IFC, NETFLIX, ELLE, AMC, PIAGET TO SERVE AS PREMIER SPONSORS OF THE 2008 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS INCLUDE ACURA, POP SECRET, BIOLAGE
PROFESSIONAL HAIR CARE, HEINEKEN
- Official Spirits to Be Provided by Stolichnaya Vodka and G. H. Mumm Champagne -
LOS ANGELES (February 20, 2008) – Film Independent announced today its sponsors for the 2008 Spirit Awards. Premier Sponsors for the 2008 show are IFC, Netflix, ELLE, AMC, and Piaget. Principal Sponsors are Acura, Pop Secret, Biolage Professional Hair Care, and Heineken. The official spirits of the Spirit Awards will be provided by Stolichnaya Vodka and G.H. Mumm Champagne. Casa Del Mar, Oceana Santa Monica, Sheraton Delfina, and Shutters on the Beach are the Official Host Hotels. Wire Image is the Official Photographer of Film Independent. American Airlines is the Official Airline Partner of Film Independent. ON 3 Productions is the Official Presenter Gift Lounge producer. Smartwater is the official water of the Spirit Awards.
The 2008 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards will take place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 23, 2008. As previously announced, Rainn Wilson will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Javier Bardem will serve as Honorary Chair. The show airs live beginning at 5:00pm ET and 2:00pm PT on IFC (Independent Film Channel) with an edited re-broadcast later that evening on AMC at 10:00pm ET. Special footage of the event’s red carpet festivities will begin streaming live exclusively on IFC.com at 11:30am PT.
As a Premier Sponsor of the 2008 show, IFC will stream exclusive red carpet coverage live on IFC.com, presented by Piaget, beginning at 11:30am PT. Additionally, IFC and AMC will co-sponsor a hospitality tent located outside of the entrance to the Main Awards tent. Open from 11:30am - 2pm PT, the tent will feature plasma screens running Spirit Award show coverage from both networks.
This year, for the first-time at the Spirit Awards, Netflix will be hosting five bloggers from top-tier websites including E!.com and Cinematical as they blog and post live from the red carpet and award show. Culture critic Jiminy Glick, made popular by Martin Short on the TV series “Saturday Night Live,” will host the ”Netflix Home Suite Home” and conduct interviews with celebrity guests and attendees from the carpet.
Premier Sponsor ELLE magazine will host celebrity presenters, winners, and VIPs during the ceremony in the ELLE Green Room, an exclusive backstage lounge designed to allow nominees to socialize in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. ELLE is partnering with Biolage, who will have hairstylists available to get celebrities and nominees “blue carpet” ready and provide backstage primping and touch-ups. Havaianas will be on hand to offer Swarovski encrusted fashion sandals for guests to take a break from their heels. In addition, guests in the lounge will be able to enjoy lunch served in environmentally friendly Acura lunchboxes while getting an exclusive look at Acura’s new navigation system.
Premier Sponsor AMC is a multi-platform network that celebrates classic movies and high-quality scripted series. AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today, creating a distinctive viewing experience that celebrates all that is enduringly cool, personal and powerfully relevant about movies. AMC's comprehensive library of popular movies strikes a meaningful chord with its audience, and its critically-acclaimed slate of originals all have a cinematic quality that allow them to complement and be complemented by some of the best movies of all time. The network reaches more than 94 million households.
Piaget is bringing a little sparkle to the sand at this year's Spirit Awards, by offering a sneak preview of its newest diamond jewelry and timepiece collections, themed "Paris to New York". To ensure that fans around the world can be a part of the festivities, Piaget will stream the Red Carpet Arrivals live on their website (www.piaget.com), and will award a dazzling heart-shaped diamond pendant to the lucky viewer who correctly guesses the Spirit Award Winners. To further demonstrate its support, Piaget is also establishing the Piaget Producer's Award in recognition of outstanding creative vision and achievement.
As a Principal Sponsor, Acura will feature the turbocharged RDX luxury crossover SUV on site at the show. Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced performance luxury vehicles through a network of 268 dealers within the United States. The 2008 Acura lineup features five distinctive models including the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the turbocharged RDX luxury crossover SUV and the award-winning MDX luxury sport utility vehicle. For additional information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please visit www.acuranews.com.
Principal Sponsor Pop Secret Popcorn will sample fresh popcorn to Spirit Awards guests. Pop Secret will host four popcorn carts with special toppings for guests to customize their popcorn to their own "independent" style. What's YOUR Pop Secret?
Principal Sponsor Biolage Professional Hair Care, who has partnered with ELLE magazine, will have hairstylists available backstage at the show to provide touch-ups for presenters and on-air talent with the company's new firm hold styling collection. Biolage will also be sampling product in the ELLE green room.
As a Principal Sponsor, Heineken will be the exclusive beer served backstage in the Cantina and at all of the Independent Spirit Awards bars. In addition, Heineken will be gifting its new BeerTender®, an innovative appliance designed exclusively by Krups for the Heineken DraughtKeg™ and Heineken Premium Light DraughtKeg™ to provide an authentic draught beer experience at home, to presenters at the Presenters Lounge.
The official spirits of the Spirit Awards will be provided by Stolichnaya Vodka and G.H. Mumm Champagne. Guests will enjoy Mumm Cordon Rouge champagne and Stoli specialty cocktails, including the Refresher, which uses fresh organic lemon juice and mint.
Glacéau smartwater is the official water of the Spirit Awards hydrating the who’s who of the film industry. smartwater will be served in all of the Acura arrival cars ensuring guests get their vapor distilled purity before walking the blue carpet (admit it, we all need extra purity in our lives.) smartwater will be served on the tables during the awards ceremony and at the bars throughout the main tent and backstage. So why smartwater? Because it’s “the water with all the answers”… but it can’t tell you who won the awards, you will have to watch the show to find that out. And remember, “enjoy the inside, recycle the outside.”
Newly renovated Oceana Santa Monica Hotel joins Casa Del Mar, Sheraton Delfina, and Shutters on the Beach as an Official Host Hotel of the Spirit Awards.
As previously announced, Film Independent is implementing numerous eco-friendly changes to this year’s ceremony to produce a zero-waste event. Autumn Udell of Alchemize has teamed up with Christy Techmanski of OakCrest Products, Inc. to provide eco-friendly, FSC certified flooring products. The beautiful natural bamboo floor will be used in the Cantina area at the show and will then be donated for re-use in low income housing to complete the green circle.
ABOUT THE SPIRIT AWARDS
Film Independent’s Spirit Awards is a celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo. Televised in millions of homes and covered internationally by the press, the Spirit Awards has become the vanguard event in independent film, recognizing the achievements of independent filmmakers and promoting independent film to a wider audience.
Selected from more than 250 submissions, awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Film, and Best Documentary.
Spirit Awards winners are chosen by Film Independent members with voting privileges extended to IFP members. Voters attend nominee screenings and view nominated films online through a partnership with B-Side before selecting Spirit Awards winners. Additionally, voters who are Netflix subscribers can still access already released nominated films on DVD.
ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is a non-profit membership organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds the audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, film industry leader, or a film lover.
With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent also offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent’s mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally-diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.
Film Independent produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international cinema, and the Spirit Awards, a celebration honoring films and filmmakers that embody independence and dare to challenge the status quo.
For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org
