"It is a pleasure and an honor for the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington, D.C. -- together with the Consuls of the European Union member countries in Los Angeles and the Cultural Counselors of the fifteen embassies of the EU member countries in Washington -- to be sponsors of the Hollywood Film Festival. It is indeed one of our permanent endeavours to provide an American audience with quality feature and documentary films from the European Union, America's biggest and most valuable partner in the world. It certainly remains an uphill battle to achieve this goal. Our cultural 2002 Hollywood Film Festival and linguistic diversities are a richness we are proud of: in filmmaking they often translate into interesting and colorful entertainment that deserves to be shared with our friends in the United States and especially with those on the West Coast. Recently, European feature films have scored high in box offices around the United States. As to documentaries, they have always been and still are one of the most valuable expressions of the 'European way' of showing that we do care for the less-favored citizens of the world. The Hollywood Film Festival, therefore, is an extraordinary platform we are proud to be part of," said Willy Helin, Director, Press and Public Affairs Delegation of the European Commission in Washington, D.C.