LOS ANGELES, CA — August 5, 2026 — (NOTICIAS NEWSWIRE) — The Chicano Hollywood Film Festival announced that Oscar-nominated makeup artist, character designer and longtime community advocate Ken Diaz has been named the inaugural recipient of the Community Impact Legacy Award, presented by Pure Flix Familia, Great American Media’s upcoming Spanish-language and bilingual faith and family entertainment destination. The annual award recognizes individuals whose lives exemplify faith, servant leadership and a lifelong commitment to strengthening families and communities. The honor was presented during the festival’s Closing Night Awards Ceremony.
“Ken Diaz has spent a lifetime creating unforgettable characters on-screen, but his greatest legacy is the lives he has touched off-screen,” said Johnny Murillo, founder of the Chicano Hollywood Film Festival. “His story reflects the values this award was created to recognize faith, redemption, service and a commitment to helping others discover hope and purpose.”
“The Community Impact Legacy Award, presented by Pure Flix Familia, recognizes people who use their gifts to make a lasting difference in the lives of others,” said Denise Crayne, Chief Financial Officer of Great American Media. “Ken’s remarkable career speaks for itself, but what makes him truly deserving of this honor is the way he has invested his faith, influence and compassion in the lives of others. His commitment to mentoring others, supporting second chances and pointing people toward hope reflects everything this award was created to celebrate.”
The honor reflects Pure Flix Familia’s mission to celebrate individuals whose lives demonstrate the power of faith, service and authentic storytelling to strengthen families and communities.
While Diaz’s Hollywood career has earned widespread acclaim, it was his personal journey of faith and ministry that made him the unanimous choice for the festival’s inaugural honor.
In 1991, Diaz was shot in the leg after confronting young gang members spray-painting graffiti beneath a Los Angeles freeway overpass. During his recovery, a friend prayed with him and introduced him to Jesus Christ, beginning a profound spiritual transformation that would shape the rest of his life.
Soon afterward, Diaz became involved in a church in Pico Rivera, where he spent months working alongside former gang members who shared powerful dramatic presentations based on their own lives. Their stories revealed not only the violence and consequences of gang culture, but also the hope found through faith, forgiveness and redemption.
That encounter changed the course of Diaz’s life, reshaping both his faith and the stories he would spend the next three decades helping bring to the screen.
“I had gone from wanting to beat these kids…to having a deeper understanding of them,” Diaz recalled in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I realized the humanity of the hurt, damaged people who just need love and guidance.”
Those relationships profoundly influenced both his ministry and his work in Hollywood. They enabled Diaz to bring extraordinary authenticity and humanity to acclaimed films including Blood In Blood Out, American Me and Training Day, portraying gang life not as something to glorify, but as a reflection of broken lives that can be transformed through hope and redemption.
Today, Diaz continues that commitment through his service with Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program. He serves on the Advisory Board of Homeboy Media, the organization’s film and media initiative dedicated to creating pathways into the entertainment industry for formerly gang-involved and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1988, Homeboy Industries provides hope, healing and opportunity through job training, education, mental health services, tattoo removal, legal assistance and workforce development, helping thousands of men and women rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose.
Through Homeboy Media, Diaz is helping develop filmmaking programs that provide career training and job placement for roles both in front of and behind the camera while producing films and television projects that reflect the organization’s philosophy of kinship, redemption and hope.
“Ken has never separated his faith from his profession,” Murillo said. “Whether mentoring young artists, helping tell authentic stories on screen, or creating opportunities for men and women rebuilding their lives after incarceration, he has consistently used his God-given talents to serve others. That lifelong commitment to faith, family and second chances makes him the ideal inaugural recipient of this award.”
About Great America Media
Great American Media is the leader in faith and family entertainment, and one of the fastest-growing entertainment networks on television. Great American Media is home to a portfolio of entertainment brands that celebrate faith, family, and country, including Great American Family, the flagship linear network featuring original Christmas movies, rom-coms, and beloved series; Great American Pure Flix, the leading faith and family streaming service; Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion network; and GFam+, an app that lets viewers watch anytime, anywhere. Great American Media, established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices, is available via cable, streaming on Pure Flix and YouTube TV, and on the GFam+ app.
Pure Flix Familia is a soon-to-launch Spanish-language streaming platform featuring faith- and family-centered films, series, and original programming created for Latino audiences. Through culturally relevant storytelling and collaborations with established and emerging Latino creators, Pure Flix Familia aims to become a trusted entertainment destination where families can discover uplifting stories that reflect their faith, values, and experiences. For more information, follow Pure Flix Familia on Facebook (@PureFlixFamilia), Instagram (@PureFlixFamilia) and TikTok (@PureFlixFamilia).
About The Chicano Hollywood Film Festival
The Chicano Hollywood Film Festival is a celebration of film, Latino culture, and community that brings together emerging and established storytellers from across the entertainment industry. More than a traditional film festival, the event offers an immersive experience featuring independent film screenings, industry-led workshops, filmmaker Q&As, networking opportunities, and cultural showcases honoring the richness of Chicano and Latino storytelling.
CONTACT:
Thomas Graham
Crosswind Media
512- 537-1414
media@crosswindpr.com
Or
Johnny Murillo
Chicano Hollywood
818-844-6074
press@chicanohollywood.com