The
annual First Americans in the Arts tribute to indigenous filmmakers
and performers will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2004, at the
Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. This year's ceremonies
will be emceed by well-known actor and artist Michael Horse.
This
will be the twelfth year the festive and elegant event is presented
by FAITA, a nonprofit organization helmed by Bob Hicks and Dawn
Jackson, which honors indigenous achievements in the entertainment
media and also provides scholarship funds for budding Native artists.
According to the 2004 scholarship guidelines, applicants must be
pursuing education in one of the following areas of the film and
entertainment industry: production, production design, directing,
cinematography, screenwriting, or acting.
In
2003, more than a hundred Native performers had speaking roles in
ABC/Hallmark's "Dreamkeeper." Those honored by FAITA this
year for performances in the landmark miniseries include rising
stars Eddie Spears, Delanna Studi, and Teneil Whiskey Jack. Other
film and TV performance honorees will include Eric Schweig for his
"monster" turn in Columbia's feature "Missing,"
Nathaniel Arcand for Turner Television/Films' "The Lone Ranger,"
Mitch Longley for DreamWorks/NBC Studios' "Las Vegas,"
and Graham Greene for Universal/NBC's "Mister Sterling."
Stepfanie Kramer will receive a third FAITA award for her role in
the "Hunter" television series, this time for "Hunter:
Back in the Force."
ABC
and Hallmark Entertainment are to be honored with a Trustee Award
for "Dreamkeeper." John Fusco, writer of the miniseries,"
will receive a Humanitarian Award. Screenwriter-producer Fusco has
a long history of developing Indian-related projects that have employed
hundreds of indigenous professionals, both in front of and behind
the camera, and has created scripts for such films as "Thunderheart,"
"Young Guns," "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,"
and the current release "Hidalgo." (Fusco has also done
much work to help save the endangered Indian Pony horse breed.)
FAITA's
trustees will honor additional individuals and organizations for
their contributions to the Native performing arts community. Recipients
include bestselling author Tony Hillerman, whose books set on the
Navajo reservation have become a "Mystery" miniseries
on PBS (Trustee Award), the legendary KTNN radio station (the Will
Sampson Memorial Award), versatile Monty Bass (Technical Award),
Henry Kingi, Jr. (Stunt Award), and Norman Howell (Stunt/Humanitarian
Award). For her work behind the scenes, Tiffany Roquemore-Delorme
will be honored for co-producing Touchstone Television/Bad Robot's
series, "Alias."
For
live theater performances, honorees will include Michael Horse and
Arigon Starr for their roles in "The Buz'Gem Blues," a
Native Voices production at the Autry Museum. Music category award
recipients include the popular Chester Knight, the venerable Black
Lodge Singers, and newcomer Darren Geffre.
Tickets
for the dinner and awards event are $125 each. According to FAITA
trustee and former scholarship recipient Kathy Peltier, there will
be a silent auction and reception from 5:30 - 7:30 P.M. Dinner is
scheduled at 8 P.M., and the awards ceremony will begin at 9 P.M.
An after-party will follow the presentation, with admission starting
at $20 for dinner-ticket holders. After-party tickets may also be
purchased separately at the door for $40.
Contact
information for the event is as follows:
Event
tickets, Donna Sanchez - 323-478-1784
Silent Auction producer, Kathy Peltier - 818-458-3207
Hotel reservations - 1-800-245-8673 / 1-213-612-1575
Additional information, Anne Begay - 310-270-5388
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