HEARTLAND FILM FESTIVAL HELPS SALUTE HOLLYWOOD ICON’S 90TH BIRTHDAY

Monday, May 1st is the 90th birthday of one of the most legendary icons from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Glenn Ford. To celebrate this landmark occasion, Heartland Film Festival® is partnering with the American Cinematheque, Turner Classic Movies and Variety to present a special 90th birthday screening of one of Glenn Ford’s most famous films, the 1946 classic “Gilda” co-starring Rita Hayworth. The event will take place at the American Cinematheque’s permanent home, the restored 1922 landmark movie palace Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

“For 15 years, Heartland Film Festival has been committed to honoring Truly Moving Pictures and the visionaries behind them,” said Jeffrey L. Sparks, president of Heartland Film Festival. “Glenn Ford's career set him apart as one of the pioneers of Hollywood with films like ‘Blackboard Jungle’ and ‘Ransom.’ Heartland is thrilled to participate in this tribute to a great American legend, Glenn Ford, and to continue to share our message with Hollywood and the rest of the nation.”

Glenn Ford will make a very rare personal appearance at the event, his first public appearance in 15 years. Ford will be present for the pre-screening birthday salutations, which will include special messages from dignitaries and friends honoring a Hollywood career that spanned seven decades of the 20th century.

After the pre-screening birthday salutations, attendees will see a restored 35mm print of “Gilda” (courtesy of Sony Pictures) and an ultra-rare 1937 short film of Glenn Ford’s big screen debut. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Peter Ford (Glenn Ford’s son and biographer) and special guests who worked with Glenn Ford during his 54 working years in 108 film and television roles.

The event will culminate with a champagne and birthday cake reception for attendees.

Comments from the organizations presenting the event:

For The American Cinematheque: Barbara Smith – Executive Director

“Glenn Ford is one of America’s great treasures. As an actor he always exemplified virtue and nobility. Timeless qualities that continue to shine through in all his work. The American Cinematheque is delighted to be presenting this historic event to salute Glenn Ford on his 90th birthday. We look forward to welcoming him back to the Egyptian Theatre and to toasting his career, health and happiness surrounded by his family, friends, colleagues and admirers.”

For Variety: Steven Gaydos - Executive Editor [Features]

"Glenn Ford's best work has stood the test of time and his 90th birthday marks an opportunity to celebrate both his contribution to cinema as well as an entire era of great American cinema."

For Turner Classic Movies: Charles Tabesh - SVP of Programming

"Glenn Ford excelled at playing well-meaning, ordinary men confronted by unusual or threatening situations. Turner Classic Movies is honored to celebrate these classic characters by airing four of Ford's films on his 90th birthday, May 1st. We are also are very pleased to be supporting the tribute event taking place in Hollywood that evening.”

Heartland Film Festival, a non-profit organization, was established in 1991 to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life. Each October, Heartland screens Truly Moving Pictures from around the world, ranging from dramas to documentaries to animation. In 2006, Heartland will increase its total prize money to $200,000. This includes doubling its Grand Prize for Best Dramatic Feature to $100,000 and two new awards: a $25,000 cash prize for Best Documentary Feature and a $10,000 cash prize for Best Short Film. The remaining $65,000 will be shared among the 2006 Crystal Heart and Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award winners. The Crystal Heart Award cash prizes are made possible by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and the Max Simon Charitable Foundation. In 14 years, Heartland has awarded more than $1.4 million to support filmmakers in their quest to create Truly Moving Pictures.

Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque, is a non-profit, viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all its forms. The Cinematheque presents film and video programming which ranges from the classics and world cinemas to the outer frontiers of the art form at the Egyptian Theatre. Exhibition of rare works, special prints within our series, etc., combined with fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. The American Cinematheque renovated and re-opened (on December 4, 1998), the historic 1922 Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard as a permanent home and in 2005, expanded its acclaimed programming to the 1940 Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. The Egyptian is a state-of-the-art, 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman's first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored to its 1922 grandeur. The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922.

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 70 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.  TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '90s, commercial-free and without interruption.  More information is available at the TCM Website at www.turnerclassicmovies.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

Variety, founded in 1905, is the world's largest entertainment news organization, with bureaus and reporters around the world. The Variety news organization publishes Daily Variety and weekly Variety in Hollywood, Daily Variety Gotham in New York City and variety.com in Hollywood and London.