Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn) – based on real-life murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie – a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, acting as his spiritual adviser after carrying on correspondence with him. Matthew Poncelet has been in prison for six years, awaiting his execution after being sentenced to death for
Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film star above its head, reminiscent of a miniature child-sized Oscar. The first recipient was Diane Lane, who was honored at the 1st Youth in Film Awards ceremony (1979) for her performance in "A Little Romance". The most recent recipients are Kathryn Newton and Quvenzhané Wallis who tied at the 34th Young Artist Awards for their toles in "Paranormal Activity 4" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" respectively. Throughout the history of the award, the "Best Young Actress in a Feature Film" category has been "split" several times. Until the 3rd Youth in Film Awards ceremony (1981), nominations for the "Best