Names and faces
■ During a tribute to her career at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), Penelope Cruz recalled the Betamax videotape store that opened in her neighborhood, in a suburb of Madrid, when she was a child and that made her discover cinema. It was there where she rented all the films of Spanish movie director Pedro Almodovar, she said. “I watched, and I laughed, I cried, and I learned,” she said at a star-studded benefit Tuesday evening at the museum. “I would not be here tonight, being honored by MoMa, if I had not had the privilege of working with brilliant directors who have inspired me, taught me, helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I want to thank them all tonight, and specially my Pedro.” The recognition comes a decade after the museum paid the same tribute to Almodovar, who has worked with Cruz in seven films. The latest movie by the director, “Parallel Mothers,” starring Cruz, opens in the United States on Dec.
24. On Monday, it received two Golden Globe nominations. Almodovar sent a video message to Cruz, congratulating her on the recognition. MoMA’s film benefit raises funds to bring great works of film to the museum’s collection. The museum’s film department includes more than 30,000 films and 1.5 million film stills. Previous MoMA honorees include Martin Scorsese, Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney.
■ The daughter of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny received a standing ovation from European Union lawmakers as she accepted the EU’s top human-rights prize on her father’s behalf Wednesday. The European Parliament, in a clear slap at Russian President Vladimir Putin, named Navalny, 45, in October as the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Daria Navalnaya displayed a framed picture of her father while delivering a speech to EU lawmakers. Opposing what she called a pragmatic approach in dealing with Russia and authoritarian regimes, she said she wrote to her father to find out what message he would like to convey. “He answered, ‘Say that no one can dare to equate Russia to Putin’s regime. Russia is a part of Europe, and we strive to become a part of it,” said Navalnaya, who was born in 2001. Navalny narrowly survived an August 2020 nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. He was promptly arrested upon his return to Moscow in January and later imprisoned. European Parliament President David Sassoli, who is from Italy, called Navalny a political prisoner and called for his release. The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989.