BY MY DAILY FIND STAFF
Actress Evan Rachel Wood accepted an $86,000 grant from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on behalf of Cal State Northridge’s (CSUN) film department at a star-studded luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on August 11. The grant to CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts includes $60,000 in fellowships for student senior film projects and $26,000 for institutional support.
Evan Rachel Wood accepts an $86,000 grant on behalf of CSUN from the Holly Foreign Press Association
“The association’s grants and fellowships to the film program at CSUN have literally made the difference between mere artistic aspiration and actual fulfillment of dreams,” said cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas, who heads the university’s film option.
Thomas said the association’s gift took on particular significance this year in light of the state budget crisis, which has forced the California State University system to raise student fees and cut the operating budgets at individual campuses. Northridge is expected to lose more than $40 millions from its budget in the 2009-2010 academic year.
“Our students are working class and every financial gift helps them move closer to realizing their dreams,” Thomas said. “The association understands that, and that’s why their grant means so much to us.”
The grant was presented during the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual installation luncheon honoring its 2009-2010 slate of officers held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. At the event, the association awarded more than $1.2 million to film schools and non-profit organizations. Among the other institutions receiving grants were the American Film Institute, California Institute for the Arts, Columbia University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, UCLA and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Other actors on hand presenting awards were Warren Beatty, Rose McGowan, Eva Longoria Parker and Dylan McDermott.
“Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association always look forward to our annual summer luncheon,” said association president Philip Berk. “Not only do we celebrate the installation of the organization’s new officers and board members, we take pride in donating over $1,000,000 in charitable contributions to many outstanding film-related charities and educational institutions.”
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is comprised of international journalists who report on the entertainment industry. It hosts the Golden Globes each year, and awarded more than $10.5 million in charitable donations in the past 15 years.
CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts’ relationship with the association goes back more than 13 years. In addition to the association’s support of senior film projects and the university’s annual senior film showcase, CSUN students also edit in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Senior Film Edit Suite and work on sound design in a state-of-the-art sound mix facility made possible by a grant from the association.
About Karen Young
