AARON SORKIN, ALLISON ANDERS AND JUNE FORAY TO BE HONORED AT UCLA TFT 2011 FESTIVAL OF NEW CREATIVE WORK

Aaron Sorkin, Allison Anders and June Foray will be among those honored at this year's Festival of New Creative Work presented by UCLA's School of Theater, Film & Television (TFT) http://legacy.tft.ucla.edu/festival/. The annual week-long festival showcases and screens the works of TFT's emerging artists, and honors the work of the entertainment industry's brightest and most respected.  Honorees are chosen by students voting within their particular discipline.  The festival begins Friday, June 3 and runs through Thursday, June 9, 2011. 

Aaron Sorkin
"Celebrating the outstanding achievements of our students at Festival, and recognizing distinguished TFT alumni and industry leaders, is a high point of every academic year for me and all of the TFT community," comments Teri Schwartz, Dean of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. "The remarkable work on display during this joyous week is a vivid reminder of why this School exists - to unlock the great stories in the hearts of these wonderful young artists. Theirs are the stories that really connect with audiences in new and fresh ways - and have the power to enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better world."

Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin will be honored with the Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting Award at the Festival's Screenwriters Showcase June 6th.  Sorkin recently received an Oscar® for writing The Social Network. His success with his script A Few Good Men gave him the opportunity to work with TFT alumnus Rob Reiner, who directed the picture.  Critically lauded for his work on the small screen, Sorkin received five Emmy® Awards for the series The West Wing starring Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and Rob Lowe.

The Screenwriters Showcase, hosted by TFT alumnus Mike Werb (Face Off, The Mask, Laura Croft: Tomb Raider), also celebrates the work of UCLA's Graduate Screenwriting students. Portions of eight scripts will be previewed in staged excerpts. These scripts have been selected by a panel of over 200 industry judges in a competition that began in March.

Anders will receive the Distinguished Alumnus/Production Award at the festival's opening night, Friday, June 3rd.  The award-wining director, writer and producer is best known for her films Mi Vida Loca, Four Rooms, Gas, Food Lodging and Grace of My Heart. Anders is a UCLA TFT graduate, class of 1986.

Opening night will also highlight a collection of top narrative, documentary and animated films coming out of TFT.  Student voted awards will also be presented to graduate and undergraduate work in a variety of categories, such as Excellence in Screenwriting, Art Direction and Editing.          

At Animation Prom night, legendary voice-over actress June Foray will be presented the Outstanding Contribution in Animation Award, also known as The Crystal Anvil Award.  Foray's celebrated career is a part of Hollywood history. Most known for voicing the role of Rocky the Flying Squirrel in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Foray also played the voice of Lucifer in Disney's Cinderella, plus scores of popular and classic characters. Students will also be awarded for their work in animation that night, June 4th, as well.

The School of Theater, Film & Television strives to provide the highest possible standard of professional training while also encouraging an independent spirit of creative innovation, personal vision, and social responsibility to enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better world. The UCLA TFT Festival of New Creative Work provides the opportunity to see this philosophy in action.

UCLA TFT has a rich history of emerging artists for the stage and the screen, producing the best of the best in the entertainment industry.  The 2011 Festival of New Creative Work will continue in this tradition throughout the entire week with events focusing on the Design Showcase West, the national entertainment design showcase on the West Coast and the Moving Image Archive on June 4th, and the Producers Marketplace on June 7th.

Please join the weeklong festival of showcases and screenings and experience the future potential of emerging artists.

For more information on the 2011 Festival of New Creative Work, please log on to

http://legacy.tft.ucla.edu/festival/  or  www.tft.ucla.edu/festival