Hollywood, CA., August 8, 2000-- The 4th Annual Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Awards" ceremony, presented by Hollywood Video® and honoring independent filmmakers and established Hollywood professionals, was held last night before a standing-room-only audience of over 1,200 Hollywood Film Festival attendees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Special honors went to legendary actors Richard Dreyfuss and Morgan Freeman for their contributions to the art of film, and to such acclaimed filmmakers as Richard Donner, Jonathan Krane, Mace Neufeld, Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Kamen, Henry Bumstead, as well as Kenny Loggins, actors Angelina Jolie and Russell Crowe and casting director Michael Fenton.

The Hollywood Film Festival honored the independently produced feature films "Marlene" and "A Place Nearby" with the awards "Best Feature" and "Best European Feature," respectively. "Marlene," which tells the story of film legend Marlene Dietrich, was directed by German filmmaker Joseph Vilmaier. "A Place Nearby," was directed by Danish director Kaspar Rostrup, and is a fiercely penetrating drama about a mother's devoted love for her autistic son. The other winners, "Flight of Fancy," for "Best Latin Film," directed by Puerto Rican director Noel Quinones, is a tale of adventure and romance, and the "Best Digital Movie," "The Poor and Hungry," directed by Craig Brewer tells the story of a car thief who falls in love with one of his victims.

The Hollywood Film Festival was founded in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and Janice Pennington, "New York Times" best-selling authors and producers. Regarding the conclusion of the 4th annual festival, Mr. de Abreu said, "We are delighted by the response we have received from Hollywood and the independent filmmaking community during the course of this past week. Our conferences were packed and our screenings were well-attended. We had over 20,000 attendees and last night's gala awards ceremony was truly an extraordinary 'Hollywood' moment."

In addition to the feature film awards, "My Khmer Heart" and "Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness," were selected as the Hollywood Film Festival's Best Documentaries. The festival also named "Soledad," by Shlomo Buchler, as Best Short Film, and "The Monkey's Tale," by director Jean Francois Laguionie, as Best Animated Film. In other awards categories, the film "Genesis and Catastrophe" by director Jonathan Liebesman, was the recipient of the "Hollywood Young Filmmaker Award."

Celebrities and Hollywood notables who attended the 6 day-long fest included Anne Archer, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Francis Ford Coppola, Lauren Shuler Donner, Hector Elizondo, Frances Fisher, Melora Hardyn, Arthur Hiller, Arnold Kopelson, Earl Lestz, Ray Liotta, Michael Mann, Kelly Preston, Bob Shaye, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Simmons, John Travolta, James Woods and Jeff Yapp to name some. Attendees at the gala awards presentation Monday evening were treated to the music of renowned band leader Johnny Crawford and his twelve-piece orchestra.