Cinema Unbound Awards

Emcee and entertainer duo Izohnny on a stage wearing sparkly outfits with a colorful background.

The Cinema Unbound Awards is an annual event that honors artistic innovators and celebrates multi-faceted folks working at the intersection of art and cinema who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. 

Proceeds from the Cinema Unbound Awards benefit PAM CUT’s year-round youth programs, artist services, and exhibitions—directly supporting the programs that embrace artistic exploration and contribute to a more vibrant, accessible, and diverse media-arts ecosystem.

Discover past Cinema Unbound honorees


Past honorees include:

2023

  • Guillermo del Toro (Academy Award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and author; Pan’s LabyrinthThe Shape of Water; and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
  • Jacqueline Stewart (Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
  • Gregory Gourdet (celebrated chef, best-selling author, and television personality; Sousòl; Kann; Top Chef)
  • Fred Armisen (comedian, writer, producer, and musician; Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, Documentary Now)
  • Jon Raymond (award-winning author and screenwriter; The Half-LifeRain DragonFreebird, and DenialWendy and LucyMeek’s Cutoff, First Cow, Showing Up; Mildred Pierce)
  • Tessa Thompson (critically acclaimed actress and producer; Thor, Creed, Selma; Dear White People)

2022

  • Carrie Brownstein (writer, director, and musician; Sleater-Kinney, Portlandia)
  • Reinaldo Marcus Green (writer, director, and producer; King Richard)
  • Arthur Lewis (Partner and Creative Director of Fine Arts and the UTA Artist Space)
  • Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Academy Award-winning filmmakers; Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerseThe Lego MovieThe Mitchells vs. the Machines;Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.)
  • Shirin Neshat (award-winning artist and filmmaker)
  • Roger Ross Williams (award-winning director, producer and writer; Life, Animated)

2021

  • Steve McQueen (Academy Award-winning artist and filmmaker, 12 Years a Slave)
  • Garrett Bradley (narrative, documentary, and experimental filmmaker)
  • Gus Van Sant (filmmaker, painter, photographer, and musician; MilkGood Will HuntingMy Own Private IdahoDrugstore Cowboy)
  • Mollye Asher (Gotham Award and Film Independent Spirit Awards-winning producer; Nomadland; The Rider)
  • Alex Bulkley (Academy Award, Emmy, and Annie award-winning producer and co-founder of  ShadowMachine)

2020

  • Todd Haynes (Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning writer and director; Carol, Far from Heaven, Mildred Pierce)
  • John Cameron Mitchell (Tony Award-winning writer, director, and actor; Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Anthem: Homunculus, Shrill)
  • Julie Goldman (Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning producer of over 50 feature documentaries, including Life, Animated, Buck, Weiner)
  • Michel Reilhac (Filmmaker, Experiential Artist and Head of VR, Venice Biennale)
  • Rose Bond (Internationally-recognized, large-scale, site-specific animations)
  • Rajendra Roy (The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, MoMA)
  • Amanda Needham (Emmy-winning costume designer; Portlandia, Shrill)

Past presenters include:

2023

  • Doug Jones
  • Ava DuVernay
  • Padma Lakshmi
  • Lance Bangs & Corin Tucker
  • Todd Haynes
  • Boots Riley

2022

  • Jeff Goldblum
  • Will Smith
  • Tasha Smith 
  • Peter Lord
  • Isabella Rossellini
  • Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

2021

  • Charles Burnett
  • Rajendra Roy
  • Paige Powell, Thomas Lauderdale, Walt Curtis
  • Chloe Zhao
  • Guillermo del Toro