AFI Silver and First Star Celebrate the Oscars(R) With Oscar Night(R) Gala

AFI Silver and First Star Celebrate the Oscars(R) With Oscar Night(R) Gala

Washington, DC's Exclusive Oscar Night(R) Party in First Year at AFI Silver

With Master of Ceremonies & Washington Post Critic Desson Thomson

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- While the Oscar(R) nominees may no longer be a secret, it's still anybody's guess as to who will take home the golden statuettes. On Oscar Night(R) the stars will be out to shine in Hollywood, but they won't be the only ones being given the red-carpet treatment under the searchlights.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stages its 77th Academy Awards(R) Presentation on Sunday, February 27, Washington can join in its own red carpet festivities at the AFI Silver/First Star Oscar Night(R) America party. In its inaugural year at the American Film Institute's state-of-the-art AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, this event will be one of just 45 Academy-sanctioned parties to be held across the nation, and the fourth consecutive year for Washington, DC's First Star, a charity dedicated to America's abused and neglected children.

One of Washington's leading film critics -- Washington Post/Z-104's Desson Thomson -- will emcee the evening's live, three-screen broadcast of the ABC Television Network's 77th Academy Awards(R) Presentation. The ABC Television Network and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are cooperating for their twelfth year with local charities nationwide to create official Oscar Night America viewing parties.

To celebrate Hollywood's most honored tradition in all its fanfare, the evening includes a red carpet arrival under the searchlights, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from Washington's choice chefs, prizes, a silent auction of Hollywood and other memorabilia, and other special touches. The evening-long reception begins at 7:00 p.m.; the live broadcast of the 77th Academy Awards begins at 8:00 p.m.

Proceeds from this Oscar Night America event will equally benefit First Star -- a Washington-based charity dedicated to improving life for America's abused and neglected children through system reform, education, research, public policy and public awareness -- and the film programs of the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. Sponsors include BB&T, US Airways and Cristhope Salon.

Tickets are $75 and may be purchased online at www.AFI.com/Silver or at the AFI Silver Theatre box office at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. For more information: www.firststar.org, www.AFI.com/Silver or www.oscars.com

Event Name: Oscar Night(R) America-Washington, DC
to benefit First Star and AFI Silver

Date: Sunday, February 27, 2005
7:00 p.m.

Location: AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, Maryland
www.AFI.com/Silver, 301.495.6720

Tickets: $75 per person, online at www.AFI.com/Silver or
at the AFI Silver box office

Contact: 301.495.6747(AFI Silver) or 202.293.3703 (First Star)

URL: www.firststar.org, www.AFI.com/Silver or www.oscars.com

About First Star


First Star (www.firststar.org) is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving life for America's most vulnerable children through a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to education, research, public policy and public awareness. First Star's mission is to put children first by ensuring that each and every child in America is given the very best care, protection and representation that results in a safe, nurturing and permanent home.

About Oscar Night(R) America

Oscar Night(R) America is a program of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (www.oscars.org), a professional honorary organization founded to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures; foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technological progress; recognize outstanding achievements; cooperate on technical research and improvement of methods and equipment; provide a common forum and meeting ground for various branches and crafts; represent the viewpoint of actual creators of the motion picture; and foster educational activities between the professional community and the public-at-large. The Academy Awards(R) Presentation is the Academy's most important activity and has enabled the organization to maintain a varied year-around calendar of programs and events and a wide-ranging educational and cultural agenda.

About the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

The AFI Silver is an internationally recognized exhibition center offering film and video generally unavailable elsewhere -- independent features, shorts, foreign films, documentaries and classics -- as well as exceptional first-run cinema. Its programming schedule offers an unprecedented variety of American and international cinema in an ongoing series of festivals, screenings and special events, including filmmaker interviews, panels, discussions and musical performances that place the art on-screen in a broader cultural context. AFI Silver's community service programs include an Education Screening Program for local students and a Community Screenings Program for children, seniors, at-risk families and community leaders. Anchored by the rehabilitation of noted architect John Eberson's historic 1938 Silver Theatre, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a 49,000 square foot complex with three theatres-one historic, two new state-of-the-art stadium-style theatres -- a cafe, a film-based retail outlet, office and meeting spaces, and reception and exhibition areas. The theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre and Cultural Center are separate entities and are not affiliated.


Source: AFI Silver; First Star

CONTACT: Joan Kirby of AFI Silver, +1-301-495-6747, jkirby@AFI.com; or
Deborah Sams of First Star, +1-202-293-3703, dsams@firststar.org

Web site: http://www.oscars.org/

Web site: http://www.oscars.com/

Web site: http://www.firststar.org/

Web site: http://www.afi.com/Silver


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