THE 2010 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES FRANK DARABONT
AS DALLAS STAR AWARD HONOREE

DALLAS FILM SOCIETY MATCHES $200K CHALLENGE GRANT

HORROR THRILLER “WALKING DISTANCE” ADDED TO DALLAS IFF LINEUP

DALLAS, TX, April 7, 2010 – The DALLAS International Film Festival (April 8 – 18) announced Academy Award nominee Frank Darabont as a recipient of the DALLAS Star Award. Mel House’s’ horror thriller WALKING DISTANCE joins the film festival’s lineup and the Dallas Film Society announced the organization has received a $200,000 challenge grant.

At a time when most film festivals are content, if not relieved, to roll out their film program and events as scheduled, the DALLAS IFF staff has continued to announce additional honorees and highlighted films to the Film Festival leading up to the eve of the anticipated Opening Night Gala celebration encompassing the entire Angelika Film Center and all of its screens on Thursday, April 8.

Darabont will receive the DALLAS Shining Star Award during “The Dallas Film Society Honors” presented by the Gail L. & Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation event on Friday, April 16 at Hotel Palomar. DALLAS IFF will also screen one of Darabont’s films followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker on Saturday 4/17 at the Studio Movie Grill.

Nominated for an Academy Award (for Best Screenplay Adaptation) for the classic THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) and twice nominated (Best Picture and Best Screenplay Adaptation) for THE GREEN MILE (1999), Darabont’s work as both writer and director for those films as well as for THE MAJESTIC (2001) and THE MIST (2007) have placed him in elite company within the filmmaking community. Darabont is currently at work on AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

“It has been our desire to honor Frank Darabont since the inception of our Film Festival four years ago,” said Dallas Film Society Chairman Michael Cain. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate the work of such an accomplished filmmaker, one responsible for undisputed classics. We are excited that the timing worked out for the DALLAS IFF and Dallas film fans this year. ”

Added to the DALLAS IFF lineup of films is Mel House’s horror thriller WALKING DISTANCE. Focusing on a small neighborhood community where everything is safely within walking distance, the inhabitants discover that the pastoral surface conceals a dark past and an even darker secret. As a group of individuals – each with their own ties and agendas with the town and each other – converges on the enclave, strange things begin to happen.

The film features an impressive lineup of stars including Denton Blane Everett, Glenn Morshower (24, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN), Katie Featherston (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY), Kathy Lamkin (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) Debbie Rochon (AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD), Shannon Lark (Fangoria Spooksmodel) and classic horror icons Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM) and Adrienne King (making her first major big screen appearance since the original FRIDAY THE 13TH). Producer James LaMarr, House, Morshower, King and Lark will all appear at the film’s screening on Thursday, April 15 (at 10:30pm) at the Landmark Magnolia Theater and participate in a Q&A afterward.

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The Dallas Film Society announced that it has successfully matched a challenge grant of $200,000 from an anonymous donor that launched on February 17 and ran through April 1. This was a dollar for dollar match that allowed DFS to maximize the benefits of receiving $400,000. In the changing landscape of the way the funds to support film festivals are generated, the sea of support via Dallas Film Society memberships and outright donations allows DALLAS IFF and DFS to take a major step toward being an event (and year-round organization) that is supported and sustained by a film going and film loving community.

Dallas Film Society President and CEO Tanya Foster said, “While notable sponsors such as Target, Southwest Airlines, TXU Energy, Brierley+Partners and other corporate sponsors are still a vital part of DALLAS IFF, the success of this challenge grant emphasizes that this really is Dallas’ film festival. We are thrilled with the individual donations and the support our community shows.”

Dallas Film Society donations and memberships include:

LEGACY – $100,000
Ruth O’Donnell Mutch

VISIONARY – $25,000
Nancy M. Dedman

A-LIST – $15,000
Embrey Interests
Kacy & Carter Tolleson

SILVER SCREEN – $10,000
Diane & Hal Brierley
Melina & Michael Cain
Trammell S. Crow
Joy & Ronald Mankoff
Lynn & Allan McBee
Nancy C. Rogers

ICON – $5000
Adrienne Faulkner
John Haden
Andrea & Scott Helbing
Margaret & Glenn Solomon
KD Studio – Actors Conservatory

STAR – $2,500
Mary Bell & Brad Hatcher
Gwenna & Don Brush
Brian Dameris
Waverly Deans & David Smith
Joe Dishner & Ruth Anne Murdock
Alison & Bob Farrow
Tanya & Pete Foster
Good Earth, Inc.
Richard A. Illmer/Brown McCarroll LLP
Sharon & R. Michael Jones
Katherine & Chris LaLonde
Last Asylum Entertainment
Carol & John Levy
Ruth Lindsley
Sarah & Alan Losinger
Linda Marcus
Christine & Bob McKenny
Alice & Erle Nye
Lynne Reynolds
Pat Schenkel
Tristan Simon
Lisa & Marvin Singleton
Jackie & Peter Stewart
Anne & Steven Stodghill
Don Stokes
Julie & Alan Tompkins
Dell Perot Systems
Dave Weaver
Beth & Rick Wilbins
Jenny & Lynn Wolf

The DALLAS International Film Festival will run April 8 – 18, 2010. Passes and tickets are currently on sale both via online (www.dallasfilm.org), and at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Window located at 5330 Mockingbird Lane on the Hotel Palomar retail strip facing Mockingbird Lane (214.295.5142).

THE DALLAS FILM SOCIETY
The Dallas Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, The Dallas Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop better understanding of the role of film in today’s world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual DALLAS International Film Festival, to be held April 8 -18, 2010, is a presentation of The Dallas Film Society. In addition to producing one of the largest festivals in the Southwest, The Society produces numerous year round events, screening series and partnership programs with arts organizations around the city. For more information, visit www.dallasfilm.org

SPONSORS Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Airstar Space Lighting Texas, Barefoot Wine, Behringer Harvard, Brierley+Partners, BRILLIANT Magazine, CBS Radio, Central 214, Colibri Promotions, Convergenc Network Solutions, D Magazine, DART, Design Expediting Services Int., Deux, Digital 3 Printing, El Creative, e-Rewards, e-Miles, Faulkner Design Group, Hotel Palomar, Informate DFW Magazine, M3 Films, Match.com, Mockingbird Station, Modern Luxury Dallas, MODIA Home Theater Store, Movie Magic, MPS Studios Dallas, Neiman Marcus, Paul Paredes, Post Asylum, Pure Evil Music & Sound, REEL FX ENTERTAINMENT, The Residences at Palomar, Screen International, Southwest Airlines, Stella Artois, Stoli Vodka, Studio Movie Grill, Target, The Dallas Morning News, Time Warner Cable, The Container Store, TM Advertising, TXU Energy, Univision 23, vitaminwater, West Village, WFAA-TV, Whole Foods Market, World Affairs Council, WRR Classical 101.1 FM.

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