Motion Picture Association to Honor Creator and Policymakers with Second Annual MPA Award
2023 Honorees Include Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
WASHINGTON, DC – The Motion Picture Association today announced it will present its 2023 MPA Awards to three individuals from the global creative and policy communities who have made notable contributions to the film, TV and streaming industry.
Gina Prince-Bythewood, the award-winning director, writer and producer of film and television, will receive the 2023 MPA Creator Award. U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo will each receive a 2023 MPA Industry Champion Award.
The MPA will present the awards to all three honorees at a ceremony in June at the MPA global headquarters in Washington, DC.
“The 2023 MPA Awards recognize three individuals whose valuable contributions have enabled our global industry to continue to flourish,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association. “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.”
The MPA Creator Award is presented each year to an outstanding individual whose expert and brilliant display of their craft behind the camera moved and shaped culture and helped us see the world in new and different ways.
Highly recognized as one of the most versatile storytellers working in film and television today and known for her authentic, character-driven work, Prince-Bythewood has written and directed such influential feature films as Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond the Lights. She most recently directed the critically acclaimed epic feature film, The Woman King, for Sony’s TriStar Pictures, which premiered at the top of the box office in September 2022. For television, upcoming from Prince-Bythewood is Genius: MLK/X, on which she and her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood will serve as Executive Producers under their production company Undisputed Cinema.
The MPA Industry Champion Award is presented each year to individuals who have promoted the growth of the creative economy by advancing dynamic policies that generate new opportunities for all creators.
Jeffries’ leadership in the House has ensured that the American creative community continues to drive economic growth and export the best films and TV shows to the world. From supporting key federal agencies like the U.S. Copyright Office to ensuring that criminal streaming piracy services cannot exploit legal loopholes, he has worked to advance the needs of the industry at every step. And more broadly, he has authored laws to ensure that musicians receive fair compensation and independent artists are able to enforce their rights when their work is stolen.
Sheinbaum Pardo has presided over record growth in audiovisual production in Mexico City, the second-largest city in Latin America, and embraced the industry during a global pandemic by digitizing and streamlining administrative procedures for filming in the capital region. Her leadership has encouraged a new “Golden Era” of Mexican filmmaking and storytelling that brings economic prosperity and job creation while raising Mexico City’s visibility as a regional production hub and global cultural destination.
The inaugural MPA Awards in March 2022 honored director Nikyatu Jusu with a Creator Award, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina with Industry Champion Awards, and then-Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont with a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
About The Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world. Its member studios are: Netflix Studios, LLC; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
Media Contact
John Mercurio
john_mercurio@motionpictures.org