Penélope Cruz is a hot topic on the cinema radar. Not only was she recently seen starring in two critically-acclaimed movies, Isabel Coixet’s Elegy and Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but it was also recently announced that she will be honored with a tribute award at IFP’s 18th annual Gotham Awards ceremony in December. IFP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization of independent moviemakers and presents the Gotham Awards each year to kick off the awards season. The jury decided to award Cruz with a tribute due to her achievements stateside and abroad, for she has earned great success from her starring roles within Spanish cinema as well as Hollywood and was the first Spaniard to be nominated for an Oscar.
The executive director of IFP, Michelle Byrd, noted, “Penélope’s body of work embodies what is exciting and vibrant about filmmaking today, in particular independent filmmaking. Her performances working with internationally acclaimed directors and her choice of roles are dynamic, vivacious and varied.”
The remaining nominations for the Gotham awards including Best Feature, Breakthrough Director and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You will be announced on October 20th. The ceremony will take place on December 2nd in New York.