Former “Doctor Who” companion Karen Gillan is set to receive the Rising Star Award at the 2017 Maui Film Festival, Variety reports. Since her days on the beloved BBC time-traveling series the actress has gone on to star in horror hit “Oculus,” the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, the short-lived but well-received ABC comedy “Selfie,” and Oscar winner “The Big Short.” Plus, the Scottish star has two blockbusters on the way: “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” The former is filming and the latter is in post-production.
“Perfection and synchronicity in the Universe work in mysterious ways. Among them is the opportunity to honor Karen Gillan with the Maui Film Festival’s 2017 Rising Star Award — under the stars and lit by the moon at the Celestial Cinema — for the way her work has enriched us all through her eclectic and powerful performances to date and, I’m sure, in many triumphant decades yet to come,” said Barry Rivers, founder and director of the Maui Film Festival.
The fest will run from June 21–25 in Maui, Hawaii. Previous recipients of the award include Brie Larson (“Room”) and Kelly Rohrbach (“Baywatch”).
Gillan just wrapped production on her feature directorial debut, “The Party’s Just Beginning.” Formerly known as “Tupperware Party,” the film is set in Scotland and centers on a girl dealing with the suicide of her best friend. Gillan penned the script. “I have been concentrating on acting for, I guess, the last decade. But when I first started off when I was a young child expressing an interest in all this I had a video camera and was directing little short films,” she told the BBC.
