Zazie Beetz (left) with Natalie Portman in 2019’s Lucy in the Sky, directed by Noah Hawley. Beetz will be in Austin, alongside Fargo star David Rysdahl, to induct Hawley into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Credit: Image Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

The Texas Film Awards is the most star-studded night in Lone Star State cinema, and it just got a little bit more celestial with the announcement of more speakers for the gala event.

The ceremony, to be held March 6, is the biggest annual fundraiser for the Austin Film Society, which also administers the awards. AFS already announced this year’s inductees, with the class of 2025 featuring Avatar and Machete star Michelle Rodriguez, TV writer and producer Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion, Bones), and Alamo Drafthouse co-founders Tim and Karrie League.

AFS had also already revealed that Rodriguez will be inducted by director Robert Rodriguez (no relation), while Elijah Wood will bring the Leagues into the fold. Now, two old friends have been announced as doing the same for Hawley: Zazie Beetz, star of Hawley’s 2019 directorial debut, Lucy in the Sky, and David Rysdahl, who appears in both season 5 of Fargo and the upcoming Alien: Earth, both produced by Hawley.

However, they are not the only familiar names added to the event. Also speaking will be the duo of Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley, writer/director and writer respectively of Oscar-nominated drama Sing Sing, and in turn writer and writer/director of Train Dreams, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The evening will feature an appearance from a man who, while no longer resident in Austin, will always be synonymous with its film scene: none other than mumblecore pioneer and indie film and TV innovator Jay Duplass, who will be in town for the SXSW world premiere of The Baltimorons, his first film as a director since the release of The Do-Deca-Pentathlon in 2012.

And is it really the Texas Film Awards without AFS artistic director and co-founder Richard Linklater on hand for the night?

All of this, of course, is to help AFS and the filmmaking community its supports. The money raised through ticket sales and auctions on the night will go to support vital programs such as the AFS Filmmaker Grants, professional development, and education initiatives.

Tickets for the gala dinner and ceremony are available now at austinfilm.org/texas-film-awards-2025.

This article appears in February 21 • 2025.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.