# Viola Davis takes the Gregory Peck Award

> San Diego's film festival opens its 25th year by honoring an EGOT winner, and Ghibli fans get a 4K treat.
- Title: Viola Davis takes the Gregory Peck Award · Variety | Shortify
- Summary: San Diego's film festival opens its 25th year by honoring an EGOT winner, and Ghibli fans get a 4K treat. The San Diego International Film Festival runs Oct…
- Keywords: film festivals, viola davis, awards, studio ghibli, san diego, entertainment, culture, Viola, Davis, takes, Gregory, Peck
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/film-news-in-brief-sept-15-2026-1236862951
- Author: Jazz Tangcay
- Published: 2026-09-15T21:33:32+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: film festivals, viola davis, awards, studio ghibli, san diego, entertainment, culture
## Viola Davis gets honored
The San Diego International Film Festival will give Viola Davis its Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence. The EGOT winner is recognized as an artist, activist, producer, philanthropist and bestselling author.
## Why the festival picked her
Festival CEO and artistic director Tonya Mantooth pointed to both the performances and the doors Davis has opened for other people in the industry.

> Her performances bring power, vulnerability and truth to every role.
## A Peck presents it
Cecilia Peck will hand over the award at the Night of the Stars Tribute on Oct. 13, keeping the honor in the family it is named for.
## The 25th year opens
The tribute kicks off the festival's 25th edition, running Oct. 13-18 in San Diego. Jesse Eisenberg's "The Debut" is the opening night film.
## Princess Mononoke returns
A 4K restoration of Hayao Miyazaki's epic plays theaters Sept. 26-30 as part of GKIDS and Fathom's Studio Ghibli Fest 2026, in Japanese and English-dubbed versions.
## Pick your Mononoke night
English dub screens Sept. 26, 27 and 30. Japanese with subtitles runs Sept. 28 and 29. The dub cast includes Gillian Anderson, Claire Danes and Billy Bob Thornton.
## Key takeaway

The San Diego International Film Festival runs Oct. 13-18, opening with a tribute to Viola Davis and Jesse Eisenberg's "The Debut."