40th Annual Muse Awards for Vision and Achievement

This past Tuesday, New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) presented the 40th annual Muse Awards for Vision and Achievement at the New York Hilton Midtown.

For the past 40 years, New York Women in Film & Television has empowered women in the entertainment industry, celebrating them for their talent, vision, and achievements through the annual Muse Awards Gala. Past honorees have included Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker, Laura Dern, Whoopi Goldberg, and Julianne Moore. The muse awards is attended by an audience of more than 1,200 leading executives from every major studio, broadcast and cable network, and film production company. This year’s showcase of accomplished women was attended by actors, producers, directors, writers, and industry leaders, such as Robert DeNiro, Margaret Atwood, Aisling Bea, Jen Ponton, Ana Villafañe, and Wendy Williams.

Excitement filled the packed room at this year’s gala, as NYWIFT Executive Director, Cynthia Lopez took the stage.“Thank all the activists that came here before you to open the door for you today,” she said. “When crossing a threshold in the future, you hold a door to those who come behind you. All the women we are honoring here are doing just that.” Her inspiring words were received with thunderous applause and whistles. The event was hosted by CBS Sunday Morning contributor, Nancy Giles. Throughout the afternoon, Nancy lent a warm, and humorous presence to the stage. 

The first award of the afternoon, the “Made in NY Award” presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, went to Caroline Hirsch, a brilliant entrepreneur, producer, and visionary. Not only is she the owner of the iconic comedy club, Caroline’s on Broadway, which she opened in 1982, she also founded and continues to produce the New York Comedy Festival, which she began six years ago. In 2006, Caroline created Stand Up for Heroes, a benefit that supports wounded veterans and their families and has raised over $56 million. 

The next award went to Gloria Estefan, a seven-time Grammy-winning singer, actress, song-writer, author of two bestselling children’s books, and philanthropist. Over the course of her extraordinary career, she has achieved worldwide sales of over 100 million records and has had 38 number one hits on the Billboard charts. She also created the Gloria Estefan Foundation, which funds charitable programs for young people and supports research to cure paralysis. When she received her award, Estefan was greeted with a standing ovation and loud cheers from the audience. She humbly thanked her family and her husband Emilio, remarking that they had been happily married for 42 years and that he was “a bigger feminist than anyone in this room.” She continued, “We all need our muses. They come in every way, shape, and form that you can imagine…We’re all about the yes. But nothing empowers you like a no. Take every no you receive and turn it around and do what you want.”

Next up was Shoshanna Stern, who received the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award. Shoshanna, who gave her speech in American Sign Language with a translator for the audience, represents the fourth generation of a deaf family. Shoshanna is best known for her roles as Bonnie Richmond on Jericho, in which she urged that her character be rewritten as deaf; Holly Brodeen in Threat Matrix; and Megan Graves on Weeds. She also recently wrapped season two of This Close, a drama/comedy she wrote, created, and stars in. The 2019 Variety Inclusion Impact list recently recognized Shoshanna for her efforts to raise awareness for the hearing impaired community both in front of and behind the camera. In her speech, she remarked, “I was gonna wait forever for someone to tell my story unless the story changed.”

Stern was followed by Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo, the world’s leading professional video platform. Sud has been included in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list of influential young people in business, and in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen ranking of power players under 35. She is also a designated Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. 

Ann Dowd came on after Stern and received the warmest response from the crowd. Dowd has received numerous accolades and awards for her performance as Aunt Lydia on the show, The Handmaid’s Tale, including a Critic’s Choice Award and an Emmy Award. She also received a 2017 Emmy nomination for her performance as Patti Levin on the HBO series, The Leftovers along with a slew of other awards and nominations for her work. As she took the microphone, she tearily recounted difficult years of auditions and roles: “It’s important to go back to the beginning. I remember coming to New York and all I had going for me was a fierce desire, a kind of panicked energy, and all I asked of myself is please, don’t ever give up.” She concluded her speech with the reassuring words, “Trust yourself and trust that there is a place at the table for you.”

Next was the always-inspiring Kasi Lemmons, who received the Nancy Malone Directing Award. Lemmons is an award-winning writer, director, actress, and professor, and her latest film,  Harriet, is a powerful drama based on the life of Harriet Tubman. When reflecting on the movie, and examining the strength of Harriet Tubman, she remarked to the crowd, “Together we have the power to change the world through the sheer force of our will, with our courage and our humanity, our conviction and our sense of justice…” Beyond her three decades in Hollywood, Lemmons has worked as a mentor and educator and is currently an associate arts professor in the graduate film program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. 

Finally, Jane Rosenthal took the stage to receive the Career Impact Achievement Award. Rosenthal is an Emmy-nominated producer, and CEO and co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises, which encompasses the Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Studios. She is also the co-founder and co-chair of the Tribeca Film Institute, a non-profit arts organization that helps storytellers work as catalysts for change in their communities and worldwide. She most recently produced the Emmy-award winning Netflix series, When They See Us, about the Central Park Five. She told the audience, “It’s wonderful to be acknowledged, but you don’t manifest justice or impact with an award. We create impact when we commit to doing something.” She continued, “All of us here have a passion. We must also commit to supporting each other to promote and produce underrepresented voices.” Jane concluded her speech by remarking, “These are not normal times! No matter the failures or challenges we face, we have to keep pushing forward. As storytellers, artists, executives, activists, doers, we have never been held back by ‘normal,’ and we cannot be held back by ‘no’.” Robert DeNiro joined her on stage at the end of her speech and warmly thanked the organization for recognizing her. 

In this era, it is imperative that we single women out in this way and recognize them for their talents. Each one of these honorees built her success during a time when women had to be twice as good as the men they were working with, which makes it twice the achievement. We congratulate these amazing women!!!