December 12, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dawn Newell (310) 247-3000
                 dnewell@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - Film director and former Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' President Arthur Hiller will be the guest of honor at the American Comedy Film Festival in Athens, Greece, this weekend. The week long festival, which takes place December 13 - 19, is organized by the United States Embassy in conjunction with the Greek Film Archives. Hiller's appearance is sponsored by the Academy's Visiting Artists Program.

Hiller was nominated for an Academy Award^® for directing the 1970 film "Love Story." In 2001, he received an Oscar^® statuette when he was honored with the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for "humanitarian efforts that have brought credit to the industry." Hiller served as Academy President from 1993 to 1997.

The festival will commence with an invitation-only event at the Apollon Theater on Friday, December 13. Hiller will introduce and discuss "Silver Streak," one of five of his films that will screen during the festival.

Twenty-two American comedies will be shown during the festival, including Hiller's "Outrageous Fortune," "The In-Laws," "The Hospital" and "The Out-of-Towners."

The project was coordinated by the Cultural Programs Division of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Bureau fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international educational and training programs that present U.S. history, society, art and culture to overseas audiences.

The Visiting Artists Program was instituted by the Academy in 1970 to provide a link between the academic study of film and filmmaking and the men and women who make movies. Through the program, members of the Academy's various branches share their expertise in classrooms, festivals, conferences and other film-related events.