Awkwafina, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Rashida Jones, Rachel Brosnahan, and more are set to be honored at New York Women in Film & Television’s (NYWIFT) 41st Annual Muse Awards, a press release has announced. To be held virtually December 17, the event “celebrates women of outstanding vision and achievement both in front of and behind the camera in film, television, the music industry, and digital media.” Comedian and actress Nancy Giles will emcee.
“Our honorees for the 41st Annual NYWIFT Muse Awards showcase numerous and astounding talents in various roles across many mediums of the entertainment industry,” said NYWIFT Executive Director Cynthia Lopez. “We are delighted to celebrate and recognize their revolutionary and influential accomplishments, and pay tribute to those who use their platform to advocate for a more inclusive, safe, and equitable world.”
Awkwafina will be presented with the Made in New York Award from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment “for her contributions to NYC’s entertainment industry.” The Golden Globe-winning “Farewell” star was last seen in her semi-autobiographical series “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” and provided a voice for “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.”
“I’m thrilled to honor the LaGuardia-schooled and Queens-raised dynamo, Awkwafina, with a ‘Made in NY’ award for her accomplishments as an actor, writer, and comedian,” said Anne del Castillo, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “Awkwafina’s work challenges stereotypes about Asian Americans and women and reflects the caliber and ingenuity of New York City’s homegrown talent.”
Prince-Bythewood will receive the Nancy Malone Directing Award. The filmmaker’s latest pic, superhero story “The Old Guard,” “is among the Top 10 most popular Netflix films of all time with Prince-Bythewood becoming the first Black female director on the list,” per the source. She made her feature directorial debut with the beloved romance “Love & Basketball.”
Tony-winning “Oklahoma!” star Ali Stroker is being honored with the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award. She is the first wheelchair user to win take home a Tony, and the first to appear on Broadway. She reached the latter milestone with her role in “Spring Awakening.”
Jones, Brosnahan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and “She Said” authors Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and Orion Pictures prez Alana Mayo will also receive Muse Awards for “advancing positive social change” in their work. Jones stars in Sofia Coppola’s new film, father-daughter comedy “On the Rocks,” and you can catch Brosnahan next in Julia Hart’s crime drama “I’m Your Woman,” out December 4.
