Artivist Film Festival

Artivist Honorees Announced: Ed Begley Jr., Tippi Hedren, Mike Farrell, France Nuyen to Receive Awards

The Artivist Film Festival today announced the honorees for the first annual Artivist Awards. These awards honor artists who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to activism. This years honorees are: Ed Begley Jr. for Environmental Preservation, Tippi Hedren for Animal Rights, Mike Farrell for Human Rights and France Nuyen for Children's Advocacy.

The Artivist Awards will be held on Tuesday April 27th at the Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood at 5:30pm. The Artivist Awards will also honor the Artivist Film Festival's designated beneficiary charities: Witness, Child Welfare League of America, The Humane Society of the United States and Greenpeace. The films chosen for awards by the festival's audience will also be honored.

Appropriately, the Artivist Film Festival kicks off on Earth Day, as a seven day event to be held April 22-28, 2004, at the Egyptian Theater. The festival represents a conscious coalition between filmmakers, artists and activists with the intention to serve as a vehicle to raise funds and awareness for this year's key issues: children's advocacy, international human rights, animal rights and environmental preservation. Funds raised by the festival will go to Artivist's designated charities.

Filmmakers from around the world have competed in three categories of film or video - narrative, documentary and short film. The centerpiece films of the festival, which coincide with the key issues are: children's advocacy - Born into Brothels, international human rights - Juvies, animal rights - Urban Elephant and environmental preservation - Supersize Me. Other notable films in the festival include: The Sound that Intoxicates Man, Blue Vinyl, Ford Transit, Two Towns of Jasper, War Photographer, Persons of Interest, How to Make a Bird and Crucible of War. Some films that will be presented publicly for the first time in LA or anywhere include A Seat at the Table, Fatal Fallout, We Interrupt This Empire, The Ferocious Pit and The Corporation. In total over 75 films will be shown throughout the festival.

In addition to the films and awards presentation, another event during the festival will include an exhibit of work from world-renowned fine artists and photographers entitled ARTIVISM. Artists to be showcased in the festival include English painters/photographer/explorers Oily & Suzi; environmentalist and photographer Subhankar Banerjee; guerilla poster artist Robbie Conal; Basque installation artist Erlea Maneros, New York-based culture jammer Ron English, photographer and activist Phil Borges, Angolan-born artist Nzuji De Magalhaes; painters Patrick M. Webb and Leigh McCloskey, photographers Chris Jordan, Raj Naik and Nicole Russell, and media artist/cultural activist John Carr.

There will also be nightly forums on the key issues, topics and participants to be announced soon. The Artivist Film Festival will occupy both theaters and the grounds of the Egyptian Theater compound. Its courtyard and lobby will serve as the Artivist Community Center with a vegan café, earth friendly vendors, an information area and "jam stand", with live music playing every evening in the forecourt. IZZE Natural Beverages will provide free refreshment to festival-goers throughout the week as well.

Founder and Executive Producer, Diaky Diaz said: "Begley, Hedren, Farrell and Nuyen's work is inspirational to all artist/activists. We are so thrilled to be honoring such a dedicated group of Artivists."

The Artivist Film Festival is the first film festival dedicated to addressing social, global, political, animal rights and environmental issues through Film, Visual Arts & Music. Our mission is to strengthen the voice of international activist Filmmakers & Artists - Artivists - while raising public awareness and funds for global social causes.

Offices are located at POB 910, Hollywood, CA 90028, (310) 712-1222. For more info visit http://www.ArtivistFilmFestival.org.



Contact
Susan Mainzer, Publicist: (213) 840-0077 or smainzer@kucinich.us