UCLA 2010 Festival honors filmmakers Roger Corman and Lee Daniels

By April MacIntyre May 24, 2010, 23:06 GMT

Roger Corman courtesy of UCLA

UCLA 2010 Festival of New Creative Work, presented by UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT), will honor landmark filmmakers Roger Corman and Lee Daniels as well as student Spotlight winners, during the Festival’s closing night gala event, Directors Spotlight.

The annual ceremony salutes TFT’s students’ outstanding achievements in the field of directing and has become one of the Festival’s signature events for identifying the industry’s next leading filmmakers.

The evening showcases eight Spotlight films selected by a series of panels comprised of students and a blue ribbon panel of top industry professionals.

TFT will also present legendary director/producer Roger Corman with its inaugural Champion Spirit Award and Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels with the Filmmaker of the Year Award.

The Directors Spotlight will be held at the Directors Guild of America Theatre at 7920 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. 

 “I am thrilled to be honoring these two landmark filmmakers,” noted Teri Schwartz, dean of the School and a 32-year veteran movie producer. “Roger Corman is the perfect choice to receive the inaugural Champion Spirit Award.  His history of fostering new talent is legendary.  It is critical that we all follow Roger's remarkable vision and example by nurturing young filmmakers who are the future of our industry.  I owe Roger a great debt of gratitude because he gave me my start as a filmmaker, too, and set me on a path that has been so exciting and rewarding in every way imaginable.”

“Lee Daniels is also a consummate filmmaker. With films such as ‘Precious’ and ‘Monster’s Ball’, Lee has demonstrated a firm commitment to the highest standards of humanistic storytelling, one of the strengths of our program and vividly evident in our student films,” continued Schwartz.   “We are so privileged to be recognizing this wonderful filmmaker with this very special award.”

The industry honoree awards are voted on by the students in the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. Schwartz will present Roger Corman with the Champion Spirit Award, which honors an industry professional who throughout their career, has demonstrated great courage, foresight and integrity to nurture, mentor and champion new talent.

In addition to producing more than 500 films and directing 50 others - on time and within budget - Roger Corman’s remarkable legacy includes the multitude of producers, directors, writers and actors he has mentored such as Jack Nicholson, Diane Ladd, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Robert DeNiro, Ron Howard, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme and James Cameron, among others.

Director and past DGA President Martha Coolidge will present Lee Daniels with the Filmmaker of the Year Award, which honors filmmakers who tell stories with a voice and vision that impacts the way people look at the human condition and truly demonstrates the spirit and message of the independent filmmaker.

Lee Daniels first captured the industry’s attention with “Monster's Ball,” his first film from his production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment. The film marked Daniels as the first sole African-American producer of an Oscar-winning and nominated film. Daniel’s work continues to distinguish him as one of today’s most prominent and influential filmmakers, as evident by his recent multiple awards and Oscar nominations for his powerful film, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” including Best Picture and Best Director.

In addition to honoring these prominent artists, Directors Spotlight will salute a new generation of talented filmmakers. This year’s Spotlight award-winning films and filmmakers are “27,” directed by Neil Forbes; “PALs” directed by Dawn Garcia; “Allen Mack” directed by Cory Miller; “Sacramento – A Family Fable,” directed by Michael Bodie; “La Viuda (The Widow),” directed by David Martin-Porras; “Dream (drem)n,” directed by Mary Lai; “Nisa,” directed by Doug Archibald; and “Hubo,” directed by Erick Oh.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, Directors Spotlight has helped launch the careers of gifted filmmakers such as Joe Russo (“Community,” “Arrested Development”), Justin Lin (“Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”), Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) and Shane Acker (“9”), among others.

Admission is free for all events, but space is limited and reservations are required. For a full schedule of events and to reserve seating during UCLA 2010 Festival of New Creative Work, please visit www.tft.ucla.edu/festival2010.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television offers its students a unique blend of scholarship and practical training, please visit: www.tft.ucla.edu.