“Fruitvale Station,” which was passed over in the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globes nominations, has been named the recipient of the Stanley Kramer Award by the Producers Guild of America.
The award goes to films or individuals that raise awareness of social issues. Ryan Coogler’s low-budget film deals with the 2008 shooting death of Oscar Grant, a young African-American man from Oakland who was shot and killed by transit officers in a subway station on New Year’s Eve.
The film stars Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, and is produced by Forest Whitaker. After winning the Grand Jury Prize and the audience award at Sundance, it was acquired for distribution by the Weinstein Company, winning rave reviews after its summer release.
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“Fruitvale Station” will receive the award at the Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 19, almost exactly a year after its Sundance debut.
The Stanley Kramer Award was established by the PGA in 2002 in honor of the producer whose films included “Inherit the Wind,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “The Defiant Ones.” Previous recipients include “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “In America,” “Precious” and “Bully.”
“Fruitvale Station’ is an important film that raises awareness about an injustice that we encounter in the news with grim regularity,” said PGA co-chairs Lori McCreary and Michael DeLuca in a statement announcing the award.
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In the same release, Forest Whitaker said, “Our producing team is thrilled to have been able to tell a story that puts a human face on the issue of social injustice. We hope the film continues to have a positive impact on the ongoing dialogue that surrounds these issues.”