Marvel Star Xochitl Gomez Partners With SweeTARTS For TikTok Film Festival

Actress Xochitl Gomez gained a legion of fans earlier this year from her role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which saw her portraying the beloved Marvel character America Chavez. This fall, Gomez will be partnering with SweeTARTS for another cinematic showcase — this time, on TikTok. On Thursday, SweeTARTS announced the SweeTARTS Film Fest, which will highlight storytellers on the app from across the country. Submissions will be accepted on TikTok from August 12th through September 7th, and will consist of four categories — "Best Expression of 'Be Both'", "Best Story Time", "Best Use of Video Tools" and "Best Colorful Creation." 

The winners of the Film Fest will ultimately be selected by a panel of judges, including Gomez. The winners will be announced by Gomez exclusively on her TikTok account on October 6th at 7pm ET, and each winner will receive a grand prize of $25,000.

"Filmmaking is my passion; both in front of and now also behind the camera," Gomez said in a statement. "Storytelling has held a special place in my heart for as far back as I can remember, and nothing goes together better than candy and movies. TikTok has made it easier than ever for myself and other storytellers to share our video content with the world, and I'm thrilled to join forces with SweeTARTS in hosting a brand new celebration of modern-day creators. Can't wait to review the submissions from these multi-talented filmmakers!"  

"Starting with our name and fully captured in our motto of 'Be Both,' SweeTARTS believes powerful results are unleashed when you combine things that are seemingly opposite, like our unique Sweet and Tart profile," Jennifer Brownson, SweeTARTS Sr. Brand Manager at Ferrara, echoed. "The SweeTARTS Film Fest on TikTok celebrates the seemingly contradictory combination of the everyday and impactful content, the powerful result of which is certainly worthy of its own film festival." 

Gomez's performance as America Chavez has earned the praise of many — something that the actress has been overwhelmed by in the best possible way.

"I mean, just seeing the reaction to America and seeing how much people love her and want to see more of her is just, and the fact that people cosplaying her is pretty insane," Gomez said in an interview for ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast.

"I mean kind of all of it, I was not prepared for it because I had no idea what it was going to be or if people were going to like the character," Gomez continued. "I just hoped that people really liked the character. That was the main thing. But I mean, it's the aftermath of how much people come up to me and tell me that it just means so much to them that I'm on the screen and that I'm there being their representative and just also that they can see themselves with me being on screen, which is just so important. And I'm just so happy that I get to be that for them. And also, just the fact that some girls are like, they shake when they see me, they're like shaking and some of them don't even want a photo or they forget to ask for a photo. And so, I'll be like, do you want to take a photo? We can take a photo and they just want to hug me. It's so sweet. I'm so glad that I can be that for young girls, you know?"

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now available on Digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD.

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