"Candid and open is the only way I would know how to do this," says EGOT winner Rita Moreno about her upcoming documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It. Watch the full interview in the video above.
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It will be released in theatres June 18. Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera, the film chronicles Moreno from her early years in Puerto Rico through her childhood as an immigrant in New York City and the racial bias she faced in the studio system, while breaking down barriers and overcoming sexism and identity discrimination with integrity.
In addition to Moreno, others featured in the doc are George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo.
Watch Trailer for Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It Documentary
American Masters Pictures and Act III Productions in association with Artemis Rising and Maramar Films present the film. Executive producers are Michael Kantor, Lyn Davis Lear, Norman Lear, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Regina K. Scully; producers are Brent Miller and Pérez Riera. The documentary also has cinematography by P.J. López, music by Kathryn Bostic, and editing by Kevin Klauber and Pérez Riera. It is co-produced by Ilia J. Vélez-Dávila.
PBS’ American Masters will present the U.S. broadcast premiere of the documentary, which debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, sometime after the theatrical release.
Moreno has received all of the most prestigious awards in show business, including the Oscar, the Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy. She received The Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American Culture and was honored by her peers as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Moreno was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
Moreno earned a Tony Award for her work in Broadway's The Ritz; having earned an Oscar for her performance as Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, she returns to the musical in the upcoming remake as Valentina, a new take on the character Doc.
