Daniel Pace wins the Heineken Red Star Award at the San Diego Film Festival for his film "The Appearance of a Man." The film also won "Best Lead Actor" (Michael Tassoni).

The Heineken Red Star Award was created to recognize and celebrate the achievements of today's most progressive and gifted directors in independent film. The latest brand initiative to support and empower up-and-coming filmmakers, and celebrate their passion and achievement, The Heineken Red Star Award recognizes films that push the boundaries of creativity and provide a unique vision and execution; this award was created in an effort to promote up-and-coming filmmakers by providing additional exposure and visibility for their films. To this end, Heineken has partnered with two venerable media partners—Variety and the Independent Film Channel (IFC)—to bring well-deserved publicity and visibility to the Heineken Red Star Award recipients and their films. Heineken Red Star Awards will be given at select Film Festivals throughout the year.

All Heineken Red Star Award recipients, and their winning films, will be profiled in the pages of Variety in the month following their award announcement. Complementing this print profile, IFC will produce video vignettes showcasing the Heineken Red Star Award presentation at the participating film festivals; these vignettes will run throughout the month following the film festival. In December, Heineken Red Star Award winners will gather in Los Angeles, as Heineken celebrates their collective accomplishments and showcases these award-winning films with key industry leaders.