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Awkwafina, Rachel Brosnahan, Rashida Jones and Gina Prince-Bythewood are all set to be honored at the 2020 New York Women in Film and Television Muse Awards.
Additional honorees for the 41st annual event, set to be held virtually amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, include Tony-winning actress Ali Stroker, the president of MGM’s Orion Pictures Alana Mayo and New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who broke the story of decades of sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein, which helped spark the #MeToo movement.
The Muse Awards celebrate women of outstanding vision and achievement in front of and behind the camera in film, TV, music and digital media.
Awkwafina is set to receive the Made in NY award from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. The star of Awkwafina is Nora From Queens is set to appear in the upcoming Apple Original drama Swan Song and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Past recipients of the Made in NY award include Caroline Hirsch, Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Rachael Ray, Tina Fey, Spike Lee, John Leguizamo, Alysia Reiner, Michael K. Williams and Judith Light.
“The 41st annual Muse Awards celebrates a diverse group of talented women whose vision and achievements have made a significant impact on the media and entertainment industries,” MOME commissioner Anne del Castillo said in a statement. “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. Awkwafina’s work challenges stereotypes about Asian Americans and women and reflects the caliber and ingenuity of New York City’s homegrown talent.”
Brosnahan, known for her award-winning role in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, will next be seen in the Amazon film I’m Your Woman, which she produced and stars in. Other upcoming credits include producing and starring in the end-of-year Amazon comedy special Yearly Departed and appearing alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the historical drama The Courier.
Jones currently stars opposite Bill Murray in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks and recently launched a podcast with Bill Gates, titled Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions. She also stars in, executive produces and directed an episode of Netflix’s #BlackAF and lends her voice to Fox’s Duncanville.
Mayo, who oversees the MGM division dedicated to underrepresented voices and authentic storytelling in film, was most recently the head of production and development for Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, where she oversaw their slate of films and TV series and worked to increase equality in hiring with the launch of a company-wide inclusion policy that went into effect on the Warner Bros. film Just Mercy.
Prince-Bythewood, who recently directed Netflix’s summer hit The Old Guard and credits include the films Love & Basketball and Beyond The Lights, will receive the Nancy Malone Directing Award. Stroker, who won the 2019 Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical for her role in Oklahoma, will receive the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award.
This year’s Muse Awards — under the theme of Art & Advocacy, recognizing the role of the creative community in advancing positive social change — will be hosted by CBS Sunday Morning contributor Nancy Giles and air online on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. ET.
“Our honorees for the 41st Annual NYWIFT Muse Awards showcase numerous and astounding talents in various roles across many mediums of the entertainment industry. 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,” said New York Women in Film & Television executive director Cynthia Lopez.
NYWIFT board of directors president Jamie Zelermyer added, “The NYWIFT Muse Awards are an important tradition for our organization and we are proud to continue celebrating remarkable and inspiring women in our industry as we strive to keep the arts not only alive but thriving during this global pandemic.”
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