Read Time:3 Minute, 25 Second
A Complete Unknown’s Monica Barbaro, Emila Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón, Nickel
Boy’s Jomo Fray, and Fresh Kills’ Jennifer Esposito to be honored at the 2024
Astra Film Awards
The Hollywood Creative Alliance has announced their honorary award recipients for the 2024 Astra Film Awards, which will take place on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles. The awards ceremony will be live-streamed on KNEKT.tv and the Official Astra Awards YouTube Channel.
LA Magazine will serve as the official media partner for the event.
Searchlight Pictures’ A Complete Unknown star Monica Barbaro will be the recipient of this year’s Astra Breakthrough Award. Barbaro, who recently received high praise for her role opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and in the Spirit Award-winning The Cathedral, delivers a star-making turn as the iconic folk singer and activist Joan Baez. Since the film’s very first screening, Barbaro has received rave reviews from critics and Academy members alike, with many calling her performance “incredible” and “one that deserves to be in the Supporting Actress conversation.”
Nickel Boys Cinematographer Jomo Fray will be the recipient of this year’s Artisan Spotlight
Award. Over the past decade, Fray has worked on over 40 different film and television projects including Tayarisha Poe’s Selah and the Spades, Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad, and Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. A Film Independent Fellow, Fray has a vibrant passion for experiential storytelling and enjoys challenging the viewer by making them not only see the story but feel it as well. His most recent work on RaMell Ross’Nickel Boys has earned him a New York Film Critics Circle Award and a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Cinematography. With a strong vision and dedication to innovative and evocative visual storytelling, Fray has quickly become one of the most exciting
cinematographers working in cinema today.
Actress-turned-writer/director Jennifer Esposito will receive this year’s Astra Filmmaker on the
Rise Award. Esposito’s breakthrough acting role came in 1999 when she starred alongside
John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam. In 2023, Jennifer wrote,
directed, produced, co-starred, and majority funded her feature film debut, Fresh Kills, which
premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Fresh Kills won the Audience Award at The Hamptons
International Film Festival in 2023, the Excellence in Directing Award from NYWIF, the Best
Feature and Best Cast from The Annapolis Film Festival, and the Artistic Director’s Award from
the San Diego International Film Festival.
“These honorees represent a small sample of the best in the industry today, working hard to
make projects that matter and delivering unforgettable stories and performances that will stand
the test of time,” notes HCA Founder Scott Menzel. “Whether these films are seen on the
festival circuit, in a theater with a crowd, or the comfort of our homes, these honorees exemplify
what the Astras seek to honor year after year: an undeniable love of the craft that demands to
be celebrated.“
Additionally, the Astras have revealed a partial list of the evening’s presenters, which include
Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Kyriana Kratter (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew), Milauna Jackson
(The Six Triple Eight), Anjali Bhimani (Ms. Marvel), Karen David (The Irrational), Patrick Seitz
(One Piece), Robert McCollum (Attack on Titan), Trina Nishimura (Attack on Titan), Jennifer
Hale (X-Men’97), Lenore Zann (X-Men ‘97), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), Karen Huger
(The Real Housewives of Potomac), Chris Sullivan (Presence), Chris Mason (Dune: Prophecy),
Joey Vahedi (The Chosen), Luke Dimyan (The Chosen), Cedric Yarbrough (Juror #2), Trisha
LaFache (Jury Duty), and Montana Jacobowitz (South Park).
About The Astra Awards:
The Astra Awards recognize and celebrate the best in film, television, and the creative arts.
Members of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, a 501 c6 membership-based, not-for-profit
organization, vote on the awards. The organization’s diverse and inclusive membership includes
critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry insiders, and creatives with a shared
passion for celebrating excellence in film and television.
For more information, please visit TheAstras.com or follow us on social media:
X: @TheAstraAwards
Facebook: @TheAstraAwards
Instagram: @hollywoodcreativealliance
YouTube: @TheAstraAwards
TikTok: @TheAstraAwards
Official hashtags: #TheAstras #AstraAwards #AstraFilmAwards
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
Average Rating