct. 10.
Festival passes for 2025 are available now. Individual event tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 3.
About the SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 65,000 people attend the eight-day festival. The festival has become a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, hosting exclusive screenings, competition films, feature films, documentaries, shorts, animated films, panel discussions, and workshops at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces. Presented in Savannah, a premier film hub in the Southeast, the festival promotes quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.
Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @savfilmfest. For additional information and tickets, visit filmfest.scad.edu.
SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more.
Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2024 study found that 99% of recent SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. Visit scad.edu.
About the SCAD School of Film and Acting
With resources that rival Hollywood studios, award-winning professors, stunning locations, two
professionally run casting offices, and stellar film and television festivals, the SCAD School of Film and Acting is the ideal place for students to launch into the multibillion film and television industry. The SCAD acting, cinematography, editing, film and television, production design, and sound design programs prepare students to command roles on stage, screen, and behind the scenes through instruction that includes real-world experience on productions for short films, live performances, TV sitcoms, dramatic series, music videos, commercials, and more.
Additionally, SCAD is making a significant investment in the futures of the university’s School of Film and Acting and School of Animation and Motion students with the completion of a Hollywood-style film backlot at Savannah Film Studios. The landmark 11-acre, three-phase expansion includes the backlot, a next-generation LED volume stage for virtual productions — one of two owned and operated by the university, along with a second at SCAD Atlanta’s Digital Media Center — and new soundstages, among other features. The expanded Savannah Film Studios is the largest and most comprehensive university film studio complex in the nation.
During the 2024 festival, SCAD unveiled a magnificent new 17,500 sq. ft. production and costume design building next to the Savannah Film Studios backlot. This state-of-the-art facility will include space for costume design sewing labs, a fabulous industrial garment conveyor, and massive production design scene shops for building, welding, painting, and much more. This facility further highlights the university’s commitment to collaborations across filmmaking disciplines.
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