New York, NY (January 29, 2024) –Today The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced that Academy Award-nominated actor, producer, and director Colman Domingo will join the organization’s Board of Directors. As the newest member, the star of “Rustin” and “The Color Purple” will work with The Gotham on their mission to celebrate and nurture independent film and media creators by providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition.

“As long-time admirers of Colman’s brilliant acting and dedication to giving back to our community through mentorship and education, we are thrilled to welcome him to The Gotham’s extraordinary Board of Directors,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “We know that his experience, vision, and undeniable dedication to the craft of filmmaking will help us nurture independent creators and propel the industry to new heights.” 

“With its rich history of elevating original voices and supporting independent film, I couldn’t be more excited to dive into my work with The Gotham,” said Colman Domingo. “I look forward to working alongside some of the most influential and passionate people in film as we champion independent creatives and the stories they strive to share with the world.”

Domingo will join a board that includes Focus Features Vice Chairman Jason Cassidy and actor, producer, and director Riley Keough, whose additions were announced in November of 2023. Other members of The Gotham’s Board of Directors include Nancy Abraham, Anthony Bregman, Jeb Brody, Gerry Byrne, Alina Cho, Dan Crown, Mark D’Arcy (Director Emeritus), Amy Emmerich, Philipp Engelhorn, Kai Falkenberg, James Janowitz, Franklin Leonard, Stephanie March, Soledad O’Brien, Dee Poku, Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar, John Schmidt, Lisa Taback, Teddy Schwarzman, Drew Wilson, and Celia Winchester.  The complete list of The Gotham’s Board of Directors with bios can be found here.

About Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo is a 2024 Bafta, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, Astra and Satellite Award nominee for his starring role as Bayard Rustin in the Netflix and Higher Ground film Rustin. Colman received the 2024 “Spotlight Actor” award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama, a Hollywood Critics Association Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series/Anthology, and an Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his role as Ali in the HBO series Euphoria. Recently, Colman starred as Mister in the Warner Brothers, Oprah Winfrey, and Steven Spielberg produced The Color Purple, which he received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture as well as a Critics Choice Association Ensemble Award for. He will next be seen in Focus Features’ Drive Aways Dolls, and A24’s Sing Sing directed by Greg Kwedar which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival – where he received the prestigious TIFF Tribute Award for Distinguished Career Achievement. Later this year, he stars in the Netflix limited series The Madness. In 2023, Domingo was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Production of a Play for the Pulitzer Prize winning play Fat Ham on Broadway. A two time Film Independent Spirit, Gotham, SAG, Critics Choice, NAACP Image, Tony^®, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League and NAACP Theatre Award nominee for his work on stage and screen, Colman is an OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award winning actor, playwright, director and producer.

Colman has starred in some of the most profound films in recent years such as Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, Steven Spielbergs’ Lincoln, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Ava DuVernay’s Selma, Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and Janicza Bravo’s Zola. As a writer, his plays and musicals include DOT(Samuel French), Wild With Happy (Dramatist Play Service) and A Boy and his Soul (Oberon Books), the Tony Award nominated Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and Geffen Playhouse’s groundbreaking musical Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole. His plays have been produced by The Public Theater, Vineyard, La Jolla Playhouse, Humana Festival of New American Plays, New York Stage and Film, A.C.T, The Tricycle Theater in London, Brisbane Powerhouse in Australia, among others. 

Domingo received his Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Ursinus College. He is on the faculty of University of Southern California, School of Dramatic Arts as a Professor of acting, after having served as a Juilliard School Creative Associate and a faculty member of the Yale School of Drama. He has been honored with the inaugural Denver Film Cinema Q-LaBahn Ikon Film Award, the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award, the Creative Coalition Television Humanitarian Award and the Atlanta’s Out On Film Icon Award. Through his award-winning production company, Edith Productions, Colman develops television, film, theater and animation projects.

About the Gotham Film & Media Institute

The Gotham celebrates and nurtures independent film and media creators, providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition. The organization, under the leadership of Executive Director and award-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp, fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Gotham Week, Gotham Labs, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Awards, Gotham EDU, Owning It, and Expanding Communities.

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