Costume Designer Colleen Atwood to Be Honored With Variety’s Creative Impact Award at SCAD Savannah Film Festival

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” costume designer Colleen Atwood will be honored with Variety’s Creative Impact in Costume Design award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

Atwood, who has worked on “Chicago,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” has worked on over 80 films and has won four Academy Awards for her work in costume design.

“SCAD is thrilled to continue its partnership with Variety in presenting this year’s Creative Impact Award to the legendary costume designer Colleen Atwood,” said Christina Routhier, Executive Director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. “Colleen Atwood’s unparalleled creativity and meticulous craftsmanship have left an indelible mark on moviemaking, with her recent iconic projects including ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,’ ‘Masters of the Air,’ and ‘Wednesday.’ Her work exemplifies the transformative power of costume design in storytelling, which will provide our students—particularly those in film and television, production design, and fashion degree programs—a profound example of excellence and vision in their field. We are honored to celebrate her incredible contributions to the art of storytelling, bringing her enduring influence and astonishing expertise to this next generation of designers and filmmakers learning at SCAD.”

“Colleen Atwood is a legend in the field of costume design. I’m beyond thrilled to honor her remarkable talent and her contributions to the field. Hearing Colleen discuss her process is something everyone should get to experience,” said Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay. ”The Creative Impact award celebrates the finest. Rob Marshall and Tim Burton are just two directors who have her as their go-to. Her work on ‘Beetlejuice 2’ and ‘Masters of the Air’ is a testament to her range and her vision. I can’t wait to sit down with her for what promises to be an exciting career retrospective at SCAD Savannah Film Festival.”

Atwood will receive this award on Oct. 31. Variety’s 10 Artisans to Watch panel moderated by Tangcay will take place on Oct. 29. SCAD Savannah Film Festival will run from Oct. 26 through Nov.2.

Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 63,000 people attend the eight-day festival. A distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, the annual festival kicks off with a gala opening night screening, while the rest of the week features scheduled competition films, premiere screenings, workshops, lectures, and panels. These events take place at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces throughout the historic city of Savannah, GA.

In addition to their Creative Impact Award, Variety returns with its “Artisans to Watch” panel hosted by Tangcay and “Pixels and Pencils” panel hosted by Clayton Davis. Other programming highlights at the Festival include Amazon MGM Studios’ LGBTQIA+ Shorts Competition and the “Behind Her Lens” series, which includes panels with influential female directors, producers, and artisans, who will discuss the importance of staying true to their vision and empowering the industry forward with profound stories.

During the festival, SCAD will unveil a new 17,500 sq. ft. production and costume design facility next to the backlot at SCAD’s Savannah Film Studios. The 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.

The full festival line-up will be announced on October 4. For additional information and tickets, visit filmfest.scad.edu.