The Chicano Hollywood Film Festival, in partnership with Pure Flix Familia, has named Oscar-nominated makeup artist and character designer Ken Diaz as the inaugural recipient of the Community Impact Legacy Award. The honor, presented during the festival's Closing Night Awards Ceremony, recognizes individuals whose lives exemplify faith, servant leadership, and a lifelong commitment to strengthening families and communities.
Johnny Murillo, founder of the Chicano Hollywood Film Festival, said, "Ken Diaz has spent a lifetime creating unforgettable characters on-screen, but his greatest legacy is the lives he has touched off-screen. His story reflects the values this award was created to recognize faith, redemption, service and a commitment to helping others discover hope and purpose."
Denise Crayne, Chief Financial Officer of Great American Media, which owns Pure Flix Familia, added, "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."
Diaz's journey of faith began in 1991 when he was shot in the leg after confronting young gang members spray-painting graffiti under a Los Angeles freeway overpass. During his recovery, a friend prayed with him and introduced him to Jesus Christ, sparking a profound spiritual transformation. He soon became involved in a church in Pico Rivera, where he worked alongside former gang members who shared dramatic presentations of their own stories of violence, loss, and redemption.
That experience reshaped both his faith and his approach to storytelling. "I had gone from wanting to beat these kids…to having a deeper understanding of them," Diaz told the Los Angeles Times. "I realized the humanity of the hurt, damaged people who just need love and guidance."
This understanding brought extraordinary authenticity to his work on acclaimed films such as 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.
Today, Diaz continues this 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 that creates pathways into the entertainment industry for formerly gang-involved and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1988, Homeboy Industries provides job training, education, mental health services, tattoo removal, legal assistance, and workforce development, helping thousands rebuild their lives with dignity. Through Homeboy Media, Diaz is helping develop filmmaking programs that offer career training and job placement both in front of and behind the camera, producing projects that reflect kinship, redemption, and hope.
Murillo emphasized, "Ken has never separated his faith from his profession. 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."
