The Humanitarian Award is presented annually to those in the entertainment industry who have truly made a difference in the lives of those in the artistic community and beyond.
Joe Mantegna
27th Satellite Awards, 2022
Val Kilmer
26th Satellite Awards, 2021
Stephen Chbosky
22nd Annual Satellite Awards, 2017
An American novelist, screenwriter, and film director, Stephen Chboksy is being honored with the Humanitarian award. Chbosky is best known for writing the novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999), as well as writing and directing and being the executive producer for the film of the same name. Chbosky wrote the screenplay for Rent (2005), wrote and produced the 2017 live action of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (2017), and also was the co-creator, executive producer, and a writer for the CBS television series Jericho (2006-2008). In 2017, Chbosky directed the drama, Wonder.
Spike Lee
20th Annual Satellite Awards, 2015
AS IPA’s 2015 Humanitarian Award recipient, Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee’s politically astute range of filmmaking encompasses shorts, documentaries and features, even music videos. His best-known works include School Daze (1988), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995, screenplay with Richard Price), Get on the Bus (1996), Girl 6 (1996), Summer of Sam (1999), documentary The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2012), She Hate Me (2004), and Red Hook Summer (2002). Although his breakthrough came with sharp comedy She’s Gotta Have It (1986), when Do the Right Thing was released in 1989, Lee put the world on notice that his spectacular brand of filmmaking came with a nuanced cultural and political perspective. Lee received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for that film. In essence, Spike Lee’s films touch three aspects of socio-political commentary: race issues, gender identity, and the class system.
Sebastian Junger
19th Annual Satellite Awards, 2014
Award-winning journalist and filmmaker Sebastian Junger is being honored with the Humanitarian Award. He was co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, which was part of a trilogy that includes Korengal and The Last Patrol released this year. He also wrote books such as The Perfect Storm, Fire and A Death in Belmont and he won an Emmy for his coverage of the Afghanistan war. Junger co-directed Restrepo with journalist Tim Hetherington, who is a previous Humanitarian Award winner. Hetherington was killed two years ago while covering the civil war in Libya. Korengal and The Last Patrol pick up where Restrepo left off with the same men in the same valley, showing what war feels like and what it does to the young men who fight in it. It takes a step further into bringing the war into people’s living rooms.
Benh Zeitlin
17th Annual Satellite Awards, 2012
Benjamin Harold “Benh” Zeitlin being this year’s Humanitarian Award winner is an American filmmaker, composer, and animator best known for directing Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012). Zeitlin also directed Glory at Sea in 2008 and in 2006 Zeitlin directed The Origins of Electricity, and of course, he also directed Egg and Brooklyn Independent Vol. 1 in 2005. Zeitlin’s talents also transfer over to writing. He wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Glory at Sea (2008), The Origins of Electricity (2006), and as well as Egg (2005). Besides directing and writing, Zeitlin also composed Brimstone and Glory (2017), Mediterranea (2015), Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Glory at Sea (2008), and Death to the Tinman (2007).
Tim Hetherington
16th Annual Satellite Awards, 2011
Connie Stevens
15th Annual Satellite Awards, 2010 (first Humanitarian Award Recipient)
Iconic as a star in motion pictures, television, and as a recording artist, Connie Stevens is also known within the entertainment industry for her tireless work on behalf of others.
Touring with the USO, and originally with Bob Hope, she has been a touchstone for our troops overseas since the Vietnam War. Connie Stevens received ‘The Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service’ from the United States Armed Forces, which is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a civilian.
Behind the camera, Stevens wrote, directed, and edited the documentary called “A Healing,” about the nurses who served in Vietnam on behalf of the Red Cross.
Among her many causes and charitable activities, she also created a program called Windfeather, which gives scholarships, surplus goods and summer camp experiences to Native America children.
Connies Stevens has received the prestigious ‘Lady of Humanities’ award from the Shriners Hospital; ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ by the Sons of Italy in Washington DC, and has been honored by “The Vietnam Veterans Association of America.”
