Hollywood Fest Unveils Line-Up: 60 Films to be Presented at 9th Annual Event

Hollywood Fest Unveils Line-Up: 60 Films to be Presented at 9th Annual Event

The 2005 Hollywood Film Festival to Open With the Premiere of 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang' and Close With the World Premiere of 'My Neighbor Totoro'

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors has unveiled the line-up for this year's festival, as well as the Hollywood Film Awards nominees and honorees. The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the festival. The finalists were selected from over 2,200 film submissions -- an increase in worldwide submissions to the festival of more than 5% since last year -- and include features, documentaries and shorts. The screenings will take place from October 18 to 23 at Arclight Theatres (6360 Sunset Blvd.).

The festival will screen 10 world premieres and will have its Opening Night Gala Premiere on October 18 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre with Warner Bros.' "KISS KISS, BANG BANG," starring ROBERT DOWNEY JR., VAL KILMER and MICHELLE MONAGHAN, and it will close with the World Premiere of Disney's "MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO," an animated feature starring the voices of DAKOTA FANNING and ELLE FANNING and directed by HAYAO MIYAZAKI, on October 23 at Arclight Theatres. The festival will also present five Centerpiece Premieres and a Special Screening between October 19 and 23: Lions Gate Films' "FIERCE PEOPLE," starring DIANE LANE, DONALD SUTHERLAND, and ANTON YELCHIN, on October 19; "NORTH COUNTRY," from Warner Bros. and Participant Productions, starring CHARLIZE THERON, on October 19; the Starz documentary "BULLETS OVER HOLLYWOOD," written and directed by Elaina Archer and featuring JAMES CAAN, TALIA SHIRE, and CHAZZ PALMINTERI, on October 20, "A GOOD WOMAN," starring HELEN HUNT and SCARLETT JOHANSSON, on October 21, "champion." a documentary featuring DANNY TREJO, DENNIS HOPPER, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, and VAL KILMER, on October 22, and "THE SISTERS," starring MARIA BELLO, ERIKA CHRISTENSEN and MARY STUART MASTERSON, on October 22.

The festival's program includes films from over 20 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

"The films that were selected for the festival are truly outstanding and showcase a wide array of talented filmmakers," commented Mr. de Abreu. "This year's line-up will present an excellent cross section of independent cinema from around the world," he added.

In addition, this year's nominees for The Hollywood World Awards(R) are: "4" (Russia) directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky; "Battle in Heaven" (Mexico) directed by Carlos Reygadas; "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (France) directed by Jacques Audiard; "Cache" ("Hidden") (France/Austria) directed by Michael Haneke; "Death of Mr. Lazarescu" (Romania) directed by Cristi Puiu; "Fateless" (Hungary) directed by Lajos Koltai; "L'Enfant" (Belgium) directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne; "Live and Become" (France/Israel) directed by Radu Mihaileanu; "Mrs. Henderson Presents" (UK) directed by Stephen Frears; and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (South Korea) directed by Chan-wook Park.

And the nominees for the Hollywood Movie of the Year Awards(r) are: "Batman Begins" directed by Christopher Nolan; "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" directed by Tim Burton; "Cinderella Man" directed by Ron Howard; "The Constant Gardener" directed by Fernando Meirelles; "Crash" directed by Paul Haggis; "Hustle and Flow" directed by Craig Brewer; "Sin City" directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez; "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" directed by George Lucas; "War of the Worlds" directed by Steven Spielberg; and "Wedding Crashers" directed by David Dobkin. The winner is decided by the public voting at the Yahoo! Movies Website -- movies.yahoo.com

The festival is also presenting the Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Festival showcase of horror films on October 21, 22 and 23 in alliance with Film Threat.

This year's industry professionals who will be honored for their achievements at the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony include Diane Keaton for career achievement, Lions Gate Films Releasing president Tom Ortenberg for leadership, Libarian of Congress Dr. James Billington for film preservation, Sam Mendes for directing, Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher for producing, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, Matthew Broderick, and Susan Sarandon for acting, the cast of "Crash" for ensemble acting, Akiva Goldsman for screenwriting, "Howl's Moving Castle," directed by Hayao Miyazaki, for animation, Pawel Edelman for cinematography, Walter Murch for editing, Grant Major for production design, Harry Gregson-Williams for film composing, Dennis Muren for visual effects, Colleen Atwood for costume design, "Batman Begins" for sound, Gregory Nicotero for make-up, and Avy Kaufman for casting. In addition, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams will be honored with the festival's Breakthrough Actor and Actress awards, and Paul Haggis with the "Hollywood Breakthrough Director of the Year Award."

For complete list of line-up go to http://www.hollywoodfestival.com/

Source: Hollywood Film Festival

CONTACT: Hollywood Film Festival, +1-310-288-1882, awards@hollywoodawards.com

Web site: http://movies.yahoo.com/

Web site: http://www.hollywoodfestival.com/

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