Hollywood, CA -- July 19, 1999 -- The prestigious Third Annual Hollywood Film Festival® has unveiled the finalists for the 1999 Hollywood Discovery Awards® competition. The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive director of the Hollywood Film Festival®. The finalists were selected from over 800 film submissions and include features, documentaries, and shorts. The screenings will take place at Paramount Studios (5555 Melrose Ave.) from August 6 to 8.

Film fans can also become active participants in the Hollywood Film Festival® by logging onto Entertainment Tonight Online. Visitors to the site can view 20 short films selected specifically to compete online and vote for their favorite. The winner of the online shorts category will be announced at the Festival's Gala Ceremony on August 9 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The Festival will open on Tuesday, August 3, with an exhibition of extraordinary movie posters, from the silent era to the present, titled "The World Looks At Hollywood: Rare and Classic Film Posters" at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, and the Festival's film line-up will be launched on Wednesday, August 4, with David L. Wolper's landmark documentary portrait of Black America in 1973, WATTSTAX, at the John Anson Ford Theater. The evening will include the presentation of the IDA Membership Award to Mr. Wolper, which he will receive from Isaac Hayes and Richard Pryor. On Thursday, August 5, at the prestigious Paramount Theater at Paramount Studios, the Festival will have its Opening Party with the screening of the World Premiere of Kiss & Tell, directed by John Brenkus, a romantic comedy satirizing the dating scene and reality television, starring Dawson's Creek's Kerr Smith and Beverly Hills 90210's Daniel Cosgrove. The Festival's Closing Night, Sunday, August 8, will feature the World Premiere of the documentary From Russia to Hollywood by Frederick Keeve. Narrated by Gregory Peck and Mala Powers, it focuses on the epic journey of Michael Chekhov and George Shdanoff. This year's programs include films from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, New Zealand and Sweden among others. "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.

The six-day Festival includes the Hollywood Film Conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in which 100 Hollywood professionals, including 25 presidents of major companies, will participate, the Hollywood Film Screenings where the finalists of the Hollywood Discovery Awards will be screened, and the Hollywood Film Market (non-competition) which will showcase 20 works from emerging filmmakers (features, shorts and works-in-progress) to the trade.

The Festival will culminate with the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday evening, August 9, 1999. The evening's highlights will include a "Lifetime Achievement Award" presentation to two-time Academy Award winner Jack Lemmon, the "Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award" to actor James Caan, the "Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award" to Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger , the "Outstanding Achievement in Producing Award" to multi-award winning producer Irwin Winkler (Rocky, Raging Bull, Goodfellas), the "Outstanding Achievement in Editing Award" to Dede Allen, the "Outstanding Achievement in Music in Film Award" to Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown, Basic Instinct), the "Hollywood Actor and Actress of the Year Awards" whose winners will be selected by the public at large at over 1,400 Hollywood Video stores, and the "Hollywood Casting Directors of the Year Award" to Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson, as well as the presentation of the festival's Hollywood Discovery Awards® and Hollywood CyberAwards® to the winners. The gala event will be"cybercast" live from Hollywood via www.hollywoodlive.com.

FEATURES/DOCUMENTARIES
1999 HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL®

"Anoosh of the Airways" - USA - West Coast Premiere. This highly original and surreal tale follows Anoosh (Melik Malkasian) a poor sheep herding Armenian who comes to America after outgrowing his career as a poster-child for an American airline. A duty bestowed upon him after being born mid-flight. Without the support or culture of a big city, Anoosh is on his own as he attempts to navigate the absurdities of the American Dream and the American Reality in the white-bread suburbs of the Pacific Northwest.

Director: James Westby. Writers: Margaret Maile, James Westby. Producer: Tim Whitcomb. Cast: Melik Malkasian, Fredric Lane, Richard Sanders, Barbara Niven, Jay Leggett, Steven Clark Pachosa

The Children of Chabannes - United States - CA Premiere - Documentary. A tale of courage, resilience and love set during World War II, The Children of Chabannes tells the story of how the people of Chabannes, a tiny village in unoccupied France, chose action over indifference and saved the lives of 400 Jewish refugee children.

Directors: Lisa Gossels, Dean Wetherell, Producer: Lisa Gossels, Cinematography: Mustapha Barat, Philippe Bonnier, Editors: Lisa Gossels, Dean Wetherell

"The Children of the Fourth World" - USA - West Coast Premiere - Documentary. Even as a young girl growing up in Rockville, Maryland, Kari Engen knew that her life would be different. After college she moved to the Guatemala City dump to begin a ministry, called Mi Refugio (My Refuge), to serve the needs of the impoverished children whose families lived off the endless stream of garbage trucks. Children of the Fourth World is a documentary of the sometimes tragic and always inspiring story of Kari Engen and her kids.

Director/Writer/Producer: John Biffar, Cast: Hosted by Ali MacGraw.

"Fortune Cookie" - USA - World Premiere. While having dinner at an upscale Chinese restaurant, three couples have their views of life and love tested against the whims of a cynical but insightful fortune cookie writer.

Director: Clay Essig. Writer: Rob Thomas. Producers: Alan Peterson, Dave Sapp

"From Russia to Hollywood" - USA - World Premiere - Documentary. From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff, narrated by Gregory Peck, focuses on the epic journey of Michael Chekhov and George Shdanoff whose careers encompassed the major events of the 20th Century. They overcame wars and revolutions to coach some of the most legendary actors and directors in Hollywood in the '40s, '50s, and beyond.

Director/Writer: Frederick Keeve, Producers: Frederick Keeve, Peter Spirer, Charles Block, Co-Producer: Lisa Dalton, Editor: Robert Gordon, Cast: Narrated by Gregory Peck and Mala Powers. Anthony Quinn, Patricia Neal, Leslie Caron, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Sharon Gless, Beatrice Straight, Craig Sheffer, John Berry, Hurd Hatfield, Ford Rainey and many others share their memories of these two great acting teachers.

"Hostage" - Sweden/USA - U.S. Premiere. Adam Dahl, a 28-year-old Swede has come to New York in search of reunification with his half-siblings and to find work. At a party he meets Eveline, who lures him from the party. They spend the night together and develop a relationship. But Eveline has a hidden side. Overwhelmed by her personality, Adam decides to leave her, once and for all, and get on with his life. But Eveline won't take rejection. She has other plans.

Director/Writer: Fredrik Sundwall, Producers: Fredrik Sundwall, Nadia Leonelli

"Howling For God" - Belgium - U.S. Premiere - Documentary. In Macedonia, former Yugoslavia, two Sheiks squabble for power in a Dervish brotherhood. Through the rivalry between these two characters, who correspond to opposing archetypes of religious leaders, the documentary offers a living glimpse of spiritual experience at a popular level which, despite the humorous situations and extraordinary images, may shock our sensitivity.

Director/Writer: Dan Alexe, Producer: Viviane Vanfleteren, Director of Photography: Philippe Guilbert, Editor: Nathalie Pigeolet

"Jimmy Zip" - USA. A coming of age action-art film where a rebellious 16-year-old pyromaniac runaway teams up with a mysterious welding sculptor in a story that pits the art world against the crime world.

Director/Writer/Producer: Robert McGinley, Cast: Brendan Fletcher, Robert Gossett, Chris Mulkey, Adrienne Frantz, James Russo, Ike Gingrich, Rosemary Welden, Honey Lauren, Arlmone Smith, Zia, John Truong, John Epps, John Billingsley, Kim Dawson, Andrea Stein, Christos, John Snyder, Floyd Van Buskirk, Karen Landry, Victoria Charters, Susannah Devereux, David Ripley, Nicholas Mele

"Kiss and Tell" - USA - World Premiere. Kiss and Tell is a romantic comedy satirizing the dating scene and reality television. The film goes behind the scenes of a televised dating show as four guys and four girls are whisked away on the biggest blind date of their lives.

Director/Writer: John Brenkus, Producers: Mickey Stern, John Brenkus, Cast: Kerr Smith, Daniel Cosgrove.

"Last Call" - Chile - U.S. Premiere. Three apartments in an old converted loft building in downtown Santiago de Chile set up the stage for three bizarre love triangles.

Director: Christine Lucas, Writer: David T. Page, Producer: J.J. Harting. Cast: Peter Coyote, Elizabeth Berkley, Bastian Bodenhofer, Lorene Prieto, Eric Michael Cole, Elizabeth Rossa, Garret Dillahunt

"Lithium" - Sweden Hanna is a young hard-working intern at a tabloid in Stockholm. A letter to the editor arrives from a man seeking help in locating his missing girlfriend. Hanna decides to get involved, soon finding herself in a situation she cannot control.

Director/Writer: David Flamholc, Producer: Leon Flamholc, Cast: Agnieska Koson, Johan Widerberg, Fredrik Dolk, Bjšrn Granath, Goran Forsmark

"My Yiddishe Mama's Dream" - Israel - U.S. Premiere - Documentary. My Yiddishe Mama's Dream is about world famous Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, son of a Muslim family on his father's side and an ultra-religious Jewish-Hassidic family on his mother's side. It is a portrait of an exceptional man, who is a kind of individual manifestation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. And beyond that, it is a portrait of a genius and exceptional opera conductor.

Director: Asher Tlalim, Producers: Anat Assulin, Udi Segal, Asher Tlalim, Photography: Nili Azlan, Ardon, Asher Tlalim, Editors: Anat Kirchuk, Asher Tlalim Cast: Daniel Oren, Franco Zeffirelli, Rivka Oren, Sam Siksik Oren, Shulamit Oren

"A Perfect Little Man" - USA - World Premiere. A Perfect Little Man is the story of Billy, a man obsessed with being a hero. Billy has always proven his worth as a man in violent confrontations, with his mother Ruth being his principal audience. Ruth was fed up with men who never lived up to her expectations of what a man should be, and created a "perfect little man" out of her son. The story really begins on the day that Ruth dies, and Billy is left without an audience, desperately trying to find a new one.

Director/Writer: Jeff Hare. Producers: Richard Zelniker, John Bareirro, Meredith Robinson. Cast: Neal McDonough, Delaine Yates Jennifer Jostyn, Tegan West

"Redball" - Australia - U.S. Premiere. A powerful contemporary police thriller about a few weeks in the lives of some used-up city detectives, Redball is a darkly humorous drama about the psychoses of frontline policework. It follows the story of Detective JJ Wilson, a homicide cop struggling to keep her mind and morals intact in the face of inhuman acts and rampant corruption.

Director/Writer: Jon Hewitt, Producers: Meredith King, Philip Parslow, Cast: Belinda McClory, John Brumpton, Frank Magree, Peter Docker, Anthea Davis, Neil Pigot, Damien Richardson, James Young, Robert Morgan, Paulene Terry-Beitz, Daniel Wyllie, Chris Hatzis

"Rosenzweig's Freedom" - Germany - U.S. Premiere. Germany 1991. A Jewish laborer is suspected of having killed a neo-Nazi. His brother comes to his defense. Rosenzweig's Freedom confronts two Jewish brothers whose parents survived the Holocaust with the renewed flaring up of right-wing extremist violence in Germany in the '90s.

Director/Writer: Liliane Targownik, Producer: Susan Schulte, Cast: Benjamin Sadler, Christoph Gareissen, Gertrud Roll, Peter Roggisch, Felix von Manteuffel, Pierre Franckh, Monica Bleibtreu, Bernd Stegemann, Uyen Van Thi Dao

"Standing on Fishes" - USA - West Coast Premiere. Standing on Fishes is a romantic comedy set in contemporary Los Angeles that follows the twisted journey of Caleb (Bradford Tatum), a sculptor in the never-ending battle to maintain his artistic integrity and still make a buck.

Directors: Bradford Tatum, Meredith Scott Lynn, Writer:Bradford Tatum, Producers: Meredith Scott Lynn, Alan Welch, Cast: Bradford Tatum, Meredith Scott Lynn, Jason Priestly, Lauren Fox, Pamela Reed, Kelsey Grammer, James Black, Nancy Hower, Jack McGee

"Suicide, the Comedy" - USA - West Coast Premiere. Matt Hirsch is a writer who's lost faith in the power of writing. He has suicidal inklings. They're not quite tendencies yet, but he thinks he can get them up there. He'd end it all if only he cared a little more -- it's passion that'll kill you every time.

Director/Writer: Glen Freyer, Producer: Farzin Toussi. Cast: Jamie Harris, Alison Eastwood, Brian Klugman

SHORTS - 1999 HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

"Amplifier" by Glenn Forbes - Bio-technology haunts two generations.

"The Bottomless Cup" by Paul Bonner - Carl attemps to finish a "bottomless" cup.

"Boxes" by Todd Smolar - A battle of innermost thoughts and desires.

"Damned If You Do" by Jimmy Zeilinger - An attempt to break all 10 commandments.

"Dave's Blind Date" by Matthew Alper - He just doesn't believe in love.

"Dickory Dock" by Cary Cremidas - A man plots to thwart his own murder.

"Dillinger in Paradise" by John Richardson - Filmmakers discover that life imitates art.

"Everyday" by Tracy Allen Davey - Three boys strive to be Buddy Holly.

"Fidel" by Marta Ibarrondo - A beloved dog must be put to rest.

"The Fool" by Jon Farhat - A 7-minute tragedy, comedy and musical.

"The Innocent Bystander" by Christopher Nixon - A village faces a horrible epidemic.

"Moving Emily" by Deborah Shames - A girl escapes her family by fantasizing.

"Mutt" by Kirby Atkins - A canine comedy club welcomes Jerry Mutt to the stage.

"Paradosis" by Trev Jenkins - The battle for a lost nutcracker.

"Quid Pro Quo" by Simon Mark-Brown - When love becomes a competition, who wins?

"Razor's Edge" by Lorenzo Benedick - A larger than life barber dominates a customer.

"Some Common Things That Happen To Corpses" by Molly O'Brien - A woman meets a quirky mortician.

"Splinter" by Lisa Plettinck - Celebrating those who defy the conventions of love.

"Vend" by Scott Edelstein - Carl must change his life-- for a soda.

"War of the Angels" by Jim Sonzero - A Nazi experiences a right of moral passage.

"The Window" by Armen Titizian - A widow retreats to her window to observe life.

"The Withered Arm" by Jennifer Cox - Thomas Hardy's tale of loss and retribution.

1999 Hollywood Film Market (non-competition)

FEATURE FILMS

"Equinox Knocks" by Fran Rzeznik.
"The Innocents" by Katherine Griffin.
"Loser Love" by Jean-Marc Vallee
"Nice Guys Sleep Alone" by Stu Pollard
"The Perfect Specimen" by Stephen Mims
"Personals" by Mike Sargent
"Screenland Drive" by Thomas Bradford

SHORT FILMS

"Negative Forces, Witchcraft and Idolatry" by James Sommerville
"Rituals & Resolutions" by Michael A. Stein

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS

"The Cinerama Adventure" by David Strohmaier
"Compassionate Use" by Adam Schatten (producer)
"Girl X" by David Goldberg
"Killing Time at Mickey's" by Robert Taleghany
"Midsummer" by James Kerwin
"Our Little Science Story" Grant Johnson
"Peroxide Blonde" by Andrew Van Slee
"Welcome to the Club" by Beth Harrington

The Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Discovery Awards® were founded by Carlos de Abreu and Janice Pennington to bridge the gap between Hollywood and the global creative community by discovering emerging filmmakers and storytellers, to recognize established Hollywood talent, and to assist in the renaissance of Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood community. Entertainment Tonight Online (www.etonline.com) is produced by Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE). The site offers daily entertainment news and features that extend the experience of watching Entertainment Tonight, the number one entertainment magazine show, complete with in-depth celebrity interviews, chats, sweepstakes and much more. PDE draws upon Paramount Studio's rich history in motion pictures and television programming, and combines it with vast creative resources and state-of-the-art technology to develop original online entertainment in cooperation with distribution and promotional partners. PDE is headquartered in Hollywood, California.

For screening tickets call TicketMaster or order tickets online at TicketMaster's website