The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out more than $1.2 million in grants at its annual Installation Luncheon Aug. 9, where the official installation of this year's officers and board of directors was also announced.
Grants were presented to 40 entertainment-related non-profits and cultural institutions at the star-studded event, which gathered Hollywood actors, filmmakers, studio executives, publicists, and non-profits at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Funds are provided by the license fee the organization receives from NBC's telecast of the annual Golden Globe Awards.
"Thanks to the diligence of the members to produce a successful Golden Globes we are able to expand the philanthropy branch of the Association," HFPA president Dr. Aida Takla-O'Reilly said at the opening of the ceremonies. "Over the past 18 years, we can proudly say our organization has donated nearly $15 million through our grants program."
Steven Spielberg accepted a $250,000 grant on behalf of the Film Foundation, which he, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and other filmmakers founded 22 years ago to preserve films. Spielberg said that the HFPA has donated $3.6 million to the foundation over the years, helping to fund the restoration of about 80 classic films. He said the money awarded this year will go towards restoring Federico Fellini's "La Strada."
Jennifer Lawrence accepted a $50,000 grant on behalf of the Sundance Institute, to be used for their career advancement program. Dustin Hoffman accepted grants totaling $85,000 on behalf of LACMA/Film Independent film screenings, L.A. Conservancy's "Last Remaining Seats" project, and UC Berkeley Pacific Film Archive.
John Travolta accepted a total of $445,000 in grants for film schools including AFI, CalArts, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State L.A., Cal State Northridge, Columbia, LACC, Loyola Marymount, NYU, UCLA, and University of North Carolina. Christina Hendricks accepted grants on behalf of Film Independent's Project Involve, the Independent Filmmaker Project, and the International Documentary Association. Don Johnson accepted American Cinematheque's $40,000 grant in support of the HFPA’s annual foreign film director symposium. Kerry Washington accepted FilmAid International's $50,000 donation in support of screenings and filmmaker training in Kenyan refugee camps.
Kelsey Grammer accepted grants for two theater groups, the Ensemble Studio Theater and Gingold Theatrical Group/Shaw Festival. Jack Black received donations on behalf of Lollipop Theater Network, Pablove Foundation, Young Musicians Foundation, and Young Storytellers Foundation, which are all non-profits aimed at children and young adults. "Step Up Revolution" stars Ryan Guzman and Kathryn McCormick accepted donations on behalf of Ghetto Film School, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Inner-City Arts, Inner City Filmmakers, and California State Summer School Arts Foundation, organizations dedicated to bringing arts education to underserved communities.
Carla Gugino, Jordana Brewster, and Josh Henderson accepted grants on behalf of Visual Communications' Asian American Film and TV Professionals Conference, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment's writers awards, the Levantine Cultural Center's series of Middle Eastern film screenings, Outfest's Legacy Project, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles, and Streetlights; Powerhouse Filmmakers Lab.
The HFPA formally installed its new board of directors and officers for 2012-13 at the luncheon, as well. Dr. Aida Takla-O'Reilly was reelected for her second term as president. She introduced new HFPA Vice President Jorge Camara, Executive Secretary Serge Rakhlin, and Treasurer Ali Sar.
The new board of directors is comprised of chairman Ruben Nepales and board members Helen Hoehne, Yukiko Nakajima, Yoram Kahana, and Lorenzo Soria, with Dierk Sindermann as alternate.
The complete list of 2012 HFPA grant recipients is below.
HIGHER EDUCATION FELLOWSHIPS & INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
American Film Institute - $30,000 Fellowships
California Institute for the Arts (CalArts) - $60,000 Fellowships
Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Foundation - $10,000 Capstone film project
Cal State Long Beach - $50,000 Film production costs for student films
Cal State Los Angeles - $50,000 Fellowships
Cal State Northridge - $50,000 Fellowships
Columbia University - $50,000 Fellowships
Los Angeles City College - $15,000 Fellowships
Loyola Marymount University - $15,000 Fellowships
New York University - $40,000 Fellowships
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - $40,000 Fellowships
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - $25,000 Festival of New Creative Work
University of North Carolina - $10,000 Fellowships
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING & MENTORING
Coalition of Asian Pacific’s in Entertainment (CAPE) - $11,000 Writers' Awards
Film Independent, Project: Involve - $35,000 General support
Independent Filmmaker Project - $15,000 General support for Independent Filmmaker Labs
International Documentary Association - $10,000 General support for Doc U
National Association of Latino Independent Producers - $15,000 Expenses for Latino Producers Academy mentors
Streetlights - $7,500 Mentors for Powerhouse Filmmakers Lab
Sundance Institute - $50,000 General funding for career advancement program
Visual Communications - $7,000 Asian-American film & TV professionals conference
PRE-PROFESSIONAL TRAINING & EDUCATION
California State Summer School Arts - $20,000 Scholarships
Ghetto Film School - $20,000 General support
Inner-City Arts - $25,000 General support
Inner City Filmmakers - $25,000 General support for job placement program
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Foundation - $20,000 Screenwriting classes & equipment repair
PRESERVE THE CULTURE & HISTORY OF FILM
The Film Foundation, Inc. - $250,000 Preservation of two films
Los Angeles Conservancy - $35,000 General support for Last Remaining Seats
Outfest (UCLA LGBT project) - $30,000 General support for expansion of Legacy Project
University of California, Berkeley, Pacific Film Archive - $15,000.00Support for guest filmmaker travel
PROMOTE CULTURAL EXCHANGE THROUGH FILM
American Cinematheque - $40,000 Golden Globe foreign language nominees' seminar
FilmAid International - $50,000 Screenings & filmmaker training in Kenyan refugee camps
Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles - $10,000 Screenings at various festivals
Levantine Cultural Center - $17,500 General support of monthly Middle Eastern film series
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Ensemble Studio Theatre - $15,000 General support for new play development
Gingold Theatre Group/Shaw Festival - $5,000 General support for Shaw productions
Lollipop Theater Network - $15,000 Film screenings for children inSoCal & NY hospitals
Los Angeles County Museum of Art - $35,000 Support for Film Independent/ LACMA Film Program
Young Musicians Foundation - $10,000 General support for youth orchestra
Pablove Foundation - $5,000 Support for photo project for sick kids
Young Storytellers Foundation - $5,000 Storytelling, writing & play production for inner-city kids