Hollywood Gives Back : Hollywood Film Awards and Hollywood Film Festival
By Carlos de Abreu
Hollywoodnews.com: We want to thank all filmmakers, friends and supporters for their continuous support. Without you we could not pursue our quest of discovering emerging filmmakers, honoring excellence in the art of filmmaking, and helping others through our “HOLLYWOOD GIVES BACK ®” initiative.
“We greatly appreciate all you have done for us through the Hollywood Awards and our “Everybody Can Save a Life!” video contest. Your efforts have saved many lives.” – Paul Dooley, CEO- MatchingDonors.com
“Because of the generosity of The Hollywood Awards, we have just opened our new building at the Academy for Peace and Justice, the first free secondary school serving the very poor in Port-au-Prince… It is because of YOU that we are able to help change the lives of the poorest children of Haiti — children whose names I would love you to get to know, and whose faces I would love you to see.” – Director Paul Haggis for Artists for Peace and Justice.
For a 15th consecutive year, the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards continue their mandate of bridging the gap between emerging filmmakers and the film industry, as well as recognizing excellence in established Hollywood, both in front and behind the camera.
In addition to celebrating accomplishments on screen, the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards established the “Hollywood Gives Back(r)” initiative to expand and continue highlighting and assisting important local and national causes. Over the years, the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards have contributed to such organizations as: The Art of Elysium, Artists For Human Rights; Artists for Peace and Justice; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; the Enough Project; and the children’s charity Variety SoCal among others.
Further, the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards selects individuals to be recipients of their “Hollywood Humanitarian Awards (TM)” in recognition of their contribution to the betterment of their communities or society at large. Prior recipients include Nobel Peace Prize winner and President of East Timor, Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Father Rick Frechette and actor and activist Sean Penn.
Called the “first mandatory stop in the awards season” by the “New York Times,” the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, held respectively at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, and at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, honor the brightest talents from some of the year’s best films.
The “Los Angeles Times” recognized the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony as a “pre-Oscar showcase,” while the laid-back atmosphere in the Beverly Hilton has helped the gala earn the description of “the Oscars without the angst.” (Also from the L.A. Times.). The Gala is a celebration of Hollywood and the art of filmmaking. In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards.
Founder Carlos de Abreu at the 2011 Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony
Celebrities and Hollywood notables who attended the Hollywood Awards included Chris Albrecht – President and Chief Executive Officer of Starz LLC, Stephan Shelanski – Executive Vice President of Starz Entertainment, Timothy Sean Phillips – head of Yahoo!Movies, Ben Affleck, Craig Brewer, Beau Bridges, Michael Barker, Jerry Bruckheimer, Ted Danson, Drake Doremus, Tom Felton, Paul Haggis, Anne Hathaway, Jonah Hill, Julianne Hough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Ray Liotta, Ewan McGregor, Penelope Ann Miller, Don Murray, Christoph Waltz, Harvey Weinstein and Owen Wilson, to name a few. The gala awards presentation last October 24 was hosted by Nancy O’Dell of “Entertainment Tonight” and attendees were treated to the music of Johnny Crawford and his Orchestra.
Michelle Williams received the “Hollywood Actress Award” at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony
At the Hollywood Film Festival’s Hollywood Discovery Awards party at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood.
The winners of the festival’s film competition were announced Sunday night, Oct 23, at the “Hollywood Discovery Awards®” Presentation Ceremony at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. This year’s winners are: “Dorfman” by Brad Leong – Best Feature Film; “The World of Z” by Brad Besser and Vince Clemente – Best Documentary; and “Clear Blue” by Lindsay MacKay – Best Short Subject.
The sponsors of the Hollywood Film Festival include presenter sponsor Starz Entertainment, and American Cinema Editors, American Society of Cinematographers, ArcLight Cinemas, Art Director’s Guild, The Casting Society of America, Celebrity Services, Columbia Pictures, Creative Artists Agency, DreamWorks SKG, Entertainment Tonight, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Gerry Turnbull, The Hollywood Network, HollywoodNews.com, ICM, ILM, Johnny Crawford Orchestra, Los Angeles Times, Motion Picture Editors Guild, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Variety, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., The Weinstein Company and YAHOO! Movies, Inc., among others.
For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.
Photos by Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Film Awards®
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