WIF (Women In Film, Los Angeles) announced today the honorees for the 2021 WIF Honors that will be held on Wednesday, October 6 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
Formerly named the Crystal + Lucy Awards®, the annual benefit supports WIF’s educational and philanthropic programs and its advocacy for gender parity for women throughout the industry. This is the first time the organization has been able to hold its fundraising celebration since 2019, due to the pandemic.
This year’s WIF Honors will celebrate the women who are transforming the industry for the better, with innovative reimaginings of how the workplace can be set up for women to support women with compassion, care, and a renewed commitment to equity across intersectional identities. The iconic Crystal Award will be presented to the following pairs of collaborators:
MARLEE MATLIN and SIÂN HEDER
JEAN SMART and HANNAH EINBINDER
ZENDAYA and ASHLEY LEVINSON
Marlee Matlin and Sian Heder are honored for setting a new precedent for representation and accessibility in front of and behind the camera on their film CODA. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are honored for performances that bring to light issues WIF has been working on for decades: sexism, ageism, and harassment in the entertainment industry. Zendaya and her producing partner Ashley Levinson are honored for disrupting the imbalanced, traditional systems of compensation and ownership with the shared equity model of their film Malcolm & Marie.
The WIF Honors Committee, chaired by Esther Chang, is comprised of Jamila Hunter, Michelle Lee, Monica Levinson, Talitha Watkins, and Lauren Williams. Chang stated, “We are thrilled to honor a handful of the many women in our industry who have taken on the unparalleled challenges of our time and created transformative and lasting impact and opportunity for the better, together.”
“We are honoring these pairs of women with the Crystal Award to reflect the collective effort it takes to transform this industry into one that rewards equality and succeeds as it becomes more inclusive. Even in the most difficult of times, these women have taken steps forward towards a more ideal future,” says Kirsten Schaffer, WIF Executive Director.
The WIF Honors are supported by sponsor Max Mara for the 18th year, alongside Visionary Partners ShivHans Pictures and Lexus and Major Partners Google and STARZ. The event is designed and produced by Carleen Cappelletti of Anchor Street Collective.
