written by Erik Anderson, Awardswatch
The Key West Film Festival announced today the recipients of its Golden Key Award For Artistic Excellence, honoring legendary comedian and performer Billy Connolly. The festival also celebrates its tenth annual Golden Key Award for Excellence in Costume Design, honoring Academy Award-winning costume designer Deborah L. Scott. The festival runs November 12-16. The full program will be announced October 10.
Michael Tuckman, Director of Programming of the Key West Film Festival, commented: “What can’t Billy Connolly do? From acclaimed roles in Mrs. Brown and The Last Samurai to action heroes in The Boondock Saints and The Hobbit, to his ability to charm international audiences with his wit and candor on stage and screens big and small, he’s an international treasure living right here in Key West. The Aristocrats broke both box office records and set a new ceiling for laughter levels in theaters when it was released 20 years ago, and Billy’s performance in the film shows his rightful place among comedy giants.”
Tuckman continues: “Deborah Scott has brought characters to life in some of the most consequential and culturally important films of the last five decades. From creating the world of the crossing of the Titanic, to worlds that can only be imagined through the Na’vi in Avatar, her vision has constructed characters that inspire and amaze us.”
Connolly will be in attendance at the festival to coincide with a screening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Aristocrats, the groundbreaking film about the dirtiest joke ever told, in which Connolly is featured.
As part of the Golden Key Award for Excellence in Costume Design honor, Scott will participate in a discussion of her work, to be moderated by Addie Morfoot of Variety. Ms. Scott will accept her award in person at the festival, which will feature a pre-recorded presentation by Oscar-nominated Costume Designer, Dr. Deborah Nadoolman Landis.
A Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian, Sir William Connolly is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin (“the Big One”). Known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observational comedy, frequently including strong language, Connolly has topped many UK polls as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time. In 2017, he was knighted at Buckingham Palace for services to entertainment and charity. In 2022, he received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
As an actor, Connolly has appeared in various films, including Water (1985), Indecent Proposal (1993), Pocahontas (1995), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Mrs. Brown (1997) (for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role), The Boondock Saints (1999), The Last Samurai (2003), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Aristocrats (2005), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), Brave (2012), What We Did On Our Holiday (2014), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
Deborah L. Scott is an Academy Award-winning costume designer known for her outstanding design, intuitive looks, and trailblazing techniques that elevate each and every character she costumes. Scott’s latest work can be seen in the highly anticipated Avatar: Fire and Ash, set for release on December 19, 2025. She reunites with James Cameron for this third installment, helping to further expand the vibrant, immersive world of Pandora. For this chapter, Scott and her team are once again pushing the boundaries of costume design, spending years developing intricate textiles, beadwork and embroidery, and fusing traditional handcraft with cutting-edge digital innovations. The result continues to bring the Na’vi to life with a richly detailed culture inspired by indigenous craft traditions and realized through thousands of bespoke costume pieces and props.
Her previous work includes Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), the record-breaking film that earned her a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination for Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film. In 2023, she also received the CDG Career Achievement Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field.
Previously, Scott collaborated with Cameron on Titanic (1997), for which she took home the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. She also received a BAFTA nomination, in addition to ACCA, OFTA, and Golden Satellite Award wins. Scott later joined Cameron to work on Avatar (2009).
Her first film as a costume designer is Never Cry Wolf (1983). She is also known for her work on films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back to the Future (1985), Legends of the Fall (1994), Heat (1995), Wild Wild West (1999), The Patriot (2000), Minority Report (2002), Transformers (2007), Love & Other Drugs (2010), and Aloha (2015). Scott is a sought-after designer whose work is respected globally.
Scott’s additional award nods include a CDG Award nomination in Excellence in Fantasy Film for Avatar; a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Costume Design for Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot; and Saturn Award nominations forBack to the Future and Minority Report . She is also an active member of the Costume Designers Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In spring 2023, Scott became Designer-in-Residence for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design, which gives students the chance to study under the wing of a seasoned professional.
