-- Filmmaker Effie T. Brown to deliver keynote address at Evan Lawson Filmmakers' Brunch --
March 22, 2016 (Provincetown, MA) - The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) announced today that Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee will be honored with the 2016 Filmmaker on the Edge Award, to be presented during its 18th edition running June 15 - 19, 2016 in Provincetown, MA. Lee will accept the award in conversation with resident artist John Waters on Saturday, June 18, at Provincetown's historic Town Hall.
A two-time Academy Award-winning director (LIFE OF PI, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN), Lee's filmography also includes CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. He is currently in post-production on his next feature, BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK.
Andrew Peterson, PIFF's Director of Programming said: "Given Ang Lee's beautiful artistry, remarkable versatility, and towering command of craft, it's long been a dream of ours to honor him with our Filmmaker on the Edge Award - and 2016 is the year that dream comes true! We are honored and thrilled to celebrate him and his already legendary career."
Previous recipients of the Filmmaker on the Edge honor include David Cronenberg, Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, Mary Harron, Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant and Christine Vachon.
Additionally, the festival announced that prolific filmmaker Effie T. Brown, whose credits include DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, IN THE CUT and BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, will host the third annual Evan Lawson Filmmakers' Brunch on Sunday, June 19. Brown, who is currently a producer and mentor on HBO's "Project Greenlight," will deliver the keynote address at the event.
Held on the final day of the festival, the Evan Lawson Filmmaker Brunch serves as a fundraising event for the Gabrielle A. Hanna Film Institute. Now in its third year, the Hanna Institute, an initiative of the Provincetown Film Society, is committed to advancing opportunities for underrepresented filmmakers and media artists.
"It is no coincidence that we chose to honor two filmmakers who have recently sparked serious discussion about diversity and racial stereotyping in the film industry," said Christine Walker, Executive Director of PIFF and CEO of the Provincetown Film Society. "Through Ang Lee's masterful storytelling and Effie's behind-the-scenes fierceness, both filmmakers remind us that a powerful bridge to the cultural divide is an empathetically-told story about our shared human condition."
Passes for the festival are also on sale. For more information, visit www.ptownfilmfest.org.
The 2016 Filmmaker on the Edge Award is sponsored by Lithexcel Marketing Services. Partner sponsors of the 2016 Film Festival include: HBO and Xfinity/Comcast.
About The Provincetown Film Society & The Provincetown International Film Festival:
To make Provincetown - with its unique combination of art institutions, culture, history and natural beauty - the global destination for creative exploration in film.
The Provincetown Film Society (PFS) is a non-profit dedicated to continuing the founding mission of the Provincetown Art Colony - to provide a welcoming, nurturing and inspiring environment for boundless and authentic creative exploration - in film. From the time it was founded in 1998 the Society has been committed to serving its communities who are often outside of the mainstream, in the margins, or otherwise underserved - but have a voice critical to the evolution of artistic expression. It has also been dedicated to the celebration of Provincetown - an American treasure nestled amongst spectacular National Seashore beaches, and a shining example of diversity and inclusion. Through its Festival, Cinema and Institute, the Society endeavors to give year-round support to aspiring and up-and-coming, and established independent filmmakers, and to connect them with curious and engaged audiences globally.