Aisha Tyler, Gina Torres, Wendie Malick, Connie Stevens & Kerris Dorsey To Receive Awards At 12th Annual La Femme International Film Festival Awards

 Aisha Tyler (Lupe Ontiveros Image Award) – created to celebrate actresses that have, through their characters, created roles that break against the standard images of women of multi-ethnic backgrounds. Aisha Tyler has garnered attention with her varied roles in such shows as Friends (NBC), Criminal Minds (CBS) and Archer (FX) as well as her hosting duties on The Talk and Whose Line Is It Anyway, and a thriving standup career.

She is known for being expressive and outspoken, especially about African-American culture and stereotypes, LGBT rights, and women's rights. Tyler devotes time to philanthropy, volunteering for the American Red Cross, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the International Rescue Committee.

Gina Torres (Visionary Award) – created to embody the visionary outlook on career and global forecasts with their choices in roles and projects. Torres began her onscreen career with roles on Law & Order and La Femme Nikita, and has a loyal fan following from her featured role in Joss Whedon's cult classic, Firefly. Most recently Gina starred on USA Network's hit original series, Suits, portraying the role of Jessica Pearson, which earned her an ALMA Award nomination amongst others. On the big screen, Torres is known for roles in "The Matrix Reloaded," "The Matrix Revolutions," "Jam," and "South of Pico". Gina is also a trained singer who appeared on Broadway as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, which marked her first professional appearance and launched her into the spotlight.

Wendie Malick (Humanitarian Award) – created for actresses that successfully combine their professional career and giving back to society as a role model. Malick serves on the Board of Directors for The Environmental Media Association and The Creative Coalition, the Board of Advocates for Planned Parenthood, and the Advisory Board of The Humane Society. Wendie and her husband, Richard Erickson, additionally support a medical center in the Congo providing urgent medical services to the indigenous people.

Her role in Just Shoot Me won her an Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations that added to her noteworthy appearances, including her role as a five-time divorced former soap opera star in TV Land's hit sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, and her current role as the wealthy owner of a baseball team in Pitch. Malick's feature film credits include "Adventureland," "Confessions Of A Shopaholic," "Racing Stripes," "The American President," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Jerome," "On Edge," "Trojan Wars," "Bugsy," "A Little Sex," and "Funny About Love".

Connie Stevens (Lifetime Achievement Award) – is presented to a star to celebrate a professional life long career in entertainment. Born in Brooklyn to an Italian-Irish-American family, Connie Stevens attended Catholic boarding schools and a distinct interest in music led her to a stage. Warner Bros. launched her into stardom by signing her on for their hot detective series, "Hawaiian Eye". She also starred opposite George Burns in the sitcom "Wendy and Me". Stevens platformed her stage entertaining to headline in Las Vegas and endeared herself to the American public; but it was her role on Broadway with Neil Simon's "The Star-Spangled Girl" that won a Theatre World Award for her performance.

She continues to appear in TV shows, movies, and movies of the week. Some of Connie's credits are: "Grease 2," "Back to the Beach," "Murder, She Wrote," "The Love Boat," and "Baywatch". Connie just completed producing and directing "A Healing," a documentary dedicated to the women who served in the U.S./Vietnam conflict. "Saving Grace B. Jones" marks her feature film directorial debut.

Kerris Dorsey (Rising Star Award) – created to highlight a unique voice in an actress who is on the rise to stardom with empowering characters. Her character Bridget on "Ray Donovan" is just that. She starred in Disney's adaptation of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," but made her TV debut at age eight as Paige Whedon on the hit ABC series, "Brothers & Sisters." It was Kerris' stand out performance in the award-winning movie "Walk the Line," alongside Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix, that showed her immense talent. Kerris' breakout feature role was in "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt. Being a singer and songwriter, she has performed on the "Moneyball" and "Alexander" soundtracks.

The Awards Show and Gala Event on October 23, 2016, starts at 7pm (Red Carpet at 6pm) at The Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. http://www.LAFemme.org for more information.


LA Femme is a four-day festival that screens over 100 films, special screenings, seminars, and networking mixers. The screening and event schedule for the festival is available online at www.lafemme.org. Tickets on sale: Full Access VIP Passes are at $150 for Regular Price, tickets for individual films and special screenings are $10; and single seminars are $20.

Sponsors: SAG-AFTRA National Women's Committee, (WGA) Writers Guild America West Women's Committee, The Governor's Office of Film and Entertainment State of Florida, CBS Entertainment Diversity, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Comcast NBC Universal, Dollhouse Makeup, Columbia College Hollywood, Creative Handbooks, and Food Perfected Catering.