Film Festival awards lifetime achievement award

   BIG BEAR LAKE- the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival (BBLIFF) is excited to present Academy Award winning producer Branko Lustig (“Schindler’s List” & “Gladiator”) with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Producing.

    Branko Lustig has made over 100 motion pictures in a career that has spanned almost 50 years in the industry. His dedication and excellence in the world of filmmaking is world-renowned, and he is known in the cinematic community as an individual committed to making a difference. His impressive list of motion picture credits includes Schindler’s List, Gladiator, Hannibal, The Peacemaker, The Saint and Black Hawk Down.

   Born in the small town of Osijek in Croatia, Lustig’s family dates back many generations in the region to the days when his great-grandfather was a Rabbi in the Bosnian town of Bjelina. Lustig survived years in Nazi concentration camps and when the war ended discovered most of his family had been murdered in the camps of Jasenovac and Auschwitz. His father was murdered by Hungarian fascists, leaving Lustig, his mother and two uncles as the only surviving family members.

   Following the war, Lustig attended a local Film Academy and in 1955 began his career as an assistant director at Jadran Films, Croatia’s largest film and television studio. He subsequently worked as a production manager on such acclaimed European location productions as Fiddler On The Roof and Sophie’s Choice and served as Assistant Director on The Tin Drum.

    In 1988, Lustig went to the United States, where he produced the mini-series Winds Of War and its sequel, the Emmy-Award winning War and Remembrance. He also produced the Emmy Award-winning television movie Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, the science-fiction thriller Deadlock and the mini-series The Great Escape: The Final Chapter and The Intruders.

   Lustig began his relationship with Steven Spielberg as a producer on Schindler’s List and has worked with Spielberg’s Amblin Films in the development of a number of other properties. He also developed a long working relationship with director Ridley Scott on Hannibal and the Academy Award-winning Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. He recently completed the 12th Century epic, The Kingdom Of Heaven, starring Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson.

   Lustig is the winner of two Academy Awards -- for Best Picture for Schindler’s List in 1993 and Gladiator in 2000. He is the recipient of many other prestigious honor including BAFTA, DGA, Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Lustig has developed a special interest in projects that have dealt with the Holocaust and has strived to create films that educate the world as well as to entertain.

   Each year the festival honors professionals in the film industry. Last year Academy Award nominated William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “1941” and “Murphy’s Romance” received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematography, and actor Steven Gilborn (“Formosa”) received the Acting Award of Excellence.

   Among other well-known award participants in the past are cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (“Easy Rider”, “Five Easy Pieces”); actor Ron Perlman (“Beauty and the Beast”); director Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond,” “The Rose”); cinematographer, Jack N. Green, ASC (“Secondhand Lions,” “Unforgiven”); Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones; Emmy and Academy Award nominated actress & director JoBeth Williams (“Adam,” “Baby M,” “On Hope”); Academy Award nominated director, Arthur Hiller (“Love Story” and 2002 Academy Awards Honorary Award recipient); Academy Award winning screenwriter, John Briley (“Ghandi”); Academy Award winning production designer, Henry Bumstead (“Sting,” “To Kill a Mockingbird”); Academy Award nominated production designer Robert F. Boyle (“North by Northwest,” “Fiddler on the Roof”); Academy Award nominated actor Mako (“Sand Pebbles”) and actors Paul Sorvino, Mario Van Peebles and Dana Lee.

   This year's festival will be held the weekend of September 15-17. BBLIFF highlights independent feature-length films, student films, short films, documentaries, family films, animation films, and a screenwriting competition. Juried awards, audience awards, animation awards, family film award High School student award and screenwriting competition awards will be presented. This year the festival’s sidebar will showcase films directed by women.

   For entry forms, submission guidelines, tickets, or information on becoming a volunteer or festival sponsor, visit www.bigbearlakefilmfestival.com, e-mail bigbearfilmfest@aol.com, or call (909) 866-3433. The Big Bear Lake International Film Festival is a non-profit organization. The City of Big Bear Lake is a four-season resort located in the heart of the San Bernardino National Forest, approximately 100 miles east of Los Angeles. Recreation is offered year-round, including skiing, boating, fishing, camping, hiking, golf and fine dining.

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