LEJA Film Awards: THE POWER OF THE DOG tops with Best Picture and Director

(March 6, 2022) – The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) announced
the winners for the 4th Annual Latino Entertainment Film Awards, which included “The Power of the Dog” winning best picture, director (Jane Campion), adapted screenplay and editing.

Andrew Garfield won best actor for his performance as Jonathan Larson in “Tick, Tick … Boom!” while Penelope Cruz won best actress for her role as Janis, a mother with suspicions about her child, in “Parallel Mothers.”

Troy Kotsur was honored with supporting actor for his role in “CODA” while Ariana DeBose took home the prize for supporting actress in “West Side Story.”

The most awards was a three-way tie between “The Power of the Dog,” “Dune” and “Encanto” with four each. Walt Disney Pictures won the most awards for a studio with six.

Miranda was also selected by the LEJA membership as the recipient of the Latino Activism Award. Past winners of that award include America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Rosie Perez.

Lin-Manuel Miranda received the most individual nominations of any person with seven: best picture for “In the Heights,” best director for “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” voice or motion capture performance for “Vivo” and a trio of song mentions from the animated film “Encanto,” including “Dos Oruguitas,” “Surface Pressure” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

John Leguizamo is being honored with the 2022 Rita Moreno Lifetime Achievement Award for this year’s special honorees. For decades, the Special Tony and Emmy-winning actor, producer and comedian has been a tireless force in the Latino community.

For the 2022 Latino breakout performer award, the membership selected Rachel Zegler. Her role as “Maria” in “West Side Story” cemented this young actress in a role with the highest of bars. Zegler knocked it out of the park. With the leading role in “Snow White” on the way, we can expect excellent work from this budding actress.

Previous best picture recipients from LEJA have included “Nomadland” (2020), “Parasite” (2019) and “Roma” (2018).

The full list of winners are below:

Best Picture
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) – Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappie

Best Director
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Troy Kotsur, “CODA” (Apple Original Films)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios)

Best Voice or Motion Capture Performance
Stephanie Beatriz, “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures)

Best Animated Film
“Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Jared Bush, Charise Castro Smith, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer

Best Non-English Language Film
“Parallel Mothers” (Sony Pictures Classics) (Spain) – Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar, Esther García

Best Documentary Film
“Flee” (Neon) – Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

Best Original Screenplay
“C’mon C’mon” (A24) – Mike Mills

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) – Jane Campion

Best Ensemble Casting
“In the Heights” (Warner Bros) – Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey

Best Production and Set Design
“Dune” (Warner Bros) – Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos

Best Cinematography
“Dune” (Warner Bros) – Greig Fraser

Best Costume Design
“Cruella” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Jenny Beavan

Best Editing
“The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) – Peter Sciberras

Best Hair and Makeup
“Cruella” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon

Best Sound Design
“Dune” (Warner Bros) – Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett

Best Visual Effects
“Dune” (Warner Bros) – Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer

Best Musical Score
“Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Germaine Franco

Best Stunt Design
“No Time to Die” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)

Best Song Written for a Film
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Lin-Manuel Miranda

Film Leaders

“The Power of the Dog” – 4
“Dune” – 4
“Encanto” – 4
“Cruella” – 2
“Parallel Mothers” – 2
“West Side Story” – 1
“Tick, Tick … Boom!” – 1
“In the Heights” – 1
“CODA” – 1
“No Time to Die” – 1
“C’mon C’mon” – 1
“Flee” – 1

Studio Numbers

WALT DISNEY – 6
NETFLIX – 5
WARNER BROS. – 5
20th CENTURY STUDIOS – 1
MGM/UAR – 1
NEON – 1
APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS – 1
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS – 2
A24 – 1

(Suministrada)