After Pick up some major awards far back in January at Sundance Film Festival, actor Dylan O’Brien continues to ride a great wave of attention for his Latest work in James Sweeney’s “Twinless.” Next month he will bring the movie to Miami Dade College (MDC) Miami Film Festival Gems (MFF), which will honor him with their Vanguard Award.
The Fest’s Vanguard Award is, according to the festival, ”presented to artists whose works reflect depth, originality and a bold, distinct vision for modern film. “He will receive the award under a question and answer about his career immediately after a show of” Twinless “in front of a festival audience.
GEMS will take place on October 29 – November 5, 2025 and continue its tradition of celebrating this year’s top films and awards. Miami dade College celebrates cinema with two annual events, including the Miami Film Festival Gems in the fall and Miami Film Festival in the spring (The 43rd annual edition will roll out April 9-19 2026).
“We are honored to present Dylan O’Brien with our prestigious Vanguard Award for his powerful work in ‘Twinless’, said Lauren Cohen, Miami Film Festival Director of Rograming.” His raw and deeply influencing performance shows his remarkable range and solidifies him as one of the most convinced.
“Twinless” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the US Dramatic Audience Award. O’Brien, who is also an executive producer on the film, won the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting. The film, Sweeney’s second director’s effort after “straight up”, follows a couple of seemingly strangers (O’Brien and Sweeney) gathered by tragedy: Both are identical twins who have lost their siblings.
In his review, Indieviews David Ehrlich wrote that the movie “Hanging on the agility of the stories we talk about ourselves (among several other things), and this confident, smart and cutly dark comedy almost never miss a chance to indulge in the courage with its beliefs, especially when these beliefs feel so wrong.” He also paid tribute to O’Brien’s work as a signaling that he is a “great talent.”
O’Brien’s second latest film credits include his critically acclaimed performance as a young Dan Aykroyd in Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” for Sony and his Gotham-nominated turn in HBO Max-Streaming-Hit “Caddo Lake.” His upcoming schedule is packed, including new films such as the Lionsgate drama “Jubilee”, the Sam Raimi-directed horror thriller “Send help” from the 20th century, and the Apple drama “Being Heumann”, based on the Memoaren of Disability Activist Judy Heumann.
O’Brien will join previously announced Honoree Ethan Hawke, who will receive the kind of virtuo price. The complete Miami Film Festival Gems 2025 lineup and the schedule will be announced on Tuesday, October 1.
