Press Releases
April 21, 2011 - NEW YORK
New York, NY (April 21, 2011). Legendary film director and choreographer Stanley Donen will be honored with the IFF (Israel Film Festival) Lifetime Achievement Award at the Opening Night Gala for the 25th Anniversary Israel Film Festival, taking place Thursday, May 5th at the Paris Theatre in New York City, it was announced today by Meir Fenigstein, Founder and Executive Director of the Israel Film Festival. The Festival will be held in New York City May 5-19, 2011.
Stanley Donen was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He began dancing as a child and made his Broadway debut at age 16 in Pal Joey. After heading to Hollywood, Donen began a long and successful career in film. While working with the greatest dancers of the time, he directed several of the most highly regarded musicals ever to emerge from Hollywood including Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and On the Town. Donen also went on to make numerous other cherished films such as Charade and Two for the Road. Donen has received much praise and many awards for his wonderful contributions and in 1998 received an Academy Award for lifetime achievement “in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit, and visual innovation.”
“Stanley Donen has had an extraordinary legacy in film having directed many of the most beloved American musicals of all time,” said Fenigstein. “Singin’ in the Rain and other Donen classics have inspired millions of moviegoers in Israel and around the world,” added Fenigstein.
Previously announced honorees include award-winning actor Liev Schreiber whose recent credits include Salt, Defiance and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and who will be honored with the IFF Achievement in Film Award, and Israeli producer/director Micha Shagrir, who is responsible for some of Israel’s most renowned films and documentaries, who will receive the IFF Cinematic Achievement Award. The opening night film is Intimate Grammar directed by Nir Bergman.
About the Israel Film Festival
The Israel Film Festival is produced by IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization created in 1982. The Festival’s mission is to showcase the finest new Israeli films in order to share with American audiences the country’s rich culture, diverse stories and modern Israeli life.
In the last two and a half decades, the Festival has presented more than 800 feature films, documentaries, television dramas and short films to over 900,000 filmgoers in three major cities and brought hundreds of Israeli filmmakers to the U.S. to share their art. The 25th Anniversary festival is sponsored in part by the Government of Israel, New York Post, Israel Film Fund, Bank Leumi USA, Nu Image/Millennium Films, Rabinovich Foundation-Cinema Project, Israel Bonds, EL AL Israel Airlines, and many others.
The 25th Honorary Chairman is Arnon Milchan; the Festival Chairman is Ronald Guttman; and the Honorary Committee includes Avi Arad, Mark Canton, Gil Cates, Michael Douglas, Meyer Gottlieb, Oren Heiman, Penny Marshall, David Matalon, Mike Medavoy, Bette Midler, Rob Reiner, Terry Semel, Nina Tassler, and many others.
Tickets for the festival’s films will go on sale April 21st. To attend the opening night gala and for sponsorship opportunities, call IsraFest Foundation toll-free at 877-966-5566 or visit www.IsraelFilmFestival.com.
Contact:
Jeff Sanderson/Chasen & Company
310-274-4400
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