HOLLYWOOD, CA, August 11, 1998 -- The 2nd Annual Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Awards" ceremony, honoring emerging independent filmmakers and established Hollywood professionals, was held last night before a standing-room-only audience of over 700 Hollywood Film Festival attendees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Special honors went to legendary actress Shelley Winters for her lifetime contribution to the art of film, as well as to such acclaimed filmmakers as Richard Zanuck, David Brown, and Norman Jewison. In addition, award-winning film composers Dave Grusin and Stewart Copeland were similarly honored..

In accepting her honor, Ms. Winters said, "This award is bigger than the Oscars! It's about time Hollywood started to pay less attention to special effects and violence, and more attention to human beings and relationships."

Mr. Zanuck said, "My father once told me there were five important steps to becoming a great producer. They are: aim very high when selecting a subject, listen to your gut, never give up, keep your eye on the story, and find a great partner!!"

Mr. Brown said, "Hooray for Hollywood . . . and the Hollywood Film Festival. It's about time that Hollywood itself would finally produce its own major film festival."

Mr. Jewison said, "I would like to give my thanks to this new festival. Talent is the engine that feeds everything in this town. We have to nurture it. This festival conveys an incredible idea . . . that Hollywood would actually be nurturing talent."

Mr. Grusin said, "Music is the lifeblood of cinema. To take a musical thought and actually be allowed to place it into a final film, is a great opportunity."

And Mr. Copeland added, "My award as a 'music visionary' has a nice ring to it. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm just trying to keep my balance on it."

The Hollywood Film Festival honored the independently produced feature films "The Sugar Factory" and "Paradise Falls" with the awards "Best Feature Over a Million" and "Best Feature Under a Million," respectively. "The Sugar Factory," which tells the story of a teenage nonconformist's rite of passage, was written and directed by Australian filmmaker Robert Carter. "Paradise Falls," was directed by Nick Searcy, and is set in the Appalachian Mountains during the Depression.

The Hollywood Film Festival was founded in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and Janice Pennington, "New York Times" best-selling authors and producers. Regarding the conclusion of the 2nd annual festival, Mr. de Abreu said, "We are delighted by the response we have received from Hollywood and the independent filmmaking community during the course of this past week. Our conferences were packed and our screenings were well attended. Last night's gala awards ceremony was truly an extraordinary 'Hollywood' moment'."

In addition to the feature film awards, the festival presented actress Penelope Ann Miller with a special jury award for "Best Acting in a Feature" for her performance in the film "Rhapsody in Bloom." "Goreville U.S.A." was voted the Hollywood Film Festival's Best Documentary. The festival also named "Holiday Romance," by English filmmaker JJ Keith, as Best Short Film, and "Return of the Sun Devil," by director Steven Ayromlooi, as Best Animated Film.

In other awards categories, the World Premiere feature "Next Time" by director/writer L. Alan Fraser, was the recipient of the "Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Award," a new award at this year's fest that was judged by a panel of ten independent filmmakers. "Next Time" also received the "Hollywood 16mm Discovery Award" for the best feature shot and projected on 16mm. Twenty-four-year-old filmmaker Steven Ayromlooi was honored with the "Hollywood Young Filmmaker Award" for his World Premiere short film entitled "Nathan Grimm." Rob Legato and Crystal Dowd's digital visual effects work on "Titanic" was awarded the festival's "Hollywood Digital Award," an honor bestowed upon the best theatrically released film of the year that featured truly outstanding effects. Entertainment Tonight Online received the fest's "Hollywood CyberAward" as the best entertainment website.

Celebrities and Hollywood notables who attended the 6-day fest included James Brolin, Martin Landau, Penelope Ann Miller, "Deep Impact" director Mimi Leder, Rod Steiger, Sydney Pollack, Connie Stevens, Lesley Ann Warren, "Titanic" producer Jon Landau, Diane Ladd, Dorian Harewood, actor/director Peter Berg, and directors Ted Kotcheff and Mark Rydell, to name some. Attendees at the gala awards presentation Monday evening were treated to the music of renowned bandleader Johnny Crawford and his eight-piece orchestra, as well as the vocal ensemble Millennium Dream, which, under the direction of Grammy nominee Howard McCrary, performed a choral adaption of director Mark Rydell's "On Golden Pond."

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