The 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards is ready to make you laugh out loud as Saturday Night Live’s Melissa Villaseñor has been tapped to host. 

Due to the Covid pandemic, this year the show will not be live from Santa Monica Beach, as usual. The show will air on Thursday, April 22on IFC and AMC+ at 10 p.m. ET. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Melissa Villaseñor into the club of smart, funny film lovers to host the Spirit Awards. The time to laugh has definitely arrived, and not a moment too soon,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. 

Villaseñor began her comedic journey as a stand-up comic in Los Angeles and gained further recognition after being a semifinalist on the 2011 edition of America’s Got Talent. The stand-up comedian, actress and impressionist is the first-ever Latina cast member of SNL. 

“As someone who considers herself a pretty dependent person, I’m truly honored to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards,” said Villaseñor. 

The Mexican talent is best known for her impersonations of Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more.

Outside of SNL, Villaseñor has provided voiceovers in films such as Toy Story 4; Ralph Breaks the Internet, Family Guy and American Dad. She is currently working on her first book, a creative self-help journal forthcoming from Chronicle Books. 

Said Blake Callaway, Executive Director, IFC and SundanceTV, “Melissa and the unique circumstances of now will make this year’s ceremony like no other. It will certainly be a departure from the past, but with Melissa, the chances of Dolly, Ariana Grande, Bjork, Gwen Stefani, Julie Andrews and Lady Gaga showing up have skyrocketed.”

Film Independent, a non-profit organization cultivates the careers of emerging filmmakers and promotes diversity and inclusion across the film industry. For the first time, the Directors Close-Up, an annual series featuring in-depth panel discussions with the year’s lauded filmmakers, will only have Spirit Award nominees as panelists. The series, which will be available for streaming, will include nine sessions over two months, featuring the best directors from indie film, documentary, and television. This year’s Spirit Award nominations include a new TV section. This year’s Best Feature nominees include First Cow, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Nomadland. The full list of nominees can be found HERE:

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The forum will “adopt a unique live mixed reality format as crucial fireside conversations take place between influential leaders and young changemakers.” The topics to be addressed include advancing climate action and sustainable living, equality and inclusion, future of education and work, mental health and wellbeing, and peace and justice, states a press release.

The virtual event will feature international speakers like World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, United Nations Undersecretary-General Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, and human rights activist Siyabulela Mandela.

Pitbull will join other confirmed celebrity speakers that include: Suicide Squad actress Cara Delevingne, co-founder of EcoResolution, an environmental justice platform; Riverdale actor and musician Drew Ray Tanner; The Act actor and ONE Campaign Ambassador Calum Worthy; Pose actor, singer and LGBTQ+ advocate Dyllón Burnside;  Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s mother and co-founder of Born This Way Foundation. Also in attendance will be representatives from UN Foundation, UNAIDS, The World Bank Group, and Artists for Amazonia, among others.

The Grammy Award-winning Latino rapper will be part of the panel “Youth-Led Innovation for the Future,” along with Jeff Hoffman, chairman of Global Entrepreneurship Network,  and Kelly Lovell, CEO of BridgingTheGap Ventures and founding chair of YOUNGA.

Pitbull will also be in charge of closing the event with a musical send-off to forum participants. He will perform his latest single “I Believe That We Will Win (World Anthem),” an optimistic tune about defeating Covid-19 that was released in the middle of the pandemic last April.

For more information, visit: https://youngaforum.com.

—CESAR ARREDONDO

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