Claudia Puig (born September 10, 1956) is an American entertainment journalist and film critic.[1][2][3] She was on staff at USA Today as lead film critic and prior to that was a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times.[4][5][6] She is currently a critic for NPR's Film Week, and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).[7][8][9][10]
Claudia Puig | |
|---|---|
 Claudia Puig at a Santa Barbara radio station, November 2019 | |
| Born | September 10, 1956 California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) University of Southern California (MA) |
| Occupation | Film critic |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Early life
editA native Spanish speaker, Claudia is first generation American, her parents having been born in Mexico.[11] She grew up in California and went to Catholic school,[12] then to study abroad at both Cambridge University and Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.[13][14] She has a B.A. in Communications Studies from UCLA and an M.A. in Communications from University of Southern California.[15]
Career
editClaudia began her journalism career in 1986 at the Los Angeles Times, where she was a staff writer for 11 years covering local news.[16][17][18][19] In 1997 she became an entertainment reporter at USA Today, then promoted to film critic in 2001 and, chief film critic in 2005.[20] While there, Puig also hosted USA Today's video series The Screening Room.[21][22]
In 2015, Claudia announced she was leaving the USA Today saying that she was "excited to embark on new adventures,"[23] and thanked her readers for following her work.[24] In 2015, Claudia started working as program director at various film festivals, including Napa Valley Film Festival, Mendocino Film Festival, FilmFest919 in Chapel Hill and most recently AFI Film Festival as Senior Programmer.[25][26][27][28][29][30]
Claudia teaches a college class on Diversity in the Media[31][32] and has served as a speechwriter and diversity consultant for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[33][34][35][36]
Puig is currently a movie critic for NPR's Film Week and a contributor to NPR Morning Edition and All Things Considered.[37] She is also a contributor for The Wrap, and AARP magazine,[38][39] and frequently appears as guest moderator for entertainment industry panels and Q&As across the country.[40][41]
Claudia was recently[when?] featured in a Los Angeles Times article as one of 14 critics making media more inclusive and in Indiewire as one of 20 Latin-Americans making a difference in independent film.[42][43]
In 2023, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced Claudia Puig as its programming director.[44]
Awards and honors
editPuig was presented in 2020 with the Excellence in Entertainment Journalism by The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)[45] and in 2017, she was the recipient of the Roger Ebert Award from the African American Critics Association.[46]
Personal life
editAs of 2015[update], Puig was living with her fiancé.[47][needs update] As of 2019[update], she was living in Glendale, California.[48]
References
edit- ^ "LA Film Critics Awards: Asian Directors Dominate as Netflix Is Embraced by Scott Feinberg". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Film Critics Awards: Asian Directors Dominate as Netflix Is Embraced by Scott Feinberg". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig, Program Director of the Mendocino Film Festival". 30 May 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig is president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association". Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Film Critics Awards: Asian Directors Dominate as Netflix Is Embraced by Scott Feinberg". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Meet the Critics". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "'There is room for everyone': 14 film critics on making media more inclusive by Tre'vell Anderson". Los Angeles Times. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "If She Hadn't Been a Film Critic, She Might Have Been a Nun". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Faculty". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "What Latinx Film Critics Have to Say by Antonia Cereijido". 22 February 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "If She Hadn't Been a Film Critic, She Might Have Been a Nun". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "3 Oscar Experts' Predictions CLASH: Claudia Puig vs. Scott Mantz vs. Tom O'Neil". YouTube. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Puig takes buyout at USA Today by Veronica Villafañe". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig Leaves USA Today by Sam Adams". 14 May 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Puig takes buyout at USA Today by Veronica Villafañe". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig Joins Napa Valley Film Festival as Program Director by Dave McNary". 11 August 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Former USA Today Film Critic Claudia Puig Sets Sights on New North Carolina Film Festival by Kate Erbland". 5 October 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "AFI Fest 2020 Pays Tribute to Rita Moreno and Global Latinx Films by Adriana V. Lopez". 19 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "NVFF Announces Films in Competition & Claudia Puig as New Program Director by Sydney Levine". 29 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Film Strengthens Community: Program Director Claudia Puig". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Faculty". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Biography". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig, Program Director of the Mendocino Film Festival". 30 May 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "LA Times Festival of Books 2019". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Claudia Puig by Aaron Salcido". 17 April 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "FX Feeney, LA Weekly Film Critic and Historian, Dies at 66 by Brian Welk". 6 February 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "What Latinx Film Critics Have to Say". 22 February 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "The Mendocino Film Festival 2019: A Conversation with Claudia Puig by Sarah Knight Adamson". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Faculty". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig is president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association". Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Puig". 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Santa Barbara Film Festival Hires Claudia Puig As Programming Director by Patrick Hipes". 12 August 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "'Pose' and 'Mucho Mucho Amor' Win Top Prizes at the Latino Media Fest Awards by Marc Malkin". 16 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ ""Get Out" Named Best Film of 2017 by AAFCA". Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Puig, Claudia (28 August 2015). "If She Hadn't Been a Film Critic, She Might Have Been a Nun". whatitmeanstobeamerican.org (Interview). National Museum of American History and Arizona State University. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ Brody, Eliot (24 April 2019). "Residents voice concerns over proposed biogas facility at Scholl Canyon Landfill". The Occidental. Retrieved 26 November 2020.