Texas Film Awards to Honor Jonathan Majors, Michael De Luca and Janet and John Pierson

The Austin Film Society will honor Jonathan Majors, Michael De Luca and Janet and John Pierson at the 21st annual Texas Film Awards on March 3.

Cinephiles are invited to unite at the fundraising gala, which will be held at Luck, TX, Willie Nelson’s movie set-turned-event venue in the Hill Country.

Texas City native, comedian and actress Edi Patterson, recognizable for her performances in films and series such as Knives Out, The Righteous Gemstones and Vice Principals, will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the occasion.

Actor Jonathan Majors is the 2023 recipient of the Rising Star Award, a prize celebrating an actor who has already made a lasting impact early in their career. Raised in Cedar Hill, TX, Majors’ filmography includes Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall, Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and the series Lovecraft Country. Majors most recently starred in the Korean War epic Devotion alongside December 2022 Tribeza cover star and fellow Texan, Glen Powell.

His talents have earned him both Emmy and Critic’s Choice Award nominations. Moviegoers can next see the venerable performer in leading roles in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Creed III, both opening in theaters early this year. Previous winners of the Rising Star Award include Kaitlyn Dever, Jesse Plemons and Tye Sheridan, among others.

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Warner Bros. Pictures Group Co-Chair and CEO Michael De Luca will be honored for his impact on global cinema as a creative producer and executive. Currently a resident of Fort Worth, his career spans three decades, with an array of successes and impressive titles on his résumé. De Luca has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture for The Social Network, Moneyball and Captain Phillips. His accomplishments in the industry have landed him four nominations for several Producers Guild of America Awards and Emmy Awards, as well as a recent win for the PGA Milestone Award.

Janet and John Pierson, known as the “first couple” of independent cinema, will be celebrated for their immeasurable contributions to film culture. Their early work as exhibitors and producer’s reps and financiers for independent artists in the 1980s and 1990s helped define the cultural moment, boosting the careers of filmmakers like Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Michael Moore, Kevin Smith and more, which John chronicled in his 1995 book, Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes.

After moving to Austin in 2004, John joined the Radio, Television and Film Department at the University of Texas, and in 2008, Janet took on the role of Head of SXSW Film Festival, where she led the event to huge success by discovering talent and launching films. She now works as Director Emeritus of SXSW Film & TV Festival, and the couple continues to devote themselves to uplifting artists and capturing the zeitgeist of today through storytelling.

The Texas Film Awards directly support regional filmmakers and sustains Austin Film Society’s efforts to catalyze Austin and Texas as creative hubs. The night will include red carpet arrivals, an awards ceremony inducting the members of the Texas Film Hall of Fame and an auction with curated packages for Texas film and TV fans.

Get tickets and find more information about Austin’s biggest cinema gathering on the AFS website.