August 21, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000
                       lunger@oscars.org

	"The Diary of Anne Frank" was nominated for eight Academy Awards® and won in three categories.

Beverly Hills, CA - A newly-restored print of the original roadshow version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959) will be screened as part of the 2003 installment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' George Stevens Lecture on Directing, on Wednesday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. George Stevens Jr. will be among the special guests at the event.

One of the first mainstream Hollywood features to directly deal with the Holocaust, Best Picture nominee "The Diary of Anne Frank" stars Millie Perkins in the title role, as well as Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Gusti Huber, Lou Jacobi, Diane Baker, Douglas Spencer, Dodie Heath and Ed Wynn. In addition to Stevens Jr., Perkins, Beymer and Baker are scheduled to attend the screening. The film will be introduced by Holocaust expert Dr. Michael Berenbaum.

Anne Frank received a blank diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. While hidden in a secret annex of a warehouse for the next two years with her family and several others, the teenager recorded her thoughts and feelings.

"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl," her journal, was originally published in 1947, shortly after World War II. Adapted as a stage play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, who also wrote the screenplay, "The Diary of Anne Frank" faithfully recreated the tragedies of the Holocaust through the intimate and personal reflections of one young girl. Stevens was driven to make the film because of his own life-altering experience of witnessing the death camps at the end of the war.

"The Diary of Anne Frank" was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won in three categories: Actress in a Supporting Role (Winters), Art Direction - Black-and-White (Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss) and Cinematography - Black-and-White (William C. Meller). In addition to the nominations earned by Stevens as the film's producer and director, Wynn received a nomination in the Supporting Actor category, Alfred Newman was nominated for the film's music score, and the costume designs of Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills were recognized with a nomination.

Berenbaum is Adjunct Professor of Theology at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust. He is the former president and chief executive officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and also was the director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Soon after its initial release, the film was shortened by twenty minutes. The Academy's screening will be the first big-screen presentation of a newly restored print of the original full-length version. The 170-minute print is courtesy of 20th Century-Fox.

The George Stevens Lecture was established in 1982 in honor of the legendary director whose films are best remembered for combining social conscience with artistic excellence. The lecture is designed to provide a forum in which eminent filmmakers and scholars can discuss the films of George Stevens.

Tickets for the George Stevens Lecture on Directing featuring "The Diary of Anne Frank" are $5 for the general public, $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in advance beginning September 2 at the Academy during regular business hours, by mail, or on the night of the event, if still available, when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call 310-247-3600.