..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

May 19, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

-- IFP/Los Angeles Announces Halle Berry and Samuel L. Jackson --
As Honorary Co-Chairs For the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival

-- IFP/Los Angeles Announces Neil Young As Artist In Residence --
For the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival

LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2004) - Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of IFP/Los Angeles, announced today that Halle Berry and Samuel L. Jackson will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs for the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival. It was also announced that musician and filmmaker Neil Young will serve as Artist in Residence for this year's festival.

"Both Halle Berry and Samuel L. Jackson have been able to use their stature in the industry to support independent film, the Spirit Awards, and now the Los Angeles Film Festival," said Executive Director of IFP/Los Angeles Dawn Hudson. "IFP/Los Angeles appreciates their championing the cause of independent film and raising awareness for new artists."

"Music has been a strong component of the festival for the past few years and we are thrilled to have such a talented innovator as Neil Young join us," said Festival Director Rich Raddon.

As Honorary Co-Chair of the festival, Berry will host Closing Night festivities, where she will give out two Target Filmmaker Awards: The Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature carries with it an unrestricted cash prize of $50,000 funded by Target Stores, offering the financial means for filmmakers to transfer their vision to the screen. The largest cash prize bestowed by a major U.S. film festival, the award recognizes the finest American narrative film at the festival. The award is given to the winning director of the Narrative Feature Competition. A special jury selects the winner. All narrative feature-length films screening in the Narrative Competition section are eligible.

The second award is the Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature. This award recognizes the finest American documentary feature at the festival and is awarded to the winning director of the Documentary Competition. The award carries with it an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000 funded by Target Stores. A special jury selects the winner. Documentary features screening in the Documentary Competition section are eligible for the Target Documentary Award.

As Honorary Co-Chair of the festival, Jackson will host the annual Filmmaker Reception held on Wednesday, June 16. The Filmmaker Reception serves as a forum for VIPs to mingle with filmmakers whose work will be showcased at the festival before the official kick-off.

As Artist In Residence, Young has selected two films which will screen at the festival: Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man," starring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer; and George Lucas' "THX-1138," starring Maggie McOmie and Robert Duvall. Also screening at the festival is "Greendale," Young's first foray into film, featuring a cast which includes his wife, Pegi Young, and longtime collaborator, Ben Keith. Young will also participate in an intimate conversation about his cinematic and musical influences on June 22. KCRW's Nic Harcourt will moderate.

The festival will also have its popular Coffee Talk series again this year, with discussions with panelists in the following areas: Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers, Editors, Documentarians, Composers and Production Designers. The festival will also feature various Poolside Chats including "You Scared the Hell Out of Me: Modern Day Horror," with some of today's most interesting creators including Don Coscarelli ("Phantasm"), Joe Dante ("The Howling"), Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Eli Roth ("Cabin Fever"), and Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy," "The Devils Backbone").

Other panels include "Blaxploitation: Misnomer and Misunderstood," with director Michael Campus ("The Mack"), actor Antonio Fargas ("Foxy Brown"), producer Joel Freeman ("Shaft"), director Jack Hill ("Foxy Brown") and actor Max Julien ("The Mack"); and "Pioneers in Programming: Los Angeles 1970s," an in-depth discussion on the golden era of Los Angeles exhibition. For a complete line-up of events, visit www.lafilmfest.com.

The 10th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival kicks-off on June 17 and continues through June 26. For event information and tickets, call (866) FILM-FEST or visit www.lafilmfest.com. Passes are available now. Tickets go on sale May 20.

Halle Berry is currently in production on the Oprah Winfrey produced tele-film "Their Eyes Were Watching God" from the best-selling book of the same name by Zora Neale Hurston. Next up is the highly anticipated summer film "Catwoman," opening July 23rd. Berry most recently opened the psychological thriller "Gothika," which grossed more than $140 million worldwide. For her performance in Lions Gate Films' "Monster's Ball," Berry made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, she earned a SAG Award, the Berlin Silver Bear and was named Best Actress by the National Board of Review. On the small screen, Berry starred in and produced the HBO movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," which brought her a Golden Globe, SAG and Emmy Award. She will soon begin production on the independent film "October Squall," in which again, she will star and produce.

Samuel L. Jackson is currently in production on Les Mayfield's "The Man," opposite Eugene Levy. In March 2004, he wrapped production on Paramount Pictures' "Coach Carter," a Fall 2004 release. In Summer 2003, Jackson traveled to South Africa for production on the film, "Country of My Skull," based on the best-selling novel by South African writer, Antije Krog. Directed by John Boorman, "Country of My Skull" will be released in September 2004. For his performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," Jackson received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Best Supporting Actor Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2000 Deauville Film Festival. His film credits include "Eve's Bayou," "A Time to Kill," "Changing Lanes," "Jungle Fever," "187," "Do The Right Thing," "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones," "Unbreakable," and "S.W.A.T."

Young's latest album, "Greendale," is part family saga, part political protest, part spontaneous creative combustion. Released by Reprise, the ten tracks of "Greendale" tell the story in song of the Green family, a Northern California clan balanced between the waning promises of the past and the waxing potential of the future. The creative impetus behind this musical panorama of modern American life harks back to Young's own childhood. "Greendale" was also rendered a full-length feature, shot on location in Northern California over three weeks by Young. Sanctuary Records will release the film on DVD on June 22, 2004.

The 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival is sponsored by Premier Sponsors - In Style and Target Stores; by Principal Sponsors - American Airlines, the Directors Guild of America, Eastman Kodak Company, and Sofitel Los Angeles; by Platinum Sponsors - 8000 Sunset, CFI, IFC, and Moviola; and by Promotional Sponsor the Los Angeles Times. Special support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. WireImage is the official photographer for the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival.

The Festival Center (including box office, free outdoor screenings, Porch Parties, and the Target Red Room - Filmmaker Lounge) will be located at the 8000 Sunset. The festival will utilize screening facilities including the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres, Directors Guild of America, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, and the ArcLight Hollywood Cinerama Dome.

Over the past ten years, the Los Angeles Film Festival has evolved into a world-class event, uniting emerging filmmakers with film critics, scholars, masters and the film-going public. The IFP/Los Angeles took over the festival in 2001, and expanded the festival to include international films and a variety of special events and screenings throughout Los Angeles. Richard Raddon serves as the Festival Director. Rachel Rosen is the Director of Programming.

The festival has grown to more than 40,000 attendees, unveiling such films as
"The Cooler," "Mayor of the Sunset Strip," "Kissing Jessica Stein," "George Washington," "The Cruise," and "Dead Man," and hosting talents such as Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin, Alfonso Cuarón, Benicio Del Toro, Jodie Foster, Heather Graham, Jake Gyllenhaal, Daryl Hannah, Holly Hunter, Catherine Keener, William H. Macy, Ewan McGregor, Sidney Poitier, John C. Reilly, Mark Ruffalo, Bryan Singer, and Forest Whitaker. Last year a total of 206 films including 72 features representing 32 countries screened at the festival.

IFP/Los Angeles, a nonprofit membership organization, champions the cause of independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. IFP/LA provides its members with professional advice, educational programs, affordable camera and equipment rentals, and discounts to hundreds of industry-related businesses. IFP/LA's Filmmaker Labs offer writers, directors, and producers the opportunity to develop their projects. IFP/LA's mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs filmmakers from culturally diverse communities with film industry professionals. IFP/Los Angeles also produces the IFP Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international independent cinema. With more than 6,000 members, IFP/Los Angeles is Southern California's largest non-profit organization for independent filmmakers.

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