Etienne Maurice keeps his career moves so under wraps, not even mom Sheryl Lee Ralph knows what he’s up to!

At the 25th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 20, the Abbott Elementary actress, who was being honored with the Artist of Distinction Award, revealed that Maurice didn’t inform her about his lead role in Mistletoe & Matrimony.

“He kept it from me,” Ralph, 67, told PEOPLE of the milestone gig. “He didn’t even let me know he was doing it.”

Referring to Maurice, 32, and his wife Stephanie Wash, who tied the knot in July, she continued, “They got married, they went on their honeymoon. Next thing I know, he was on set shooting a movie.”

Ralph also said that she “didn’t give him any advice” in part because she didn’t even know it was happening, but clarified that she was not upset at him. 

“I’m very, very proud,” she said of Maurice. “I love it when my children choose to stake out on their own.”

Set to debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on Dec. 14, Mistletoe & Matrimony follows the love story of Isaiah Howes (Maurice) and Olivia Morris (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), per IMDB.

“A wedding planner juggles planning her sister’s last-minute Christmas Eve wedding while her ex-fiance unexpectedly arrives, adding chaos to the festive occasion,” an official synopsis reads.

Maurice hasn’t said much about the upcoming film, but he did debut its official movie poster, which features himself and Chestnut standing back to back, on his Instagram earlier this month.

He also shared a video of himself talking in front of the PEOPLE story, exclusively revealing the OWN for the Holidays lineup, which includes Mistletoe & Matrimony. 

“I’m over here just thankful, so thankful. I don’t even know what to say,” he said in the clip, later revealing that he was “really going to give up acting” before the movie came along.

Also at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Ralph spoke about how it felt to be honored — and revealed how “proud” she is of both Maurice and her daughter, Ivy Coco, both of whom she shares with her ex-husband, Eric Maurice.

“I’m very pleased about it because I say to people all the time, my career has been about the choices that I’ve made, the roles that I have chosen to do, the things that I have chosen to write, understanding that I didn’t just drop out of a coconut tree, and there’s so much more to the world,” she told PEOPLE of the Artist of Distinction Award.

“And I’m very happy that my children will now look and say, ‘Yeah, that’s my mother,’” she continued. “My parents up in heaven are looking down saying, ‘Yes, my daughter is making me proud.’ And my community, when they see my name on a project, they say, ‘I want to see that.’ So I’m very proud and very honored and I’m thrilled.”

Ralph also noted that Mistletoe & Matrimony and Maurice’s other work are a continuation of what she has built, adding, “I’m very proud of him because that’s all part of the legacy.”

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Mistletoe & Matrimony will premiere Saturday, Dec. 14 on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).