AFI FEST 2014 presented by Audi Announces Sponsors And Cultural Partners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, LOS ANGELES, CA, November 4, 2014 – AFI FEST 2014 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, announced their cultural partners and sponsors for this year's festival which will take place November 6 through 13in Hollywood, CA, at the Dolby Theatre®, the TCL Chinese Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

 

For the eleventh year, Audi is the festival's presenting sponsor. Additional top sponsors include AT&T, Coca-Cola, VIZIO, American Airlines (the official airline of AFI), Dunkin' Donuts, Netflix, Stella Artois, Dolby Laboratories and Technicolor. The festival's venue sponsors include the Dolby Theatre®, TCL Chinese Theatres, the Hollywood & Highland Center, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Egyptian Theatre.

New sponsor VIZIO will add an official venue to the festival, the VIZIO Ultra HD Lounge, located in the Roosevelt Hotel. The lounge is open to passholders and will play host to a variety of filmmaker panels, conversations, industry meetings and special events. VIZIO's brand new P-Series Ultra HD televisions will be on display in the lounge.

AT&T has once again created the AT&T Box Office located at the Hollywood & Highland Center. AT&T U-verse will also host an exclusive AFI FEST app that showcases festival highlights, the full schedule of films and red carpet photos.

AFI FEST and the American Film Market (AFM) form a strategic alliance for the eleventh year, the only one of its kind in North America. Filmmakers and industry executives benefit from the concurrence of the two events creating opportunities for impactful partnerships of art and commerce. This year, 30 films which will be showcased at AFI FEST will also be represented at AFM and10 films will screen at both events. Several international sales agents including EuropaCorp, Film Factory, Films Distribution, Mongrel International, Protagonist Pictures and WestEnd will have films screening at both events.

The American Film Institute is grateful to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, both of which have provided generous support to the World Cinema program at AFI FEST. Additionally, SAG-AFTRA and SAGIndie return as supporters of the festival.

This year's cultural partners include AMEXCID, China Onscreen Biennial, the Consulate General of Belgium in Los Angeles; the Consulate General of France – Film & TV Office; the Consulate General of Israel; the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, the Consulate General of Switzerland; Flanders Image; Isituto Italiano di Cultura; Italian Trade Agency; Japan Foundation Los Angeles, Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, Korean Film Council, Luce Cinecittà; Québec Government Office in Los Angeles; TELEFILM Canada, TV5MONDE, UCLA Latin America, uniFrance Films; University of Guadalajara Foundation, and Wallonie-Bruxelles Images.

AFI FEST and Luce Cinecittà will present the World Premiere of the digitally restored version of Giuseppe Tornatore's CINEMA PARADISO onMonday, November 10at the Egyptian Theatre with Tornatore in attendance and Danny DeVito introducing the film. The film, which won the 1990 Academy Award®for Best Foreign Language Film, is a Franco Cristaldi and 123' ITA Production. Dolce & Gabbana is the main supporter, along with Luce Cinecittà and Cineteca di Bologna for the restoration. In addition, AFI FEST, Luce Cinecittà and the Italian Trade Agency partner to celebrate "Cinema Italian Style," and will present Paolo Virzi's HUMAN CAPITAL, Italy's official Oscar®entry for Best Foreign Language Film, onThursday, November 13at the Egyptian Theatre.

AFI FEST collaborates with the UCLA Confucius Institute on the second edition of the China Onscreen Biennial. The China Onscreen Biennial closes their festival at AFI FEST with BLACK COAL, THIN ICE (DIR Diao Yinan) onFriday, November 7 and Monday, November 10at the TCL Chinese Theatres.

The AFI FEST 2014 mobile application incorporates the Gimbal context aware and proximity platform to serve up pass offers, festival promotions and movie trailers that allow you to share your AFI FEST experience. Gimbal beacons will be placed in private venues within the festival area, including select Martin Outdoor Media benches. These Gimbal proximity beacons, which communicate with the festival app via Bluetooth® Smart (Bluetooth low energy) technology, provide highly accurate (within a few feet) micro-location information. If the user has opted-in to receive push notifications, the user will get information and offers that are tuned, not just to the fact that the user is at AFI FEST, but to the fact that the user is—in that moment—very near to something of interest.

Official media sponsors include 102.7 KIIS FM; ALT 987; Entertainment Weekly; The Hollywood Reporter; IMDbPRO; Indiewire; The Los Angeles Times; Screen International, Variety, and The Wall Street Journal Magazine.

Free individual tickets to AFI FEST screenings and Galas are available to the general public online at AFI.com or at the AT&T Box Office at Hollywood & Highland. AFI FEST Patron Packages and Passes include access to sold-out Galas and other high-demand films and events. Passes are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST, and AFI Members receive special discounts. The American Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and cultural organization, and Patron Packages are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Visitors to AFI FEST can save 10-20% at places to eat nearby when they show their valid TAP card, Metro employee ID or LA County employee ID to the server or cashier. More details can be found here. Those taking the Metro Red Line to the Hollywood/Highland Stations can find their best route by using the Trip Planner on www.metro.net.

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