Contact:
Catherine Olim / Alicia Mohr – PMK∙BNC
(310) 854-4800 /
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WOMEN IN FILM, LA HOSTS SUNDANCE PANEL AND AWARD EVENT
Annual Brunch Presented by Lucasfilm Ltd.
SUNDANCE FILMMAKERS LUCY WALKER AND ANNA MUSSO WIN
SPECIAL GRANTS AT THE ANNUAL WOMEN IN FILM EVENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Park City, UT – January 24, 2012) … Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF), the leading non-profit organization dedicated to women in the global entertainment industry, hosts its sixth annual filmmakers panel discussion and brunch event, presented by Lucasfilm Ltd., at the Sundance Film Festival. Yesterday, Women In Film and the Sundance Institute announced a collaboration to support career longevity for independent female filmmakers working in both narrative and documentary feature film. WIF is an Institute Associate of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has maintained a strong presence at the festival for the past nine years. During this year’s panel event, Women In Film is once again proud to announce two very special award presentations, the first with support from the National Geographic All Roads Film Project.
The Women In Film / National Geographic All Roads Film Grant has been established to recognize and award a deserving female documentarian in the Sundance Film Festival Program. Women In Film and National Geographic are pleased to announce the 2012 recipient of this grant is director/producer Lucy Walker. Walker will receive $5,000 for her work on The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, which will be featured in the Shorts Programs’ Documentary Spotlight at the 2012 Festival, as well as a prize of scheduling and budgeting software from Entertainment Partners.
Los Angeles-based film, television and theater production company CalmDown Productions, Inc. joins Women In Film to present the Women In Film / CalmDown Productions Grant to a female director in the Sundance Film Festival Shorts Program. A jury of WIF educators, filmmakers and artists has chosen filmmaker Anna Musso as the 2012 recipient for her work on L Train. With this grant, Musso takes home $5,000 from CalmDown Productions and Women In Film, as well as 5,000 feet of motion picture film stock from Eastman Kodak and a prize of scheduling and budgeting software from Entertainment Partners. Additionally, Technicolor will be offering Musso HD film telecine dailies for up to 5,000 feet of film for transfer.
Today’s 2012 Sundance Filmmakers Panel, “Tomorrow Starts Here: Raising Female Voices through Technology and Creativity,” features select female filmmakers with both narrative and documentary films at the festival, including:
Katie Aselton – Director/Actor, Black Rock
Ava DuVernay – Director/Screenwriter Middle of Nowhere
Lauren Greenfield – Director/Producer, The Queen of Versailles
Lora Hirschberg – Sound Mixer, How to Survive a Plague
Sheena M. Joyce – Director/Producer, The Atomic States of America
Lucy Walker – Director/Producer, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
"Women In Film is proud to celebrate female filmmakers at Sundance," says Lucy Webb, panel moderator and producer WIF, LA. "It is essential for all of us to explore more stories from a woman’s perspective."
This event is presented by Lucasfilm Ltd., and contributing sponsors include Max Mara and LUNA®.
ABOUT THE WINNERS:
Lucy Walker joins Women In Film today as a panelist to discuss her critically acclaimed short-length documentary, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, which chronicles the courage of survivors in the hardest-hit areas of Japan's recent tsunami and the healing power of Japan's most beloved flower.
Prior to The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Walker directed four feature documentaries: Devil’s Playground, which premiered at the 2002 Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award; Blindsight, which premiered at Toronto in 2006; and Waste Land and Countdown to Zero, both of which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Waste Land won the Audience Award at the Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award®. Walker has also been nominated for five Emmy® Awards and a number of other honors. Walker grew up in London and graduated from Oxford University before winning a Fulbright Scholarship to attend NYU.
Filmmaker Anna Musso will premiere her short film, L Train, which uses the Chicago Transit Authority’s “El” train system as a symbol for the life journey of a high school student, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. A native of Jefferson Park, Chicago, Musso earned a BFA from New York's School of Visual Arts. She has extended her education in the last five years working under the guidance of filmmaker Alexander Payne at his production company Ad Hominem, where she has been very generously mentored by its founders who also include screenwriter Jim Taylor and producer Jim Burke. In New York, Musso was a member of The National Board of Review and a videographer for The Actors Studio. She has co-directed two short films with Daniel Hartney, In Small Things Remembered and Once Upon a Time Never Comes Again – L Train marks Musso’s first solo directorial work.
ABOUT WOMEN IN FILM:
Women In Film (WIF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communication and media industries and to preserving the legacy of women within those industries. Founded in 1973, WIF and its Women In Film Foundation provide for members an extensive network of contacts, educational programs, scholarships, film finishing funds and grants, access to employment opportunities, mentorships and numerous practical services in support of this mission. In the independent film world, the organization focuses on assisting female independent filmmakers who have exhibited advanced and innovative skills, specifically through its Film Finishing Fund and award-winning PSA program.
ABOUT LUCASFILM LTD:
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully-integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual-effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties; Lucasfilm Animation, which is currently producing content for film and television, including "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", a CG-animated half-hour television series; and Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses.
Additionally, Lucasfilm Singapore, produces digital animated content for film and television, as well as visual effects for feature films and multi-platform games. Lucasfilm's motion-picture productions include three of the 20 biggest box-office hits of all time and have received 19 Oscars and more than 60 Academy Award nominations. Lucasfilm's television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.
ABOUT MAX MARA:
Max Mara, the premiere collection of the Max Mara Fashion Group, is the epitome of Italian style and luxury; a confident and contemporary collection of tailored silhouettes, sumptuous fabrications and couture details applied to ready-to-wear. Known for stylish coats, form-skimming separates, sharp suits and elegant accessories, Max Mara, was founded by the late visionary Achille Maramotti in 1951. The collection is now available in 2,279 locations in 100 countries and was the first of 19 collections under the Max Mara umbrella. The company remains privately held and managed by the Maramotti family.
ABOUT LUNA®
LUNA® nourishes women with delicious snacks made with organic ingredients and the essential vitamins women need. LUNA connects, supports and celebrates women with programs such as LUNAFEST®, a national traveling fundraising festival of short films by, for and about women, and Team LUNA Chix, an all-women’s sport group inspiring women to learn new sports and be active. LUNA proudly donates one percent of its sales to a variety of women’s nonprofits and the Breast Cancer Fund through the Clif Bar Family Foundation. (www.lunabar.com)
ABOUT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ALL ROADS FILM PROJECT:
The All Roads Film Project is a National Geographic program dedicated to providing a platform for indigenous and under-represented minority-culture storytellers around the world to showcase their works in film and photography to promote knowledge, dialogue and understanding with a broader, global audience. In addition to providing a venue for their films, All Roads offers its filmmakers and photographers a series of networking opportunities and awards a minimum of 10 seed grants a year to support the development and production of film and video projects by or about indigenous and under-represented minority-culture communities. Seed grant recipients are considered for inclusion in other National Geographic-affiliated broadcast outlets. The All Roads Photography Program provides photographers with award money, cameras and photography equipment to assist with their fieldwork.
Past recipients of the Women In Film / National Geographic All Roads Film Grant include Tiffany Shlain for Connected and Jennifer Arnold and Patti Lee for A Small Act.
ABOUT CALMDOWN PRODUCTIONS:
Calm Down Productions, Inc. (CDP) is a Los Angeles-based production company founded in 1991 by actress/producer Lucy Webb. The company produces television, film and theater. CDP has also produced and developed projects for HBO, Warner Bros., CBS, NBC, Lifetime and FX. Webb has been an avid supporter of Women In Film, Los Angeles, and has produced many of their past Crystal + Lucy Awards galas and events.
The 2011 Women In Film / CalmDown Productions Grant was awarded to Deb Shoval for AWOL.
ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS:
Entertainment Partners (EP), an employee-owned company, has been the leader in payroll, residuals, and production services for more than 30 years. Our accounting software and Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling programs are the industry standards. The EP Incentive Solutions team is expert in navigating the complexities of localized financial production incentives. In addition, casting/payroll for background actors is handled through the legendary Central Casting division, a Hollywood icon since 1925.
ABOUT EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY:
Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division is the world-class leader in providing film, digital and hybrid motion imaging products, services, and technology for the professional motion picture and exhibition industries. For more information, visit www.kodak.com/go/motion.
Follow Kodak on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KodakMotionPictureFilm, or on Twitter at @Kodak_ShootFilm.
ABOUT TECHNICOLOR:
With more than 95 years of experience in entertainment innovation, Technicolor serves an international base of entertainment, software, and gaming customers. The company is a leading provider of production, postproduction, and distribution services to content creators, network service providers and broadcasters. Technicolor is the world’s largest film processor, the largest independent manufacturer and distributor of DVDs (including Blu-ray Disc) and a leading global supplier of set-top boxes and gateways. The company also operates an Intellectual Property and Licensing business unit managing more than 40,000 patents. For more information: http://www.technicolor.com.
CONTACT:
For additional information or to request photographs from this event, please contact Catherine Olim or Alicia Mohr of PMK∙BNC at (310) 854-4800 or
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