PENELOPE CRUZ has a date with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on Dec. 14. The actress — garnering critical praise for turns this year in “Parallel Mothers” with longtime collaborator Pedro Almodovar and in Official Competition for directing team Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat — will be feted during the museum’s annual Film Benefit. The event returns to an in-person affair for the 14th annual installment after a virtual presentation for honoree George Clooney last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Luxury fashion house Chanel returns as the presenting sponsor making for an in-sync affair, as Cruz has served as an ambassador for the brand since 2018. Cruz won an Oscar in 2009 for her work in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and snagged two other nominations, one in 2007 for “Volver” and again in 2010 for “Nine.” For Cruz, the MoMA honor comes on the heels of winning the Volpi Cup for best actress at the recent Venice Film Festival for “Parallel Mothers.” Sony Pictures Classics will release the film Dec. 24. Before that, however, MoMA will screen the film Dec. 15 as part of its annual series “The Contenders,” which shines a spotlight on films that are in the awards season conversation. “Penelope Cruz has mesmerized cinema audiences since 1992 as an artist who is as compelling in action-adventures as she is in auteur-driven pictures,” Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film at MoMA, said in a statement Tuesday. (SD-Agencies) | 