An Evening with Marlon Wayans

In Conversation with Omar Epps

A dynamic comedic talent on both ends of the camera, Marlon Wayans is the recipient of the Festival’s Career Achievement Award. The actor will be on hand for a special in-person Tribute to discuss his impressive career and his artistic process.

Marlon Wayans is a talented actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. Wayans reunited with brothers Keenen and Shawn Wayans to write and produce the 2026 hit Scary Movie. Currently on the road with his Wild Child Tour, Wayans is a prolific stand-up whose shows have, to date, yielded four specials, including Marlon Wayans: Good Grief, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Wayans’ recent film credits include HIM, AIR, The Curse of Bridge Hollow, Respect, and On the Rocks. His collaborations as writer, producer, and star with Scary Movie director Michael Tiddes span comedy projects including Sextuplets, Naked, Fifty Shades of Black, A Haunted House and sequel A Haunted House 2. His creative partnerships with director Keenen Ivory Wayans have yielded such hit comedies as White Chicks, 2000’s Scary Movie, and its follow-up Scary Movie 2.

Wayans’ additional film credits include Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood; The Sixth Man; Requiem for a Dream; The Ladykillers, opposite Tom Hanks; Norbit; G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra; and The Heat, among others. On television, he starred and executive produced Marlon, along with In Living Color, Children’s Hospital, and Second Generation Wayans.

Moderator Omar Epps

Three-time NAACP Award winner Omar Epps can recently be seen starring as Malik in the upcoming film Moses the Black, which he also executive produced along with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. He has recently wrapped production on Dan Fogelman’s upcoming football drama series The Land for Hulu.

Epps TV credits include starring in the hit Starz/Lionsgate hit show Power Book III: Raising Kanan, the USA drama series Shooter, NBC’s This Is Us, two seasons of the critically acclaimed ABC drama Resurrection, and the powerhouse Fox medical drama House for eight seasons.

In film, Epps’ recent credits include Lee Daniels’ The Deliverence, Lionsgate drama The Devil You Know (with Michael Ealy), as well as the Netflix thriller Fatal Affair (alongside Nia Long), which was the number one streamed original film on the platform for two weeks domestically.

Epps made his film debut in 1992 in Ernest Dickerson’s urban drama Juice (alongside Tupac Shakur). He went on to star in multiple cult classics, including Love and Basketball, The Program (alongside Halle Berry), Miramax/MTV’s The Wood, and John Singleton’s critically acclaimed film Higher Learning. Omar also starred in the Lionsgate thriller Traffik (opposite Paula Patton), the Showtime Original movie Conviction, as well as three HBO originals First Time Felon (directed by Charles Dutton), Daybreak, Deadly Voyage (produced by Danny Glover), and Miramax’s In Too Deep (with LL Cool J).

Additional credits include Paramount’s Alfie (opposite Jude Law and Susan Sarandon), Against the Ropes (opposite Meg Ryan), Takeshi Kitano’s Brother for Sony Classics, MGM’s remake of The Mod Squad (opposite Claire Danes), and Breakfast of Champions (with Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte).

Through Epps’ production company BrooklynWorks Films, he is producing several projects including a handful of feature films and projects in the unscripted arena.

Epps is also an author and penned his self-published memoir, From Fatherless to Fatherhood, in 2018. In 2022, he released his fictional young adult fantasy Nubia: The Awakening and followed up with Nubia: The Reckoning in 2023.

Epps is immersed in the world of technology, social media, and is an investor in Plus Capital. He serves on the Board of Directors for The Creative Coalition, and The Peace Studio. He is very passionate about education in underprivileged areas and continues to give back to his community in those forums.