Time Warner Inc. and 'Precious' Executive Producer Lisa Cortes Honored for Contributions to the Arts in Minority Communities at a September 29 Gala Benefit for Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

Time Warner Inc. and 'Precious' Executive Producer Lisa Cortes Honored for Contributions to the Arts in Minority Communities at a September 29 Gala Benefit for Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

"The Daily Show"'s Wyatt Cenac Hosts

Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School Also Honored

Time Warner Inc. and 'Precious' Executive Producer Lisa Cortes Honored for Contributions to the Arts in Minority Communities at a September 29 Gala Benefit for Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

"The Daily Show"'s Wyatt Cenac HostsBrooklyn Community Arts & Media High School Also Honored

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning arts program REEL WORKS TEEN FILMMAKING celebrates nine years of serving New York City youth with a gala benefit on September 29th, 2010 at The Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan. Comedian Wyatt Cenac, on-air correspondent and writer for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," will serve as M.C.

With its mission to give a voice to teens in underserved communities through the arts, Reel Works will present the following honors: a Corporate Leadership Award toTime Warner Inc; a Visionary Filmmaker Award to Lisa Cortes, Executive Producer of the Oscar®-winning film "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; and a Community Partner Award to theBrooklyn Community Arts & Media High School, a charter school in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Says John C. Williams, Reel Works' co-founder and Executive Director, "These awards pay tribute to people and organizations committed to the proposition that, through the arts, young lives can blossom."

REEL WORKS TEEN FILMMAKING (www.reelworks.org) is a nonprofit after-school program that partners with educators to transform the lives of at-risk Brooklyn teens. The benefit will raise funds for the organization's free after-school filmmaking workshops which pair teens one-on-one with professional filmmaker-mentors. More than half of Reel Works teens come from low-income homes, with 64% from minority communities. Reel Works has received major awards, including five Student Emmys and the President's 2007 Coming Up Taller Award -- the nation's top honor for after-school arts programs. Reel Works films have reached an audience of millions on outlets including, among others, HBO, PBS, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and AOL TV, as well on the current weekly television series "Reel Works with Byron Hurt," which the New York Times says "takes us...further inside the lives of local kids than any adult documentarian or journalist could hope to get."

W. Wilder Knight II, a noted entertainment attorney Of Counsel at the law firm Pryor Cashman LLP, is the Event Chair and founding board member of Reel Works.

ABOUT THE AWARD RECIPIENTS:

A Corporate Leadership Award will be presented to media and entertainment company, Time Warner Inc. Time Warner's philanthropy invests in new and diverse storytellers by supporting best-in-class nonprofit organizations that identify and nurture promising talent. Through its Next Generation Fund, the company supports high-quality scholarship, college prep and media arts organizations that are aligned with its commitment to talent development. In addition, Time Warner provides a year-round leadership development program and opportunities to receive competitive, paid internships at the company. Time Warner has been a major sponsor of Reel Works since 2005.

The Visionary Filmmaker Award recipient is Brooklyn-based producer Lisa Cortes, a multiple award-winning entertainment executive, and a committed advocate for giving voice to the voiceless and seeing the potential for art to inform, inspire and create social change. Part of the team that created Def Jam Records, she recently launched the production company Cortes Films, served as Vice President of Artist and Repertoire for Mercury Records, and founded the Loose Cannon Records label at Polygram Records. She then moved into film, joining Lee Daniels Entertainment where, most recently, she was the Executive Producer and driving force behind the Oscar-winner "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Cortes has lectured at various universities about cinema, hip-hop culture, and Black aesthetics. In addition, she serves on the boards of Trajal Harrell Dance Style and the world-renowned artist community, Yaddo.

A Community Partner Award will go to the Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School (BCAM). Located in Bedford Stuyvesant, BCAM views students, families and our communities as partners in education, and has built a small-school environment to engage, nurture and challenge its 420 students for success in the 21st century. BCAM and Reel Works have collaborated since the school's founding in 2006, with 12 BCAM students participating in the Reel Works after-school program.

For information and press accreditation, go to Contact Us at http://www.kahnmediastrategies.com.

SOURCE Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

Reel Works Teen Filmmaking

CONTACT: For information and press tickets: Kahn Media Strategies, +1-212-678-0821, Sharon J. Kahn, sjkahn@kahnmediastrategies.com

Web Site: http://www.reelworks.org

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