HOLLYWOOD, CA, April 25, 2007 -- In their eleventh year, the Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Awards®, presented by STARZ, announce their new dates and call for entries.

"We are very excited to be having our eleventh annual festival and awards from October 17 to 22 at ArcLight Cinemas. Last year's festival was one of the best yet, with our awards going to such Hollywood notables as Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Penelope Cruz, Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Oliver Stone and Pedro Almodovar, among many others," Executive Director Carlos de Abreu announced.

"This is the fourth year of Starz' involvement with the Hollywood Film Festival," says Stephan Shelanski, Starz senior vice president, programming. "The Festival celebrates a wide variety of films and attracts the top stars working in the industry today. Carlos continues to work tirelessly to make the HFF a memorable event, and he has succeeded as each year gets better and grander."

This year the festival will be celebrating its eleventh anniversary, and it will include premieres, tributes, special screenings and hip parties. Over 100 films will be showcased. At this time the festival is accepting features, docs, shorts, and music videos. The submission deadline is May 31. For more information go to http://www.hollywoodfestival.com

"We are very proud that we have become recognized as a pre-Oscar® showcase, as well as a source for providing great networking opportunities for filmmakers looking for a break. The 'New York Times' says that we are 'the first mandatory stop in the awards season.' In the last four years, a total of 54 Academy Award® nominations and 12 Oscars® have been given to films the festival has showcased and to the nominees and honorees of the Hollywood Awards. We are very pleased that the festival launches the push towards the awards season," said de Abreu.

"In addition, we are very happy that we have been successful in implementing our mandate of bridging the gap between established Hollywood and emerging filmmakers. Craig Brewer, director of 'Hustle and Flow' and 'Black Snake Moan,' was discovered by the Hollywood Film Festival with the world premiere of his first film, 'Poor and Hungry.' Another HFF winner, director Robert DeFranco, sold his film 'Telling You' to Miramax, and HFF winner Zoe Clarke-Williams was handpicked to direct a project for MGM. Winning HFF documentarian Janine Hosking sold her doc 'My Khmer Heart' to HBO, and HFF alum Diane Estelle Vicari's documentary 'Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness' was picked up by Seventh Art Releasing, and other filmmakers have secured agents, managers and jobs," added de Abreu.

The Hollywood Film Festival kicks off October 17 for a six-day series of screenings and special presentations with Q/A sessions at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. On October 22, the festival culminates with the prestigious Hollywood Awards®, which honor established Hollywood talent, international talent and emerging filmmakers.

The Hollywood Awards® were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, and the awards gala ceremony is held at the famous Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and draws more than 1,200 attendees, including such A-list celebrities and stars as Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Annette Bening, Halle Berry, Orlando Bloom, Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock, Chris Columbus, Russell Crowe, Cameron Crowe, Penelope Cruz, Billy Crystal, Benicio Del Toro, Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Clint Eastwood, Emilio Estevez, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Jamie Foxx, Mel Gibson, Heather Graham, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Haggis, Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Anthony Hopkins, Ron Howard, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Diane Lane, Laura Linney, Lucy Liu, Lindsay Lohan, George Lucas, Michael Mann, Rachel McAdams, Matthew McConaughey, Ewan McGregor, Mike Medavoy, Sam Mendes, Demi Moore, Mike Myers, Joaquin Phoenix, Sydney Pollack, Keanu Reeves, Susan Sarandon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Martin Scorsese, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Sharon Stone, Kiefer Sutherland, Quentin Tarantino, Charlize Theron, John Travolta, Naomi Watts, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams and Debra Winger, among many others.

Prior festival and awards co-chairs, selection committee members, and judges have included Ken Annakin, Alberto Barbera, Irene Bignardi, Tony Bill, Clare Binns, John Briley, Judith Bronowski, Elisabetta Brunella, James Caan, James Cameron, Michel Ciment, Martha Coolidge, Wes Craven, Mike Curb, Richard Donner, Moctesuma Esparza, Udy Epstein, Edward S. Feldman, Giovanna Fulvi, George Gallo, Marina Goldovskaya, Mike Goodridge, Giorgio Gosetti, Gene Hackman, Sandra Hebron, Arthur Hiller, Allan Hunter, Peter Hyams, Norman Jewison, Val Kilmer, Margret Koehler, Ted Kotcheff, Laszlo Kovacs, Martin Landau, Dale Launer, Mimi Leder, Mark Lewis, George Litto, Derek Malcolm, David Mamet, Penny Marshall, Paul Mazursky, Dr. Betsy McLane, Christopher Mercier, Jacob Neiiendam, Stephen Nemeth, Janice Pennington, David Permut, Michel Reihac, Jose Maria Riba, Jonathan Romney, Fred Roos, Mark Rydell, Tom Schulman, Arnold Schwartzman, Aradhana Seth, Stephan Shelanski, Serge Siritzky, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, Diane Estelle Vicari, Paula Wagner, and Irwin Winkler, among other established entertainment industry executives -- agents, directors, managers, producers, publicists, screenwriters and members of the craft guilds.