Yahoo News Gina Prince-Bythewood, Hakeem Jeffries And Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo To Receive MPA Awards
Director-writer Gina Prince-Bythewood, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo will be the recipients of the Motion Picture Association’s MPA Awards.
The event, to take place in June at the MPA headquarters in Washington, was started last year to honor those who “have made notable contributions to the film, TV and streaming industry,” according to the trade organization.
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Prince-Bythewood, receiving the MPA Creator Award, most recently directed The Woman King for Sony’s TriStar Pictures. She has written and directed feature films such as Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees and Beyond The Lights. She and her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood serve as executive producers of the upcoming Disney+ and National Geographic series Genius: MLK/X via their production company Undisputed Cinema.
Jeffries, receiving the Industry Champion Award, is being recognized for ensuring “that the American creative community continues to drive economic growth and export the best films and TV shows to the world,” according to the MPA. The organization cited Jeffries’s support for the U.S. Copyright Office and for efforts to curb streaming piracy.
Sheinbaum, also receiving the Industry Champion Award, is being recognized for presiding over record growth in production in Mexico City. The MPA said that Sheinbaum “embraced the industry during a global pandemic by digitizing and streamlining administrative procedures for filming in the capital region.”
The first awards honored director Nikyatu Jusu, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Then-Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was honored for lifetime achievement.
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA, said in a statement that the awards “recognize three individuals whose valuable contributions have enabled our global industry to continue to flourish. Each of this year’s honorees is working in their own way to ensure the success of the global creative economy, protect creators and build a more inclusive pipeline for storytellers. It is because of them, and many others, that the industry continues to deliver the films and TV shows loved by audiences everywhere.”
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