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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACADEMY AWARD®, GOLDEN GLOBE® -WINNING ACTOR
SIDNEY POITIER
TO BE HONORED BY 44th CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
AT BLACK PERSPECTIVES TRIBUTE, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
FOX NEWS CHICAGO’s ROBIN ROBINSON TO HOST TRIBUTE
AT CHASE AUDITORIUM WITH RECEPTION TO FOLLOW
CHICAGO, July 30 – The 44th Chicago International Film Festival will honor Academy Award® - winning actor Sidney Poitier in person with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black Perspectives Tribute to be held at Chase Auditorium, 10 S. Dearborn, on Saturday October 18, 2008. Fox News Chicago’s Robin Robinson will host the special Tribute event.
The event at Chase Auditorium will begin with a cocktail reception and red carpet arrivals at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Tribute presentation from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Poitier’s extraordinary career will be celebrated with a selection of film highlights and an intimate one-on-one conversation with special guest interviewer Linda Johnson Rice, President and CEO of Johnson Publishing, Inc., publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines. Immediately following the Tribute, guests are invited to a reception with live entertainment by Terisa Griffin.
As an Academy Award®-winning actor, director, producer and best-selling author, Sidney Poitier’s career of more than 50 years has garnered him innumerable honors and awards, including being knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II in 1968.
In 1963, Poitier became the first African American to win the Academy Award® for his powerful performance in Lilies of the Field. A second Oscar® was presented to Sidney Poitier in 2002 for his “extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence”. His extensive filmography as an actor includes such classics as: Cry, the Beloved Country; A Raisin in the Sun; To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs, among many others. He has also directed and starred in many notable films such as Buck and the Preacher and Uptown Saturday Night.
Other film awards include a BAFTA®, three Golden Globes®, the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, five NAACP Image Awards, and two Golden Bear Awards from the
Berlin Film Festival. Poitier has written three best-selling autobiographies: This Life (1980); The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2000); and Life Beyond Measure - Letters to My Great-Granddaughter (2008). The Measure of a Man was chosen to be an Oprah's Book Club selection.
Tickets for the Black Perspectives Tribute Event, which include the post-Tribute reception at Chase Auditorium, are priced at $150 per ticket. Tickets will be available for purchase on July 15, 2008. To purchase tickets, please call 312-683-0121 or visit http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/.
About Black Perspectives
Since it’s founding in 1997 through collaboration with acclaimed director Spike Lee, the Black Perspectives Program has been a mainstay of the Chicago International Film Festival. Each year, Black Perspectives showcases a wide range of films by Africans, African Americans, and filmmakers of African descent from around the world and exposes Chicagoans to culturally enriching cinema. A Tribute is held during the Festival to recognize outstanding achievements in the cinematic arts. Past honorees include Jeffrey Wright, Ruby Dee, Morgan Freeman, Laurence Fishburne, Terrence Howard, and Halle Berry.
About the 44th Chicago International Film Festival
Now in its fifth decade, the Chicago International Film Festival, October 16-29, 2008 brings red carpet premieres, appearances by legendary international actors and directors, and exclusive access to the latest and best films from around the world to Chicago audiences. In 2007, the Festival showcased more than 160 films from 44 countries and presented the work of both established masters and dynamic new filmmakers.
About Cinema/Chicago
Cinema/Chicago is a not-for-profit cultural and education organization dedicated to fostering better understanding between cultures and to making a positive contribution to the art form of the moving image. The Black Perspectives Program is one of the year-round programs presented by Cinema/Chicago, which also includes the Chicago International Film Festival, Summer and Fall Galas, the International Summer Screenings Program, CineYouth Festival, INTERCOM Competition, Hugo Television Awards, and Educational Outreach.
For more information on the Black Perspectives Tribute event or the 44th Chicago International Film Festival, call 312-683-0121 or visit http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/.
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