CODAjust got a huge honor.
CODAis a coming-of-age drama about a high school student who aspires to be a singer and is the only hearing member of her deaf family. It stars Emilia Jones,Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant and Eugenio Derbez.
Matlin, 56, accepted the award on behalf of the film, telling the audience, “I’m stunned, I’m stunned.”
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“Thank you for writing the words and including deaf culture, we love you,” she continued. “The interpreters, thank you all theCODAinterpreters and allCODAs everywhere, all over the world. My kids, all four of them areCODAs.”
“And look, you are all our peers,” she went on, referencing the stars in the audience. “We deaf actors have come a long way. [For] 35 years, I have been seeing so much work out there and all this time, I’ve watched all of your films and I pay the deepest respect to all of you.”
“Is Meryl Streep here?” Matlin asked as she searched through the crowd for the actress, whose filmDon’t Look Upwas also nominated in this category. Once she had spotted Streep, Matlin told her, “Oh my god, I love you!”
Concluding her speech, Matlin proudly told the audience, “This validates the fact that we deaf actors can work just like anybody else.”
“We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors [and] deaf culture. Thank you. We love you,” she said, before showing everyone how to say “I love you” in sign language.
RELATED VIDEO: CODA Star Amelia Jones Says That She Trained for 9 Months in Sign Language and Singing
Ahead of the awards, Derbezrecently told PEOPLE, “Look, I’ve been dreaming ofthe Oscars, and at least being part ofthe Oscarsin a certain way, for so many, many years that I want to have high expectations. Of course, I think this movie has a lot of potential because it’s inclusive, it’s interesting. It’s a new story. You haven’t heard about these kinds of stories.”
“It has everything. It has comedy, it has heart, it has drama. It has everything,” he added. “So I think it’s perfect for the award season. But I don’t want to think about it too much.”
The 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards aired live on TNT and TBS.
source: people.com
