New York’s School of Visual Arts has revealed the line-up of presenters for the awards ceremony which will cap off the 24th Annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival (dusty.sva.edu), taking place May 4-7. The awards ceremony will take place Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30 pm at the SVA Theatre and feature celebrity presenters from the worlds of film and animation.
Presenters include: actress Melissa Leo (Oscar winner, The Fighter) presenting the Outstanding Film Award; production sound mixer Chris Newman (three-time Oscar winner: The Exorcist, Amadeus, The English Patient) presenting the Sound Award; screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher (Oscar winner, Precious) presenting the Screenwriting Award; editor Peter C. Frank (Dirty Dancing, The Verdict) presenting the Editing Award; NYWIFT president Alexis Alexanian presenting the New York Women in Film & Television Award; producer Rose Vincelli Gustine (producer for the Independent Filmmaker Project) presenting the IFP Award; animator Frank Gresham (Cartoon Network, MTV Productions) presenting the Traditional Animation Awards; producer and media entrepreneur Fred Seibert (founder of Channel Frederator) presenting the Stop Motion Animation Award; documentarian Lisa Jackson (Emmy winner, The Secret Life of Barbie) presenting the Outstanding Documentary Award; and media personality Valerie Smaldone emcees the awards. Additional presenters are to be announced.
The Dusty Film & Animation Festival was established with the mission of introducing films made by BFA Film, Video & Animation Department thesis students to a wider audience, and was named after SVA Founder Silas “Dusty” H. Rhodes. This year’s headlining sponsors are: AbelCine; Act Zero Films; Adorama Rental Company; AJA Video Systems; Animation Magazine; Avid Technology, Inc.; B&H Photo; Bryan Singer; CAVA – SVA Computer Store; Channel Frederator; Emmett/Furla Films; Feature Systems/Kits and Expendables; Foto Care; Gotham Sound & Communications, Inc.; Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP); Machinima, Inc.; National Board of Review; New York Women in Film & Television; Nice Shoes; Offhollywood; Rota6; Scheimpflug; and SCS Agency, Inc. One hundred percent of the sponsors’ donations will benefit thesis students in the form of grants and in-kind gifts.
