Hollywood Film Festival announces the appointment of Jon Fitzgerald as Executive Director of the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Festival

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Film Festival announces the appointment of Fest veteran Jon Fitzgerald as Executive Director of the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Festival.

"Jon's experience in the online, film festival, and worldwide film communities will be a great asset to the growth and new direction of our Festival," said Carlos de Abreu, founder of the Hollywood Film Festival.

As a co-founder and former executive director of Slamdance, AFI Fest, Santa Barbara and Abu Dhabi film festivals among others. In addition, in 2012 he launched CineCause, a philanthropic platform, connecting socially relevant films to related causes.

Fitzgerald will be working closely with festival founder Carlos de Abreu, and will be in charge of development, artistic direction, programming, marketing and overall Festival management, as well as the Hollywood Gives Back® Project.

The Festival is excited about the integration of several new components for the 2013 edition, led by Fitzgerald.  One of the core missions has always been to "bridge the gap" between Hollywood and the global creative community.  The Festival will take this concept to the next level with the new Hollywood Network® program. With film presentations taking place in the heart of Hollywood, the Festival presents a valuable screening platform for independent filmmakers, while providing for access to the studios and industry at large.  The event will initiate a series of meetings between independent filmmakers and Hollywood industry professionals.

In addition, the Festival will combine sister organization Hollywood Gives Back® with CineCause, showcasing the other side of Hollywood, celebrating the Industry's creative artists who have supported causes around the world.  These efforts will be presented through the CineCause Spotlight section of the Festival, connecting social impact films with related causes.

The third new element will take place online.  With filmmakers always looking for broad exposure, this year the Festival is pleased to be offering a select number of short films to Internet audiences, providing streaming opportunities to industry professionals and the online community.

"I'm very excited to have the chance to build on the success of the Hollywood Film Festival, and look forward to incorporating these new elements. Filmmakers will have opportunities to expand their connections, leverage entertainment to recognize important causes and broaden their reach to the online community, here in the film capital of the world," says Fitzgerald.

The 17th Annual Hollywood Film Festival is now open for submissions in the follow genres: Features (all genres including animation, drama, comedy), Docs, and Shorts (including animation).

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL
The Festival was created to bridge the gap between established Hollywood and the global creative community, as well as discovering embryonic filmmakers. This year will be our 17th anniversary and the Hollywood Film Festival will take place from Oct 17 to 21, 2013, at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. "The ultimate networking opportunity for filmmakers looking for a break," says "Variety." Some of our film finalists have been acquired by HBO, Miramax, IFC, and Starz, among other distributors, and filmmakers have secured agents, managers, and jobs. One of our winners, Craig Brewer (director of "Hustle and Flow," "Black Snake Moan" and "Footloose"), was discovered by the Hollywood Film Festival(r) with the world premiere of his first film "Poor and Hungry."

For more information go to www.hollywoodfilmfestival.com

Hollywood Film Festival®
433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 600
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

SOURCE The Hollywood Film Festival