Editor

Screen International is teaming up for the third consecutive year with the Hollywood Film Festival and the Hollywood Awards to present the Hollywood World Award, a prize for the best in world cinema which will be presented at the Hollywood Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Oct 23.

The award is a key predictor of foreign films which are set to receive kudos in the year's awards season. In 2004, the prize went to both "The Motorcycle Diaries" and "The Sea Inside," while last year Stephen Frears' "Mrs Henderson Presents" was the winner.

A panel of international judges consisting of critics, festival directors and impartial executives chose the shortlist of films last year which included Cannes favorites "Hidden" and "L'Enfant" and French hit "The Beat That My Heart Skipped."

Qualifying films must have their world premieres between Oct 1, 2005, and Oct 1, 2006, encompassing this year's crop from all the major film festivals.

The Hollywood Film Festival presented by Starz - this year, the festival is being sponsored in the first year of a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Starz Entertainment Group (SEG) - is also looking to screen as many of the films as possible. Its final deadline for submissions is Aug 20, although should a film be shortlisted it would be eligible for screening in the festival. This year's festival runs from Oct 17 to 23.

"We are very excited and proud that Screen International and its team will be joining with the festival to honor film-makers from the global creative community," stated festival founder and executive director Carlos de Abreu. "We want to ensure that we bridge the gap between established Hollywood and world cinema by showcasing films during the 10th annual Hollywood Film Festival."

"The Hollywood World Award is a perfect opportunity for the Los Angeles community to tune into the best of the year's world cinema including the cream of the crop from the Venice and Toronto festivals weeks before," added Colin Brown, editor-in-chief of Screen International. "We are thrilled to be working with Carlos and The Hollywood Film Festival once more in presenting this prestigious award."

Screendaily will be posting updates on the Hollywood World Award throughout the summer, naming the jury which will vote on the year's best films and announcing the shortlist in the first week of October.

The Hollywood Awards ceremony itself is one of the most glittering nights in the film calendar. At last year's event, attending luminaries included Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Diane Keaton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix, Rachel McAdams, Susan Sarandon, Paul Haggis, Sam Mendes and Matthew Broderick among others.