Clint Eastwood to be honored at Museum of Tolerance film festival

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Acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker Clint Eastwood will walk away with a Tolerance Award at the inaugural International Film Festival which will be run by the Museum of Tolerance November 13-18 in Los Angeles, museum officials announced Tuesday.

At the first Museum of Toleracne International Film Festival ( MOTIFF), films from around the globe that shine a light on human rights issues both past and present will be screened. Intertwined with classic films that bolster the Museum of Tolerance's mission, the festival will offer moviegoers six days of education, understanding and culture, the organizer said.

"The Museum of Tolerance International Film Festival seeks to explore human rights issues and prevent hatred and genocide through the medium of film," Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founding Director of the MOTIFF and Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its acclaimed Museum of Tolerance (MOT), said. "Cinema leaves a lasting impression on its audiences and is a valuable way to instill the museum's vision in a new audience. The MOTIFF is a powerful outlet for the MOT to further their mission of promoting respect and mutual understanding."

According to the organizer, a gala will take place on Sunday evening, Nov. 14, saluting films and filmmakers who have embraced issues of Tolerance and Human Rights. A number of awards will be presented including the "Tolerance Award" honoring an accomplished filmmaker whose films have brought awareness to themes encouraging tolerance, justice and human rights.

Commenting on the award honoring Eastwood's achievement, Hier said, "We believe Mr. Eastwood is a superb choice for this award, which celebrates those whose work shines a light on themes of acceptance, inclusion, tolerance and forgiveness."

"That is certainly true of Mr. Eastwood's outstanding cinematic achievements, with only the most recent examples being 'Letters from Iwo Jima,''Gran Torino'and 'Invictus,'" he added.

Randi Emerman, who has been active in the film industry for two decades, was named by the museum as Executive Director of the festival. He has served as Executive Director of the Palm Beach International Film Festival since 2001. Held in Palm Beach, Florida, the event was recently ranked as one of the top 10 film festivals in the world showcasing over 120 films for over 20,000 attendees.

Festival offerings will be screened at the Museum's three theaters including the 300-seat state-of-the-art Peltz Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

MOTIFF is currently accepting submissions and looking for films that speak out about or tell a story of human rights. The deadline for submissions is in mid-October. The MOTIFF will announce its lineup of films (including Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night movies) in October.

As the educational arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Museum of Tolerance was founded in 1993 and hosts almost half a million visitors annually including 110,000 students.

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