THE 6th ANNUAL ARTIVIST FILM FESTIVAL & ARTIVIST AWARDS Save the dates! The 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival & Artivist Awards will take place at the historic Egyptian Theater in the heart of Hollywood from December 1-5, 2009. Artivist Founder and President Diaky Diaz states: “We are looking forward to another successful year with the Artivist filmmakers and our expanding community. We have received thousands of films and it’s inspiring to see the purposeful passion of these filmmakers. Now, perhaps more than ever, we need a reminder of the interdependence between Humanity, Animals, and the Environment. We are grateful to our Sponsors and Supporters for expanding the Artivist mission of awareness, compassion, and positive action in our global community.” THE ARTIVIST AWARDS honors the winning films of the annual Artivist Film Festival and the work of outstanding advocate celebrities. The Awards Ceremony takes place at the completion of the Artivist Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The Artivist Film Festival has received public endorsements from various global leaders and organizations including the UNITED NATIONS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, GLOBAL GREEN, and Claes Nobel of the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE family. HAVE YOUR FILM DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE ARTIVIST NETWORK! The Artivist Collective is pleased to announce that our online networking community for independent artists “ARTIVIST NETWORK” is launching very soon.
The Artivist Network is an Internet based social network of artists, advocates, and progressive thinking individuals tirelessly working to effect change. By distributing advocate films, the Network provides an opportunity for filmmakers to reach an audience of millions internationally with their social message. Geared towards the LOHAS Community, films, products, and services can be purchased directly through the network, benefiting artists, NGOs, and charitable groups.
 QUENTIN TARANTINO PRESENTED SBIFF'S KIRK DOUGLAS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM The award's namesake, Kirk Douglas presented the award to Quentin Tarantino at the black-tie event held at the Biltmore Four Seasons Hotel Coral Casino Ballroom. The celebrated filmmaker is considered a film genius of his generation and has been honored with an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for his groundbreaking original screenplay, Pulp Fiction. He also created such works as Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994); directed the fourth segment of the film Four Rooms; wrote and directed Jackie Brown (1997); wrote and directed Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004); in 2005 he was credited as "special guest director" with Robert Rodriguez and writer-director Frank Miller of Sin City and teamed up with him again for Grindhouse (2007). Inglourious Basterds, a World War II epic he wrote and directed, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Til Schweiger, and Mealanie Laurent was recently released. The 25th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, set to run February 4 through February 14, 2010, is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching local culture and raising consiciousness as an art form. For informatoin visit www.sbfilmfestival.org.
Jane Velez-Mitchell "iWant" BooK JANE HAS A BOOK ! Award winning television news journalist and host, Jane Velez-Mitchell chronicles her lifelong battle with alcoholism, her coming out as a lesbian and her discovery of healthier, happier and more meaningful existence. She will be signing copies of her new book "iWant: My Journey From Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler Honest Life" As she reveals, she wrote this memoir with the goal of inspiring others to get mentally, spiritually and physically healthier.
Elizabeth Hurley lights up the New York City skyline as she, fellow actor Dylan McDermott and Estee Lauder VP Evelyn Lauder flip the switch on Breast Cancer outside of Bloomingdale's on Manhattan's East Side. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, pink lights illuminate the retail mecca as it helps raise funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and promote awareness and early detection. "Evelyn gave me a mammogram for my 40th birthday," Elizabeth shares exclusively with The Plus. Studies show that breast cancer, if detected early, is 98 percent curable. Elizabeth encourages every woman to take time out to get tested. "We have to do so much, but you can't do it when you're sick. "If you know someone who needs a mammogram after 40 and she can't afford it, give to her as a Christmas, birthday or Valentine's present," she advises. Elizabeth's seven-year-old son, Damian, is her incentive to stay informed. "I think as a mum, you're always absolutely terrified that something will happen to your kid. But after that, you're scared something will happen to you," she shares. "As soon as I had my son I stopped smoking, I started taking better exercise and eating in a more healthy fashion." Now she gets her annual checkup, too.
November 10 - 18 at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres
Check the program for the festival at the following website:
44th Annual Gabriel Film & TV Awards to The Tale of Despereaux;
The Express; Pray the Devil Back to Hell; Raising the Bar;
Handy Manny; Marathon Love; Assumptions
Ann Blyth to accept Gabriel Personal Achievement Award
KCRW Radio (Santa Monica) named "Radio Station (Secular) of the Year”
The 44th Annual Gabriel Awards, presented locally in Los Angeles to film, television and radio programs and a distinguished individual whose body of work nourished and uplifts the human spirit, have been awarded to three motion pictures, four television programs, a legendary film actress, two national radio programs and a radio station honored as “Radio Station (Secular) of the Year,” it was announced by Frank Morock, President of the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. Ron Schmidt, SJ. is producer of the local Los Angeles awards program. The 2009 Gabriels will be presented on Friday, October 16th at an awards luncheon at 12 noon at Family Theater Productions in Hollywood.
The Gabriels honor industry professionals who produce films, television and radio programs, features and spot announcements that serve viewers and listeners through the positive, creative treatment of human concerns. A Gabriel-worthy program affirms the dignity of human beings and recognizes and upholds universally-recognized human values such as community, creativity, tolerance, justice, compassion and the dedication to excellence. The 2009 Gabriel Award television and radio winners include broadcasters from across the United States and Canada recognizing achievements produced for national release as well as for markets ranked 1-25 and 26+.
Each year, the Catholic Academy Board of Directors pays tribute to an individual, whose work and career display outstanding leadership, which epitomizes the Gabriel Award. The 2009 Gabriel Personal Achievement Award recipient is legendary screen actress Ann Blyth. Born in 1928, Ms. Blyth appeared in more than 40 films, starring with actors such as Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Van Johnson and Mario Lanza.
A trained singer, many of her performances were in musicals. Among movie credits in which she had a starring role were The Student Prince, Kismet, The Buster Keaton Story, and The Helen Morgan Story. Married to the late Dr. James McNulty for 57 years, Ms. Blyth is the mother of five children, two roles she says she embraced more than the roles she played on screen. The Gabriel Personal Achievement Award is sponsored by Family Theater Productions, in honor of its founder the late Father Patrick Peyton, CSC.
Past Gabriel Personal Achievement Award recipients include Tim Russert, Walter Cronkite, Charles Kurault, Ted Koppel, Charles Osgood, Betty White, Mike Farrell, Art Linkletter, Della Reese, Michael Landon and 2009 winner, veteran news broadcaster Bob Schieffer.
The 2009 Gabriel Award film winners are: Drama - The Express, Children’s − The Tale of Despereaux both from Universal Pictures and, Documentary – Pray the Devil Back to Hell, from Fork Films.
The 2009 Gabriel Award television winners are: Religious / National Release -Assumptions from Family Theater Productions; Documentary / National Release – Marathon Love: The Jamie & Lynn Parks Story from Discovery Health Channel; Children’s / National Release: Handy Manny from Nelvana, Ltd. / Disney Channel; Religious / National Release: DirecTV Hometown Heroes from Linda Ellman Productions, Inc., for DirectTV.
Each year a Station of the Year Award is presented to a radio and television station recognized for their community service. This year, the category was expanded with awards going to both secular and religious stations. This year’s Religious Radio Station of the Year Gabriel goes to KNOM Radio, Nome, Alaska. This is the 17th year KNOM has been honored with the award. The station serves one of the most remote regions of the North American continent, providing information, education, and public service programming to Indian and Eskimo villages. For the 2nd year the Religious Television Station of the Year Gabriel goes to Salt + Light, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Secular Radio Station of the Year goes to KCRW in Santa Monica, CA and Secular Television Station of the Year goes to WCVB-TV in Needham, MA.
Veteran radio broadcaster and Catholic Academy President Frank Morock comments on just how critical it is for a journalist to be recognized for his or her work: “The essence of a Gabriel Award winner is to inform, to inspire and to be inspired and as such, The Gabriel Award falls in a slightly different category. While it is judged by the
same criteria as other broadcast awards, it goes beyond, honoring stories and programs that vividly depict the human condition and the human spirit. The Catholic Academy is pleased to pay tribute to journalists and their organizations for committing the time and effort to produce this type of quality journalism.” Morock adds: “Those who attend the annual awards ceremony are always moved when Gabriel winners share with the audience ‘the rest of the story’ They provide additional insight or updates on the people featured in their winning entries and many share with the audience how the story impacted and even changed their lives.”
Ron Schmidt, SJ, producer of the 2009 Gabriel Awards remarks: “This year’s Gabriel Awards winners illuminate the human condition and represent the kind of media projects that The Gabriels suppt and applaud -- projects, individuals and stations -- that move people to action about social issues that elevate humanity and exemplify God's creation.”
Past Gabriel Award film honorees include Ray, The Polar Express, March of the Penguins, Secondhand Lions, The Lord of The Rings Trilogy and Mad Hot Ballroom. Past Gabriel Award television winners include: ER, the Today Show and ABC News, Dateline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Odyssey Networks (formerly Faith and Values Media) and Hallmark Channel, among others. Past Gabriel Award radio winners include: Bonneville Communications, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Bob Edwards Show (XM), National Public Radio, Family Net Radio and WGBH Radio for Public Radio International, among others.
Gabriel Award competition takes place in 21 television categories, 18 radio categories, 20 Spanish-language (10 Television and 10 Radio) and 3 Film (1 Drama, 1 Children’s, and 1 Documentary) categories in the Gabriel competition, but a Gabriel is not awarded in a category when the standard of Gabriel excellence is lacking. Judges may also award Certificates of Merit to programs considered worthy of special recognition. Eight Certificates of Merit have been announced in this year’s judging.
The Gabriel award is a nine-inch silver figure of Gabriel, the angel who first announced to Mary of Nazareth (and to the world) the coming of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). The statue symbolizes the communication of God’s Word to humankind.
The members of the Catholic Academy include broadcasters, journalists, producers, syndicators, public relations and other media professionals who work for both Church-related and secular radio and television stations, production facilities and communications organizations.
The Gabriel Awards were created in 1965 by the Catholic Broadcasters Association (CBA) to "recognize outstanding artistic achievement in a television or radio program or series which entertains and enriches with a true vision of humanity and a true vision of life." Members hoped to influence the values broadcast into American and
Canadian homes. In 1972 CBA became Unda-USA. In 2002 Unda-USA and Cine & Media merged to become the Catholic Academy. Like Gabriel, the Catholic Academy trumpets a call to commercial and religious broadcasters and producers to provide programming that serves, enriches and challenges audiences.
The 2009 Gabriel Awards are made possible by support from Family Theater Productions. For more information and a complete list of the 2009 Gabriel Award winners visit: www.gabrielawards.com
 With today’s surprise announcement that President Barack Obama is the winner of this year’s Noble Peace Prize come the details of the awarding -- and he'll be joined by some Hollywood stars.
The President is scheduled to travel and receive his Prize, December 10th in Oslo, Norway in a ceremony that will be followed by the Noble Peace Prize concert. None other than Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith will host the concert.
In a statement issued by the Nobel Committee, Geir Lundstad said "We're excited to have Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith join us as hosts for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Together they've had a global impact on the arts and philanthropy and will be excellent ambassadors for peace." No word yet if the President will attend the Noble Peace Prize Concert.
CINEMA ITALIAN STYLE 2009.
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