PLUS CAMERIMAGE to honour Alan Heim and Steven Okazak

Academy Award® winners Alan Heim (“All That Jazz,” “Network,” “The Notebook,” “American History X”) and Steven Okazaki (“Day of Waiting,” “The Mushroom Club,” “Unfinished Business”) will be honoured at PLUS CAMERIMAGE, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography celebrating its landmark 20^th anniversary this November (Nov 24 – Dec 1, 2012).

Oscar® winning film editor Alan Heim will be the recipient of the Festival’s coveted ‘Lifetime Achievement Award to the Editor’ while Oscar® winning director Steven Okazaki will be bestowed the Festival’s prestigious ‘Outstanding Achievement Award as a Documentary Filmmaker.”

Both awards will be presented during the Festival’s closing night ceremony on Saturday, December 1^st.

Heim and Okazaki join a growing list of industry heavyweights who will be in Bydgoszcz for this year’s Festival. Four-time Academy Award® nominated director, writer and producer David Lynch (“Mulholland Dr.,” “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet”) will be in attendance to receive the Festival’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Directing’ while Keanu Reeves will be present to introduce his new documentary “Side by Side,” which will open the Festival on November 24^th.

“We’re thrilled to welcome and recognze two legends in their respetcive fields,” said PLUS CAMERIMAGE Festival Director Marek Żydowicz. “Alan and Steven possess unique gifts that have allowed them to carve out exceptional careers in the movie industry and shape great stories for millions to enjoy on screen. It’s an honor to have them in Bydgoszcz for the 20^th anniversary celebration.”

Alan Heim is an award-winning American film editor with over 35 feature film credits. In 1977, he won an Oscar® in the “Best Film Editing” category for the critically acclaim drama “Network.” He was nominated for his second Academy Award for “All That Jazz” in 1980. Heim began his career in 1968 with the romantic drama “The Sea Gull” featuring James Mason, Vanessa Redgrave and Simone Signoret. His other notable credits include “Lenny” starring Dustin Hoffman; “Hair” featuring John Savage”; “Valmont” starring Colin Firth”; “Dennis the Menace”; “American History X” starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong; “The Notebook” with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling; “My Sister’s Kepper” starring Cameron Diaz; “Alpha Dog” starring Justin Timberlake; and “Janie Jones” starring Abigail Breslin.

Steven Okazaki is an American director, producer and screenwriter of Japanese origins. During his career, lasting for over three decades, he has been acclaimed as an uncompromising filmmaker in revealing the truth about the world. He has devoted his skills to many subject matters, especially the American-Japanese relations in the 20th and 21st century given his Japnese heritage. In "White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he told the story of the first nuclear bombings from both viewpoints of their survivors, and some of its American participants. In "Unfinished Business,” which earned him his first Academy Award® nomination, Okazaki challenged a shameful period of American history – the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. His Oscar® winning short documentary "Days of Waiting” revolved around the same theme, this time, however, from the perspecitve of a Caucasian woman named Estelle Peck Ishigo, who had chosen life by her husband’s side in the internment camp. With this decision, she lost, like all others, her civil rights and was subjected to physical suffering. Okazaki earned his third Academy Award® nomination for the short documentary "The Mushroom Club” in 2006 and his fourth Academy Award nomination for "The Conscience of Nhem En” in 2009.

In his films, Okazaki does not accuse, condemn or condescend. With an objective approach, he delves into the given subject matter within his films while widening the overall perspective and giving it a distinctive human touch. His films are personal journeys, in which failures become a part of the experience and creative process.

About PLUS CAMERIMAGE

Celebrating its landmark 20^th anniversary this year, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, PLUS CAMERIMAGE is the most recognized festival dedicated to the art of cinematography and the biggest international film festival in Poland. The unconventional format of the Festival, which awards films according to their visual, aesthetic and technical values, is a unique alternative to traditional film festivals.

PLUS CAMERIMAGE proves to be a great forum not only for presentation but also for further development of international moviemaking and provides a platform for young filmmakers to explore new artistic areas.

In addition to the main competition, the Festival offers a Polish Films Competition, Student Etudes Competition, Documentary Films Competition, Feature Debuts Competition, Music Videos Competition, Plus Camerimage Market, Plus Camerimage Forum, special screenings and premieres, various reviews, retrospectives, meetings and also accompanying events such as art exhibitions and music performances.

Various presentations of modern film equipment and of the latest production and postproduction technologies (both traditional and digital) are also an inherent aspect of the Festival and have been organized with cooperation from companies such as Plus, Arri, Panavision, Kodak, Hawk, K5600, J.L. Fisher, Sony, Panasonic, KinoFlo, Deluxe, Technicolor and Zeiss.

PLUS CAMERIMAGE is an extraordinary event where art and technology meet, creating a unique and unforgettable atmosphere. Please visit http://www.pluscamerimage.pl for more information.