West Side Story, In The Heights, Encanto Will Compete for Best Feature Film at 2022 Imagen Awards

It's Lin-Manuel Miranda's world; we're just living in it. Nominees for the 37th Annual Imagen Awards⁠—which celebrates Latinos in the entertainment industry⁠—were announced August 15 by Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) and Karrie Martin Lachney (Gentefied). Miranda's work was prevalent throughout the categories with three nominations for the Warner Bros. movie adaptation (Miranda produced and provided the music) of his four-time Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights and a music composition nod for Disney's Encanto (which received six nominations).

"After two years of streaming celebrations, we are ecstatic to be back in person and to honor those who made significant contributions to the television, film, and streaming spaces," says Guillén. "With the caliber of talent and the diversity of the roles and projects, our expectations were wildly exceeded with 445 entries, up 125 from 2021."

In the Heights, Encanto, and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story will all compete for Best Feature Film. In the Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu—who is set to direct the upcoming Wicked movie adaptation by Universal Pictures—was to be nominated in the following categories: Best Actor (Feature Film) for Anthony Ramos (who reprised his role from the 2017 production at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), and Best Actress (Feature Film) for Leslie Grace.

Encanto was also nominated for Best Director (Feature Film) for Jared Bush, Bryon Howard, and Charise Castro Smith, Best Actor (Feature Film) for John Leguizamo, Best Actress (Feature Film) for Stephanie Beatriz, Best Music or Composition (Film or TV) for Miranda and Germaine Franco, and Best Music Supervision (Film or TV) for Tom MacDougall.

West Side Story received additional nominations for Best Director (Feature Film) for Spielberg, Best Actor (Feature Film) for David Alvarez, and Best Actress (Feature Film) for Ariana DeBose, Rita Moreno, and Rachel Zegler.

Apple TV's Schmigadoon! received two nominations, one for Ariana DeBose in Best Supporting Actress (Comedy TV) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for Jaime Camil. More theatre-adjacent nods include Eden Espinosa for Best Voice-Over Actor (Television) for Disney Junior's Alice’s Wonderland Bakery, Rosario Dawson (who starred in the movie adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Rent) for Best Supporting Actress (Drama TV) for Dopesick and Best Actress (Drama TV) for DMZ, and Oscar Isaac for Best Actor (Drama TV) for Scenes From A Marriage.

The Imagen Awards were founded by producer Norman Lear, with past honorees and attendees including Miranda, Rita Moreno, Guillermo Del Toro, Salma Hayek, John Leguizamo, and Martin Sheen. View the full list of nominees here.