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 award, presented by Pure Flix Familia, was announced during the festival's Closing Night Awards Ceremony and recognizes individuals whose lives exemplify faith, servant leadership, and a commitment to strengthening families and communities.
Ken Diaz's Hollywood career includes acclaimed films such as Blood In Blood Out, American Me, and Training Day, where his work brought authenticity and humanity to complex characters. However, it is his personal journey of faith and his dedication to community service that made him the unanimous choice for this honor.
In 1991, Diaz 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 Christianity, sparking a spiritual transformation that reshaped his life. He became involved in a church in Pico Rivera, where he worked alongside former gang members who shared dramatic presentations based on their own experiences. These encounters revealed the violence and consequences of gang culture, but also the hope found through faith and redemption.
“I had gone from wanting to beat these kids…to having a deeper understanding of them,” Diaz recalled in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I realized the humanity of the hurt, damaged people who just need love and guidance.”
This perspective influenced both his ministry and his film work, allowing him to portray 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 his commitment through 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. Through Homeboy Media, Diaz is helping develop filmmaking programs that offer career training and job placement, while producing projects that reflect the organization’s philosophy of kinship and hope.
“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.”
Denise Crayne, Chief Financial Officer of Great American Media, 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.”
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. Pure Flix Familia is a soon-to-launch Spanish-language streaming platform from Great American Media, featuring faith- and family-centered films and original programming for Latino audiences.
This recognition highlights the impact of storytelling that embraces redemption and the importance of second chances, both on and off screen.
