Savannah College of Art and Design > 091806 SCAD to honor Tommy Lee Jones

09/18/2006

SCAD to honor Tommy Lee Jones: Walter Hill and Guillermo Arriaga also to receive awards at ninth annual Savannah Film Festival

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Savannah College of Art and Design honors Academy Award-winner Tommy Lee Jones with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ninth annual Savannah Film Festival Oct. 28–Nov. 4. Achievement Awards will also be presented to award-winning director Walter Hill and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.

Arriaga will receive an award for Achievement in Cinema. "Babel," written by Arriaga and starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael García Bernal, will be the festival’s opening night film. Arriaga also wrote the screenplay for "Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," which will be screened Oct. 29 before the presentation of Jones’ achievement award. Jones directed and starred in "Three Burials."

Hill, who co-created and produced the “Alien” films and directed "48 Hours," will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award Oct. 31. Hill most recently directed the critically acclaimed mini-series "Broken Trail" starring Robert Duvall, which premiered on American Movie Classics channel to record numbers. Additional guests will be unveiled closer to the festival’s opening date. Past festival award recipients and attendees include Natasha Richardson, Peter Falk, Sidney Lumet, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn and Peter O’Toole.

Additional films scheduled for screening include "Little Children," Todd Field’s second film to be screened at the festival, and Stephen Frears’ "The Queen," starring Helen Mirren.

Another highlight of the Savannah Film Festival is the student film competition, the winner of which receives an award and cash prize from HBO. The winner of the HBO Best Student Film three years ago, "Left Behind," went on to win the Academy’s gold medal in the Documentary category eight months later.

For tickets or more information, call 912.525.5050 or visit www.scad.edu/filmfest.