At this year's Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) awards, Everything Everywhere All At Once took home the most awards of any film - including Best Picture, Director Danis Daniels and Actress Michelle Yeoh. Additionally, it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Sound Design and Stunt Design.

The film follows a mother and daughter as they struggle with seeing things with their eyes. Its main theme revolves around choosing kindness, with plenty of visual metaphors employed throughout.

The Movie

Latino Entertainment Journalists Explore Draconian Affair

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("the Daniels") directed 'Everywhere All At Once', a grand sci-fi adventure sure to delight moviegoers and critics alike. Starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and an impressive 17 actors from around the globe, it promises a captivating film experience that will stay with viewers long after they leave the theater.

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The Cast

Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), a laundromat owner, discovers she lives in multiple parallel universes. As Evelyn embarks on this epic journey to access all her memories and skills from these multiverses in order to save the world, she begins to lose control over her own future. This marks the start of an incredible journey that will test her mettle as both person and machine.

Michelle Yeoh is renowned for her roles in Avatar, Star Trek: Discovery, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. In the new all-star cast featuring Stephanie Hsu (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Ke Huy Quan (Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), Jenny Slate (I Want You Back) and Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians), Michelle Yeoh stars as Evelyn Wang alongside an all-star ensemble featuring actors like Ke Huy Quan (Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), Jenny Slate (I Want You Back) and Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians).

Yeoh not only stars in the movie, but she was also its executive producer and co-writer with her husband Daniel Kwan. Together with director duo Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (working under the name "Daniels"), Yeoh previously directed A24 films such as Swiss Army Man and The Death of Dick Long.

Yeoh's performance as Evelyn is truly remarkable, boasting both humanity and humor that will surely win her fans and accolades alike.

Evelyn struggles to find peace in her chaotic life, until she comes across an ominous bagel that appears to offer a way out. She decides to repair her relationship with her daughter, who has been grieving the loss of their father.

Evelyn is forced to confront her fears and insecurities throughout the film. Through these struggles, she learns how to fight negativity within herself and find purpose that seemed lost. Although full of bizarre situations, this action-packed movie also showcases love's potential even in unexpected places.

The Screenplay

Evelyn, an immigrant mother faced with the unraveling of reality due to an interdimensional rupture, is granted extraordinary powers. But she must learn how to channel these gifts for good in order to protect her daughter and family from the perils of the multiverse.

Everything Everywhere All At Once's screenplay, written by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, is an exquisite visual display of metaphors. The film centers around the theme of choosing kindness as the driving force behind its main characters' relationships with one another.

Due to this, the movie's plotline can be difficult to follow along with. But ultimately, it serves as a reminder of how simple life can be when we choose to look on the brighter side.

At the start of the film, we meet Jackie - a father who cheats on his taxes and faces an IRS audit. He struggles to accept his daughter's life and her nihilistic views on the world are a major factor in their relationship. She eventually cuts contact with him and marries another woman, yet he still loves her deeply.

One day, Winona from another universe appears and warns Joy that she has perfected "verse jumping," an artful technique for jumping between verses. To master this complex process, Jackie must traverse multiple universes in order to acquire the skillset necessary for defeating Joy.

However, he eventually succeeds and the two find a way to work together and overcome their differences. It's an important message, and the screenplay does an excellent job of conveying this concept in an understandable manner.

The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) revealed nominations for the 2022 LEJA Awards in late February, and revealed its winners earlier this week. Top award recipients were Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, The Power of the Dog and Encanto.

The Director

The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) is dedicated to elevating Latino voices across all media, such as film, television, music and theatre. Established in 2018, LEJA strives to increase Latino visibility, representation and impact across these platforms.

According to a new study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which examined 1,300 popular films from 2007 to 2019, only 5% of characters identified as Latino or Hispanic. This finding is alarming given both the rapid growth in Latino population and recent explosive growth within Latin music industry.

Contrary to discouraging statistics, Latino artists have seen an uptick in popularity recently, showing that consumers are eager to celebrate inclusive media. The growth of the music industry has particularly enabled new platforms like streaming services that enable people of all backgrounds to access and enjoy top Latin music.

Due to this growing consumer demand, Latinos have seen an uptick in their representation on movies and TV shows they watch. According to a recent report by Directors Guild of America, the percentage of Latino directors of episodes of television has increased nearly 10% since 2016-17 season.

Though this is an encouraging development, the number of Latino directors on top-grossing films still falls far behind the average number. According to a 2019 report from the University of Southern California, only 1.8% of directors on the 100 highest grossing films were Latinos.

It's evident that the filmmakers behind "Everywhere All At Once" possess a distinct voice, one they've developed through years of YouTube videos, Tim and Eric sketches and Japanese anime films. However, their vision is grounded in science-fiction principles inspired by films like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Ratatouille.

The Audience

According to the Government Accountability Office, Latinos remain underrepresented and misrepresented in media despite an increasing population. With major newsrooms, Hollywood films, publishing houses failing to properly represent their audiences, Congress is calling for change.

Thankfully, there are multiple strategies to increase Latino representation in media production - one of which is through better audience analysis. Carolina Negron-Muntaner conducted an analysis of historical data to see which movies and television shows have featured Latinos over time and found that while representation is increasing, it's not keeping up with the rapid growth of the Latino population.

In addition to films and TV series, she has also studied television news coverage of Latinos in America. She discovered that Latinos are frequently depicted either as troublemakers who cause problems for Anglo society or beset by difficulties associated with being Latino, such as learning English, finding employment and finding a place to live here in America.

These stereotypes aren't always inaccurate, but they can have an adverse effect on the success of movies and television programs that feature people of color. For instance, portraying Latinos as criminals may negatively affect the box office for action movies and animated family films.

Researchers suggest companies prioritize diversity in their productions and give priority to projects created by writers of color and directors from the region. Furthermore, promoting diversity at the highest levels of entertainment can raise awareness among those with power about this issue and encourage them to support Latin creators.