October 25, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  John Pavlik - 310-247-3000

Beverly Hills, CA - Fourteen U. S. film festivals have been chosen by the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive grants for calendar year 2002 festival programming totaling $250,000, Academy President Frank Pierson announced today.

Four festivals will receive $30,000 each:

• Chicago International Children's Film Festival
• Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu
• Mill Valley (California) Film Festival
• New York Film Festival, New York City

Two festivals will receive $20,000:

• Fort Lauderdale (Florida) International Film Festival
• San Francisco International Asian Film Festival

Two festivals will receive $15,000:

• Outfest: The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
• San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

Six festivals will receive $10,000:

• Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, New York City
• Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison
• Ann Arbor (Michigan) Film Festival
• San Diego (California) Latino Film Festival
• Thomas Edison Black Maria Film & Video Festival, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Washington (D.C.) Jewish Film Festival

The grants were voted by the Academy's Festival Grants Committee, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd. The festivals were selected from among 41 which had been invited to send proposals to the Academy.