Artivist Award winning films named

The Artivist Collective is pleased to announce the Artivist Award winning films for the 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival. This year’s festival will take place December 1-5 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, screening over 40 independent, narratives, documentaries, shorts, and experimental films from around the globe. The festival concludes with The 2009 Artivist Awards on Saturday, December 5. The awards are followed by a lovely catered event in the forecourt of the Egyptian.

The festival’s mission is to strengthen the voice of advocate artists - "Artivists" - while raising public awareness for global causes.

Artivist is the first film festival dedicated to addressing International Human Rights, Children's Advocacy, Environmental Preservation, and Animal Advocacy. The Artivist Awards go to a feature and short in each of these four categories. Additionally the Artivist Spirit Award goes to the film that best embodies the overall mission of the festival. This year’s Award winning films are:

Animal Advocacy
Best Short
“Abe”
Khen Shalem

Animal Advocacy
Best Feature
Ice Bears of the Beaufort
Arthur Smith III

Artivist Spirit
Best Short
“Rough Cut”
Taghreed Saadeh

Artivist Spirit
Best Feature
Intelligent Life: Change Your Mind, Change Your World
Brian Malone

Children's Advocacy
Best Short
“The One Wayz”
Linda Chavez

Children's Advocacy
Best Feature
Children of War
Bryan Single

Environmental Preservation
Best Short
“Urubus têm Asas (Vultures Have Wings)”
Marcos Negrão/Andre Rangel

Environmental Preservation
Best Feature
Belonging
Gerard Ungerman

International Human Rights
Best Short
“Intersection”
Jae Woe Kim

International Human Rights
Best Feature
La Mission
Peter Bratt

The Artivist Awards also honor those artists whose exemplary work in their community stands out as a shining example of one person's ability to change the world for the better. Past Artivist Award recipients include: Ted Danson, Alyssa Milano, Joaquin Phoenix, Matthew McConaughey, Mira Sorvino, James Cromwell, Ed Begley Jr, Tippi Hedren, Claes Nobel of the NOBEL Prize Family and Mike Farrell. The 2009 recipients will be announced soon.

Since its inception in 2004, the Artivist Film Festival has showcased over 400 films representing more than 45 countries around the world. Artivist has reached millions of people with its film festivals in Hollywood, London, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Lisbon, and through its website at www.ARTIVISTS.org. Additionally, in recognition of the socially conscious platform it provides, Artivist has been endorsed by Claes Nobel of the Nobel Prize family, Amnesty International, and the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Many films awarded at Artivist have gone on to great acclaim including Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels, Academy Award Nominees Super-Size Me and God Sleeps in Rwanda, and the Los Angeles Premieres of Fast Food Nation, Emmanuelle's Gift, Stolen Childhoods, Zeitgeist, Zeitgest Addendum and Trudell.

This year Artivist is proud to provide the community its “Artivist Stimulus Package” of free tickets for all festival film screenings. In order to attend the films, festival goers can order two tickets for each screening at www.ARTIVISTS.org or at the Egyptian Theater box office during the festival.

The Artivist Award winning features will be screened in the 600 seat Lloyd Rigler Theater of at the Egyptian Theater during the 2009 Artivist Film Festival at the following times:

Tuesday December 1, 8:00pm La Mission – Artivist Opening Night Event Screening

Set in the colorful, seedy streets of the San Francisco district that bears its name, "La Mission" is a story of redemption imbued with the curative power of Aztec tradition. Respected -- and feared -- as the baddest Latino on the block, Che (Benjamin Bratt), a former criminal and recovering alcoholic, resorts to violence and intimidation to get what he wants. A bus driver by day, Che lives for his beloved son, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez), his lifelong friends and his passion for lowrider cars. But Che's macho world is crushed when he discovers that Jesse is gay. Che then reacts in the only way he knows, violence. Enter Lena, Che's attractive neighbor and a force to be reckoned with. As a mutual attraction develops, Lena challenges Che to reconcile with his son. From acclaimed director Peter Bratt, "La Mission" is a haunting story of one man's struggle to overcome homophobia and break the cycle of violence that has haunted his life -- and to heal and transform himself and his family in the process.

Wednesday December 2, 7:30 pm, Ice Bears of the Beaufort – Los Angeles Premiere

Stunning, unrushed cinematography and editing, natural sound without narration and a sparse music score by Patrick O'Hearn transform Arthur C. Smith's documentary into a meditative plea to save one of the earth's most powerful -- and comically playful -- animals. This documentary is witness to Alaska's Beaufort Sea coast as a critical polar bear habitat, endangered by efforts to drill for oil. Five years in the making by a single resident of an Inupiat Eskimo village, the film is a color-intense, cinematic portrait of Alaskan polar bears never before captured. The body of the documentary chronicles polar bear activity and year-round use of the coastal and offshore areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the adjacent Beaufort Sea.

Wednesday December 2, 9:00 pm, Children of War - Los Angeles Premiere

Set in the east African country of Uganda, Children of War, directed by Bryan Single, is a film that chronicles the daily struggle towards rehabilitation and reconciliation by a group of recently escaped child soldiers of the Lord’s Resistance Army, one of the world’s longest running and most brutal militias. To add perspective to the stories of these children, the film also follows the chief priest of the Lord’s Resistance Army, as well as recipients of the Army’s professed miracles and victims of its atrocities. Together these individuals will illuminate the pitfalls, challenges and triumphs of a war-sick society desperately attempting to transition from violence to peace.

Thursday December 3, 9:30 pm, Intelligent Life – American Premiere

The time has come for us to take responsibility for the choices that we make in our everyday lives and the effect those choices have on us and on the planet. But how? Intelligent Life is a stark and unfiltered examination of the unintended consequences of modern American lives. Behind the scenes, our own convenience and comfort are often the greatest causes of suffering and destruction. Shot in high-definition and in a photo-essay style, Intelligent Life is a visually stunning portrait of modern American life. The glorious soundtrack that accompanies the film features a number of Grammy Award-nominated recording artists. Directed by Brian Malone, the film is a winner of the Green Seal from the Environmental Media Association.

Friday December 4, 7:30pm, Belonging – Los Angeles Premiere

Directed by Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy and narrated by Dustin Hoffman, the Inuit-inflected Belonging leavens its informational load and scarifying message with dazzling shots of the Canadian Arctic and, ultimately, a very hopeful message. It serves as a primer on both how we got into this mess and what we can do about getting out of it. Not just science, but religion too, can be brought to bear to open our eyes and strengthen our resolve. The more natural resources are consumed, the more the human population explodes, increasing the need for more resources. This Catch-22 has resulted in massive numbers of species extinctions, dead zones in the ocean that are increasing in size and number every year, and more horrors than most people can even bear to contemplate.

The Artivist Award winning shorts will screened at the following times during the festival:

Wednesday December 2, 7:00pm – “Rough Cut” – Steven Spielberg Theater

“Rough Cut” is a short documentary that deals with the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza after the Israeli attack on December 27, 2008. It shows stories of Gazans and describes the fear and the death that occur in this tragic war zone.

Wednesday December 2, 9:00pm – “The One Wayz” – Lloyd Rigler Theater

“The One Wayz”, centers on fourteen year old Chato, forced to grow up too soon when immigration agents take his father from his home. Even though his brown skin has got everyone wondering when he'll turn delinquent, Chato hopes for a brighter future. When thirteen year old Ryan, a middle-class white kid, moves in across the street, they form a friendship that shakes their low-income Latino neighborhood. Both Chato and Ryan will do anything to prove how tough they are, even if it means getting jumped into a gang.

Friday December 4, 8:00pm – “Urubus têm Asas (Vultures Have Wings)” – Lloyd Rigler Theater

“Vultures Have Wings” depicts a rural Brazilian community that takes issue with the damage caused by waste disposal which is slowly destroying the source of its survival, the mangrove swamp.

Friday December 4, 9:15pm – “Intersection” – Steven Spielberg Theater

“Intersection” is a stark, stylish, and high quality Anime that provides a hard-hitting look at human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Asia. It is a riveting story told from the perspectives of five individuals who all play a part in the trafficking chain.

Saturday December 5, 1:00pm – “Abe” – Lloyd Rigler Theater

“Abe” revolves around an older dog forced to leave the loving home he knows and discovers a world that's not accepting of animals without owners.Artivist Founder-President, Diaky Diaz, states: "Raising awareness for the interdependence between Humanity, Animals, and the Environment is the true mission of Artivist. Filmmakers and NGOs from around the world gather at the Artivist Awards to celebrate films that not only inform but inspire positive actions in our global community.”

This year, Artivist proudly welcomes back PETROBRAS as its Official Community Partner. For the past three years Petrobras has supported the efforts and expansion of the Artivist Film Festival. Understanding the interdependence between humanity, animals, and the environment is crucial in our global community. By working with individuals and groups, organizations and companies, we can create long-term solutions to our global problems.

Petrobras, a Brazilian company, is one of the largest distributors of Ethanol Fuel in the world. With a 30 year history of producing, distributing and using ethanol from sugar cane as fuel for vehicles. The Petrobras Environmental Program, is focused on water protection and biodiversity, supporting hundreds of projects that aim to recover the water bodies and sources, as well as that which promotes the rational use of water resources and environmental education.

Petrobras is the only energy company that is part of the Global Compact Board of the UNITED NATIONS, committing its corporative government to the 10 principles set forth by the UN.

Additionally, Petrobras is the largest funder of Cultural Arts Programs in Brazil, and a partner of various animal advocacy programs which include endangered sea turtles, the spinner dolphins, the manatees, and various save the whales programs.

ARTIVIST is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. All proceeds benefit the Annual Artivist Film Festival, creating a platform for socially conscious "Artivists" to share their inspirational and informative films with the world.