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JUDE HILL, NATALIE MORALES, SIMU LIU, GREIG FRASER, AND THE CAST OF CODA<\/em> TO BE HONORED AT THE 5TH ANNUAL HCA FILM AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n The HCA Film Awards will take place on <\/strong><\/p>\n Saturday, January 8, 2022,\u00a0<\/strong>at the Avalon Hollywood<\/strong><\/p>\n Thursday, November 11, 2021 (Los Angeles, CA) – The Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) announced today their first wave of honorary award recipients for the 5th Annual HCA Film Awards taking place on Saturday, January 8, 2022, at the Avalon Hollywood<\/strong> in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating our fifth anniversary with our first in-person ceremony since January of 2020,\u201d states HCA Founder Scott Menzel. \u201cAs things continue to return to normal, the members of the Hollywood Critics Association are looking forward to reuniting and commemorating an incredible year of film. Our hope is that this year\u2019s ceremony will be bigger and better than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to in-competition awards, the HCA will continue its yearly tradition with a series of honorary awards. \u201cAs excellence and inclusion are the driving forces of our organization, the recipients of our honorary awards represent a wide range of talent that includes some of the biggest names in the industry, up-and-coming artists, and those who are often overlooked and underrepresented,\u201d adds HCA President Nestor Bentancor. \u201cWe are excited to reveal some of our selected recipients with the remaining names to be announced in the weeks ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Jude Hill will be receiving the organization\u2019s Newcomer Award for his role as Buddy in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast.<\/em> The film, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, has quickly become one of the most talked-about films of the year. \u201cJude Hill\u2019s performance is one that exudes joy, curiosity, and innocence. Hill instantly captured my heart and I believe he will capture the hearts of all those who see Belfast<\/em>,\u201d adds HCA Co-Chair Ashley Menzel.<\/p>\n Simu Liu, the star of Marvel Studios\u2019 Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings<\/em>, will be receiving this year\u2019s Game Changer Award. \u201cIn previous years, the Game Changer Award has been presented to an actor or actress whose most recent work showcased something so noteworthy that we believed it could only lead to bigger and better projects,\u201d notes Bentancor. This year, the Game Changer Award has a double meaning, because not only did Simu Liu change the trajectory of his career with his outstanding performance, but he also made history by being the leading man in Marvel\u2019s first-ever Asian-led superhero film.<\/p>\n Actor-turned-filmmaker Natalie Morales will be honored with the Filmmaker on the Rise Award. In 2021, Morales directed two films, Language Lessons<\/em>, which premiered at Berlin International Film Festival, and Plan B<\/em>, which premiered on Hulu. Language Lessons marked Morales’ feature film debut and Plan B was her sophomore outing. The two films were released just weeks apart and each received critical praise. Both films are now available to stream and currently have a 96% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n The cast of Sian Heder\u2019s CODA<\/em> will receive the HCA Spotlight Award. The ensemble, who won the Ensemble Award at Sundance Film Festival, includes Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Eugenio Derbez, and Daniel Durant. This award was created to promote representation and bring awareness to diverse and underrepresented voices in entertainment. \u201cWhen I first saw CODA<\/em> at the Sundance Film Festival, I instantly fell in love with the story and cast,\u201d notes Scott Menzel. \u201cAs an organization, the HCA prides itself on being inclusive and a film like CODA<\/em> shines a light on a community that is often overlooked in Hollywood. Filmmaker Sian Heder gave deaf actors an opportunity to take center stage and be part of something that is funny, heartfelt, and poignant. Films like Apple TV+’s CODA<\/em> are rare to see and we, as an organization, believe what this film does for representation should be embraced and celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Dune<\/em> cinematographer Greig Fraser will be the recipient of this year\u2019s Creative Arts Achievement Award. Fraser, whose impressive career includes working on such iconic films as Zero Dark Thirty, Lion<\/em>, and Rogue One<\/em>, has received nothing but critical acclaim for his most recent work on Denis Villeneuve\u2019s Dune<\/em>. Fraser shot Dune<\/em> on the Alexa LF, ARRI\u2019s large-format digital camera, and worked very closely with Villeneuve to ensure that his vision would be perfectly reflected in the final project. Fraser just wrapped filming on The Batman<\/em> with Matt Reeves and will reunite with Villeneuve to shoot Dune Part 2<\/em> next summer.<\/p>\n The timeline for the HCA Film Awards is as follows:<\/p>\n Tuesday, November 23, 2021 – Nomination ballots will be emailed to voting HCA members <\/p>\n About the Hollywood Critics Association:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Founded in late 2016, the Hollywood Critics Association\u2019s mission is to bring together a passionate group of critics and journalists who represent the voices of a new era in Hollywood. To learn more about the Hollywood Critics Association, please visit www.HollywoodCriticsAssociation.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hailee Steinfeld, Jude Hill, Natalie Morales, Simu Liu, Greig Fraser, and the cast of CODA to be honored at the 5th Annual HCA Film Awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9552,2630,9561,9564,8511,9558,5297,8854,7785,9550,9559,9557,9551,9560,9556,9554,9562,8844],"class_list":["post-32775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-belfast","tag-cinematographer","tag-coda","tag-creative-arts-achievement-award","tag-dune","tag-filmmaker-on-the-rise-award","tag-greig-fraser","tag-hca-film-awards","tag-hollywood-critics-association","tag-jude-hill","tag-language-lessons","tag-natalie-morales","tag-newcomer-award","tag-plan-b","tag-shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings","tag-simu-liu","tag-spotlight-award","tag-trailblazer-award"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Newcomer-Award-FilmAwards2022-640x640.jpg\")
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\nSunday, November 28, 2021 – Nomination ballots are due by 6pm PT
\nThursday, December 2, 2021 – HCA Film Awards nominations will be announced at 8am PT on social media with a press release to follow
\nFriday, December 3, 2021 – Winner Voting Begins
\nSunday, December 5, 2021 – Winner Voting Ends
\nSaturday, January 8, 2022 – HCA Film Awards Ceremony at Avalon Hollywood<\/p>\n