Washington, DC's Official 2005 Oscar Night(R) Party to Benefit AFI Silver Theatre and First Star

Washington, DC's Official 2005 Oscar Night(R) Party to Benefit AFI Silver Theatre and First Star WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- You don't have to be in Hollywood to experience the magic and excitement of the Oscar(R). When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stages its 77th Academy Awards(R) Presentation on Sunday, February 27, 2005, residents of the Washington area can officially join the red carpet festivities at their own Oscar Night America event. Held at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, this event will be one of just 45 Academy-sanctioned parties to be held across the nation that evening. The ABC Television Network -- which broadcasts the annual Academy Awards Presentation -- and the Academy are cooperating for the twelfth year with local charities nationwide to create official Oscar Night America viewing parties. Only one charity party in a given city may participate in Oscar Night America. Proceeds from this Oscar Night America event will equally benefit the film programs of the AFI Silver Theatre and First Star, a Washington-based charity dedicated to improving life for America's abused and neglected children through system reform, education, research, public policy and public awareness. 2005 marks the fourth consecutive year that First Star has hosted such an event in Washington. "We are delighted to join with First Star and extend the excitement of the Oscars(R) to the AFI Silver Theatre this year," comments Murray Horwitz, Director, AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. "Watching the telecast in a theater of this caliber brings us one step closer to the experience guests will have at the Kodak. Guests will feel like A-Listers. This is going to be a fun night." Guests at the AFI Silver Theatre will be treated to all the pageantry of an Oscar night celebration -- including a red carpet arrival and cocktail reception with drinks and hors d'oeuvres served throughout the evening. The Oscar ceremony will be broadcast live in all three AFI Silver theatres, hosted by a special, to-be-announced guest MC. Silent auction items (some movie-themed) will benefit First Star and AFI Silver. Official Oscar Night America parties last year raised more than $2 million for local charities in 45 cities. The program has raised nearly $13 million for local charities around the United States since its inception over 12 years ago. All funds stay in the community in which they were raised; the Academy does not receive any portion. The Academy provides official Oscar Night America parties with the same printed Academy Awards show programs as those handed out at the ceremonies in Los Angeles and permits the party organizers to use the image of the Academy's copyrighted Oscar(R) statuette on invitations and other materials. About First Star First Star (www.firststar.org) is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving life for America's most vulnerable children through a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to education, research, public policy and public awareness. First Star's mission is to put children first by ensuring that each and every child in America is given the very best care, protection and representation that results in a safe, nurturing and permanent home. About Oscar Night(R) America Oscar Night(R) America is a program of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (www.oscars.org), a professional honorary organization founded to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures; foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technological progress; recognize outstanding achievements; cooperate on technical research and improvement of methods and equipment; provide a common forum and meeting ground for various branches and crafts; represent the viewpoint of actual creators of the motion picture; and foster educational activities between the professional community and the public-at-large. The Academy Awards(R) Presentation is the Academy's most important activity and has enabled the organization to maintain a varied year-around calendar of programs and events and a wide-ranging educational and cultural agenda. About the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center The AFI Silver is an internationally recognized exhibition center offering film and video generally unavailable elsewhere -- independent features, shorts, foreign films, documentaries, classics -- as well as exceptional first-run cinema. Its programming schedule offers an unprecedented variety of American and international cinema in an ongoing series of festivals, screenings and special events, including filmmaker interviews, panels, discussions and musical performances that place the art on-screen in a broader cultural context. AFI Silver's community service programs include an Education Screening Program for local students and a Community Screenings Program for children, seniors, at-risk families and community leaders. Anchored by the rehabilitation of noted architect John Eberson's historic 1938 Silver Theatre, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a 49,000 square foot complex with three theatres -- one historic, two new state-of-the-art stadium-style theatres, -- a cafe, a film-based retail outlet, office and meeting spaces, and reception and exhibition areas. The theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Film Institute Silver Theatre and Cultural Center are separate entities and are not affiliated. Source: AFI Silver; First Star CONTACT: Joan Kirby of AFI Silver, +1-301-495-6747, jkirby@afi.com; or Deborah Sams of First Star, +1-202-293-3703, dsams@firststar.org Web site: http://www.firststar.org/ http://www.oscars.org/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment