Oscars Have a Pittsburgh Connection

Oscars Have a Pittsburgh Connection

Official Launch of Film Festival Has More Reasons to Celebrate

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival is a unique multiple-day international film festival premiering May 12-20 2006 in the Steelers home town of Pittsburgh. This is the first time a film festival of this kind has been held here. With more than 30 feature films in multiple venues, a Launch Party Gala, workshops and presentations, Silk Screen will be an annual event showcasing Asian made films as well as films made by Asian Americans. Films will be shown at the three Pittsburgh Filmmakers locations as well as additional venues outside of the city. Although newcomers to the film festival circuit, the festival planners are off to a running start: They already have ties to the Oscars.

The founders of Silk Screen were excited to officially announce their festival this week, but their news just got bigger. With Oscar-nominated producer Jim Shamus on their advisory board, Silk Screen is up for a strong start. His film, 'Brokeback Mountain,' has been nominated for 8 Oscars. Shamus, an industry veteran known for producing other Ang Lee films including 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' is co-president of Focus Features.

Silk Screen was the brainchild of Pittsburgh filmmaker, artist and entrepreneur Harish Saluja. Shamus was a consultant for Saluja's film 'The Journey' which was made in Pittsburgh. The Journey (www.newray.com) was shown in over 30 film festivals where it won several awards, and is now being shown and distributed by IFC (the Independent Film Channel).

In addition to Shamus and Saluja, other national and local notables are involved in the festival.

The festival programming committee is chaired by local Film Director and Director of Cinematography John Rice. John's commercial direction has garnered Clio, Addy, Mobius and Art Director's Club awards. His work as Director of Photography for features and documentaries has been broadcast nationally on PBS and screened at Sundance and numerous other film festivals around the world. In addition, the committee includes WTAE-TV anchor Sally Wiggin, and various Asian film experts and university professors such as Ritesh Batra, Richard Cohen, Keiko McDonald, Xinmin Liu and Ebru Turker.

Silk Screen is currently accepting film submissions from around the world. Their goal is to showcase Asian made films as well as films made by Asian Americans. Asia is defined by the festival as Asian-speaking countries east of the Bosporus, such as India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and more. Nearly 100 films have already been forwarded to the programming committee for consideration. Filmmakers wishing to submit may do so by completing an application via the festival's website (www.silkscreenfestival.org) by February 27, 2006. Finalists will be announced in March.

Partners of Silk Screen include the Organization of Chinese Americans, Network of Indian Professionals, Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Asian American Young Professionals Association, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and many others. The Greater Pittsburgh and Convention Bureau is working closely with the festival to promote out of state visitors, and the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel is the 'Official Hotel of Silk Screen.'

Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival is a unique multiple-day International Film Festival premiering May 12-20 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. With more than 30 feature films in multiple venues, a Launch Party Gala, workshops and presentations, Silk Screen will be an annual event showcasing Asian made films as well as films made by Asian Americans. Asia is defined by the Festival as Asian-speaking countries east of the Bosporus, such as India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and more. Simply put, Silk Screen will showcase films with universal themes that transcend political and cultural boundaries. Silk Screen is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)3 non-profit media arts organization.

Film submissions are being accepted through February 27, 2006. Submission forms and full information about Silk Screen can be found online at http://www.silkscreenfestival.org/, or by contacting Harish Saluja, Festival Director, at 724-969-2565 or info@silkscreenfestival.org.

Contacts:
Jodi Klebick, 412-977-2302, jklebick@silkscreenfestival.org
Harish Saluja, 724-969-2565, hsaluja@silkscreenfestival.org

Source: Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival

CONTACT: Jodi Klebick, +1-412-977-2302, or
jklebick@silkscreenfestival.org, or Harish Saluja, +1-724-969-2565, or
hsaluja@silkscreenfestival.org, both of for the Silk Screen Asian American
Film Festival

Web site: http://www.silkscreenfestival.org/
http://www.newray.com/

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