2006 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards to Honor Clint Eastwood, Sir Sidney Poitier, Anthony Minghella and Rachel Weisz

2006 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards to Honor Clint Eastwood, Sir Sidney Poitier, Anthony Minghella and Rachel Weisz

Poitier Tapped to Receive Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to Film

VALENCIA, Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA) will mark its 2006 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel when it honors Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Sir Sidney Poitier with the Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film; Academy Award-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing; and Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener") with the Britannia Award for Artist of the Year.

As previously announced, Clint Eastwood will receive BAFTA/LA's annual 2006 Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.

Poitier is the second recipient of the Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film. Last year, the honor was awarded to filmmaker Ronald Neame.

"We are thrilled to enter into our second year of partnership with BAFTA/LA and look forward to honoring this year's illustrious Cunard Britannia Award recipients," says Cunard Line President Carol Marlow. "Their elegant style, overall graciousness and transcendent appeal truly embody the spirit of both BAFTA/LA and Cunard Line."

BAFTA/LA Chairman Peter Morris states: "BAFTA/LA is proud to honor such distinguished individuals who have accomplished so much and inspired so many of us for so long. This will be a night to remember for BAFTA/LA for years to come."

Founded in 1987, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA) is an independent, non-profit organization composed of 1,200 members in the Los Angeles-based film and television industries, representing the largest professional association outside of the U.K. BAFTA/LA operates as an affiliate of BAFTA, headquartered in London, with all members granted full voting rights in the annual Orange British Academy Film Awards (popularly known as the BAFTAs).

BAFTA/LA is actively involved in numerous outreach programs, most notably the Helen Keller Park After School Program, which has spearheaded the creation of a screening facility with monthly film programming for the inner-city youth of Los Angeles. Additional outreach activities include hosting numerous educational events for various entertainment organizations, granting a number of film scholarships for students, and producing the BAFTA/LA Heritage Archives of historic one-on-one interviews with noted British filmmakers. Membership activities also include screenings, Q & As with talent and filmmakers, and a variety of charitable events. BAFTA/LA also presents its annual Britannia Awards every November, where it has honored such luminaries as Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, and Martin Scorsese with Britannia Awards.

Cunard, operator of the luxury ocean liners Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2, has long been synonymous with the quest for new discoveries and the epitome of British finesse since the company's first paddle-wheeled steamer, the Britannia, crossed the Atlantic in 1840. The company has an illustrious history of hosting famed entertainers, royalty, and society luminaries aboard its fleet of liners. Earlier Cunard "Queens" have welcomed such famous personalities as Elizabeth Taylor, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, and Clark Gable who enjoyed Cunard's White Star Service(SM) when crossing the Atlantic aboard a Cunard ship was considered the only way to travel.

Since Queen Mary 2's launch in January 2004, she has continued to play host to many notable guests such as Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Uma Thurman, John Cleese, Richard Dreyfuss, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, Tina Brown and Harold Evans, Donald Trump, and Dame Shirley Bassey, while eminent visitors have included Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, Former President George Bush, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Hillary Clinton.

Cunard Line has operated the most famous ocean liners in the world since 1840. Cunard vessels have a classic British heritage and include the legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2. Queen Victoria joins the fleet in 2007.

Cunard Line is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. The exclusive alliance also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, Windstar Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Together they offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.

Source: Cunard Line

CONTACT: Jackie Matthews of Cunard Line, +1-661-753-1035,
jmatthews@cunard.com; or Maria Andriano of Redpoint PR, +1-212-229-0119,
andriano@redpointpr.com, for Cunard Line; or Danni Pearlberg of The Angellotti
Company, +1-818-506-7887, danni@angelcopr.com, for BAFTA/LA

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