The Critics Choice Association announced today the complete list of honorees and presenters for the inaugural Celebration of Latino Cinema, taking place virtually on Thursday, December 9 from 5:30 – 6:45 pm PT / 8:30 – 9:45 pm ET. For the first time, the Critics Choice Association is celebrating groundbreaking achievements in Latino Cinema, from the outstanding work of Latino performers and creators in ten categories.
The virtual event will be hosted by writer, producer, actress, and comedian Cristela Alonzo. Invited guests will include members of the Critics Choice Association, AMPAS, PGA, WGA, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, BAFTA, press and many in the Latino film production community.
REINALDO MARCUS GREEN, OLGA MEREDIZ
AND NATALIE MORALES AMONG THOSE TO BE HONORED
The Celebration of Latino Cinema will honor the following:
Filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green will receive the Director Award for the film King Richard, which stars Will Smith as the determined father of global icons Venus and Serena Williams. Green’s Monsters and Men, which he wrote and directed, received a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding First Feature at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Presenting the Director Award will be his King Richard star, Aunjanue Ellis, who plays the girls’ mom, Oracene.
Actor Clifton Collins Jr. will receive the Actor Award for his starring role in the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics film Jockey. A prolific performer, Collins Jr. won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Jockey at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and has appeared in several critically acclaimed films, working with celebrated directors including Guillermo del Toro, Terrence Malick, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Soderbergh. Presenting the Actor Award will be Don Cheadle.
Actress and humanitarian Olga Merediz will receive the Actress Award for her critically acclaimed role in Jon M. Chu’s big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, a role she originated in the stage musical. Throughout her four-decade career, she has earned multiple Tony Award nominations, and appeared in celebrated films, television series, and Broadway shows, including The Place Beyond the Pines, Orange is the New Black, In the Heights, Somebody I Used to Know and more. Presenting the Actress Award will be Jon M. Chu.
Actor, producer, and writer Eugenio Derbez will receive the Supporting Actor Award for his role in the Apple Original Film, CODA. Derbez is the single most successful Latino actor at the box-office, where his films have grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide. He has starred in hits including How to Be a Latin Lover, Overboard, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, as well as the highest grossing Spanish-language film ever in the U.S., Instructions Not Included, which he wrote, produced, and starred in. Presenting the Supporting Actor Award will be Eva Longoria.
The creative team behind Netflix’s Vivo, which includes Gloria Estefan, Alex Lacamoire, Juan de Marcos, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ynairaly Simo, will receive the Film Music Award.
- Grammy Award-winning singer, actress, songwriter, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian Gloria Estefan is the voice of Marta Sandoval in the animated film Vivo. In addition to her numerous accolades, which include a Kennedy Center Honor, she is also the host of the critically acclaimed Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk: The Estefans.
- Award-winning music director, arranger, and composer Alex Lacamoire is best known for his work on a number of Broadway’s most acclaimed and successful shows, including Hamilton, both the stage and film adaptations of Dear Evan Hansen and In The Heights, and most recently tick, tick…BOOM!. He has won multiple Tony and Grammy Awards and received a first-of-its-kind Kennedy Center Honor for his contribution to Hamilton.
- Award-winning Cuban musician Juan de Marcos has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, and has arranged, conducted, and produced more than 25 albums. His Grammy nominated Afro-Cuban All Stars albumA Toda Cuba le Gusta was the first to be recorded in the now famous Buena Vista Social Club sessions. Following the album’s release, Juan led the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Rubén González Ensemble on their debut European and U.S. tours.
- Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter, actor, and director
Lin-Manuel Miranda recently made his directorial debut with the film adaptation of
tick, tick…BOOM!. He also wrote original songs for this year’s animated features Encanto and Vivo. He won a 2020 Special Tony Award for Freestyle Love Supreme and is the creator and original star of the Tony-winning Broadway shows Hamilton and In the Heights. - Actor, singer and model Ynairaly Simo stars as the main character of Vivo, Gabi, and is also known for her role on the Self series Creative Galaxy. Ynairaly has modeled on the runway during New York Fashion Week, LA Fashion Week, and others.
- Presenting the Film Music Award will be Andy Garcia.
Filmmaker Tatiana Huezo will receive the International Film Award for her latest feature, Prayers for the Stolen, which was recently named Mexico’s international entry for the Oscars and is currently streaming on Netflix. She has won critical acclaim for her prior films, which include The Tiniest Place and Tempestad. Presenting the International Film Award will be Gregory Nava.
Actor, director, writer, and activist Natalie Morales will receive a Special Honoree Award. In 2020 she directed her first two feature films, and both critically acclaimed movies were released this year. Her raucous teen comedy Plan B is streaming on Hulu. And Language Lessons, a film Morales co-wrote and co-stars in with Mark Duplass, won the Audience Award at SXSW. She has starred in many TV series including Abby’s, Dead to Me, Santa Clarita Diet, Parks and Recreation, and more. Presenting the Special Honoree Award is Michaela Watkins.
As previously announced, Rita Moreno will receive the Icon Award, Demián Bichir will receive the Career Achievement Award and Lin-Manuel Miranda will receive the Visionary Award.
Presenting the Icon Award are Gloria Estefan & Emilio Estefan, the Career Achievement Award will be presented by Chris Weitz and the Visionary Award will be presented by Robin de Jesús.
“We are deeply honored to be presenting these awards to such a distinguished group of iconic artists and are thrilled to be celebrating Latino Cinema for this inaugural awards event. We applaud the Critics Choice Association for showcasing the innumerable contributions of these Latino standout performances” said Claudia Puig and Clayton Davis, CCA Members & Co-Programmers of the Celebration of Latino Cinema.
About the Critics Choice Association (CCA)
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 500 television, radio and online critics and entertainment reporters. It was established in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the intersection between film, television, and streaming content. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com.
