DALLAS Film Society, AFI Announce Completion of Successful Initial Three-Year Agreement

DALLAS Film Society, AFI Announce Completion of Successful Initial Three-Year Agreement

DALLAS International Film Festival Among Top Film Festivals

DALLAS, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The DALLAS Film Society and the American Film Institute (AFI) today announced completion of their initial three-year agreement, following the outstanding success of the 2009 AFI DALLAS International Film Festival.

The annual film festival is the DALLAS Film Society's signature event.

"AFI is proud to have played a role in launching the Dallas Film Society's annual film festival," said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. "Dallas is home to many of this nation's premier arts organizations, and AFI is honored to have helped establish a proper place for film along side the other arts in this great city."

"For more than 40 years, AFI has honored and celebrated filmmaking, and their expertise and experience have been invaluable to us," said Ruth O'Donnell Mutch, the festival's first donor and now Chair of the DALLAS Film Society board of directors. "This relationship has helped DALLAS to take its place among the nation's top 20 film festivals, with more than 100,000 attendees in our first three years."

The DALLAS Film Society's agreement with AFI began in 2006 to support the launch of the city's largest international film festival, and to help establish it among the film industry's foremost events. Over the past three years, the AFI DALLAS International Film Festival has attracted widespread acclaim, enthusiastic crowds and appearances by many of filmdom's freshest new creative talents as well as some of its most enduring legends.

Mutch and Gazzale are discussing ways for the two entities to work together in the future on a project basis.

The DALLAS Film Society is planning its 2010 international film festival and expects to announce details over the coming weeks.

About the DALLAS Film Society and DALLAS International Film Festival

The DALLAS Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, DALLAS Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop a better understanding of the role of film in today's world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual DALLAS International Film Festival is a presentation of the non-profit DALLAS Film Society.

About AFI

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.

AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, preserves the legacy of America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, and explores new digital technologies at the AFI Digital Content Lab. For 37 years, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film. The AFI 100 Years... series has introduced and reintroduced millions of film lovers to classic American movies. And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI festivals include AFI FEST presented by Audi in Los Angeles and AFI-Discovery Channel SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, while offering year-round programming at the ArcLight Theaters and Skirball Center in Los Angeles, and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, D.C., area. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

Source: DALLAS Film Society; AFI

CONTACT: Michael Cain, Artistic Director of DALLAS Film Society,
+1-214-720-0555, fax, +1-214-720-0551, mcain@afidallas.com; or John Wildman,
AFI Publicity, +1-323-856-7896, jwildman@afi.com

Web Site: http://www.afi.com/

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