Awkwafina Selected for 2019 Maui Film Festival Shining Star Award

Awkwafina. Photo credit Brian Higbee via Maui Film Festival.

Actress, writer, rapper and musician, Awkwafina will receive the 2019 Maui Film Festival’s Shining Star Award.

The award will be presented at the Celestial Cinema on Saturday, June 15, located at the Wailea Gold and Emerald Golf Course. Following the Award Presentation will be a screening of “The Farewell,” courtesy of A24 films. The evening will be sponsored by the Festival’s new Signature Sponsor Alaska Airlines.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate and honor the 2019 Maui Film Festival’s brilliant Shining Star recipient Awkwafina, who is deservedly enjoying a stratospheric ride into the galaxy of cinematic stardom,” noted Maui Film Festival founder and director Barry Rivers. “My best guess is that we have only just begun to enjoy her eclectic and powerful performances, as I’m sure she will delight and touch people around the world in many triumphant decades yet to come. We’re also extremely excited to welcome Alaska Airlines into our festival ʻohana as our newest Signature Sponsor,” said Rivers.

“We were immediately on board with the Maui Film Festival,” said Natalie Bowman, managing director of marketing and advertising at Alaska Airlines. “A film can make you feel connected to the world the same way that travel can, and we’re thrilled to bring the two together to add even more magic and excitement to Maui.”

Festival organizers celebrate the event’s 20th year, with the 2019 festival to run from June 12-16, 2019, at the Wailea Resort in South Maui.

The Maui Film Festival Shining Star Award honors a film artist who dares to dream big dreams and delivers brilliantly charismatic and revelatory performances every time that opportunity knocks.

The Festival has previously presented the Shining Star Award to Adam Driver, Zac Efron, Andrew Garfield, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amber Heard, Freida Pinto, Emma Roberts and Olivia Wilde.

Awkwafina is an American actress, writer, rapper and musician from Queens, New York. Awkwafina, whose given name is Nora Lum, brings an impressive range of talent peppered with her signature flair, and has become a major breakout talent.

Lum can most recently be seen on the big screen as Peik Lin in Warner Bros’ “Crazy Rich Asians” opposite Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding and Ken Jeong. She also hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2018. Additionally, last year Lum was seen in Warner Bros’ box office hit “Ocean’s 8,” which was directed by Gary Ross, and “Dude,” written and directed by Olivia Milch.

Lum will next be seen in “The Farewell” this summer, “Jumanji 2” in December, and her Comedy Central Show “Awkwafina” in 2020.

Tickets and passes are available at www.mauifilmfestival.com.