Maui News
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Stacy Peralta and Patagonia Surf Ambassador Gerry Lopez will be honored tonight on opening day of the Maui Film Festival.
Peralta will receive the Rainmaker Award, which recognizes a film artist “to have the magical ability to impact the dynamics of every project they touch both on and off the screen,” according to a press release. Peralta is best known as a member of the Z-Boys, founder of skateboarding company Powell-Peralta, and director of the award-winning documentary. “Dogtown and the Z-Boys.” His last movie, “The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez”, premieres at the festival.
Lopez will receive the Visionary Award, which recognizes a film artist “for their longstanding commitment to inspiring and nurturing the ever-changing tapestry of global cultures into an ever more compassionate and life-inspiring planetary community.”
Friday evening, Christina Ricci will be honored with the Nova Award, which rewards an artist “whose original and seamless performances consistently infuse each character they embody with a unique insight, humanity, and wisdom.”
Ricci, who currently plays in “Yellow Jackets,” has worked with prolific filmmakers such as Tim Burton and Lana Wachowski. She won Best Actress at the Seattle Film Festival for her role in “The Opposite of Sex” and was nominated for awards for her performances in “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.” Off-screen, she is the national spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
Also on Friday evening, Lana Condor will receive the Stella Award, which rewards an actress “For advancing the status of women in the film industry by breathing life into characters who empower, enlighten and entertain.” Condor starred in the three-part blockbuster “To All the Boys” franchise and will next star opposite John Cena and Will Forte in “Coyote vs. Acme” released in July 2023.
Condor uses her platform to raise awareness for causes such as The Asia Foundation, where she created a scholarship to send underprivileged girls and women to school in Vietnam.
Sunday evening, Jayme Lawson will receive the Rising Star Award, which rewards an artist “for abundant creativity to support honest, life-changing art.” Lawson is the star of “The Batman” and “The First Lady.” She will be the next co-star in “The Woman King” opposite Viola Davis and appear in “Until”, both of which are slated for release in September.
She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Juilliard and that year received the Laura Pels Award, Juilliard’s top acting award.
For more festival information, visit MauiFilmFestival.com/2022StardustCinema.
