Austin Film Society Announces 2018 Texas Film Awards Honorees

 AUSTIN, TX (February 6, 2018—  Today the Austin Film Society (AFS) announced that eight-time Academy-Award® nominated screenwriter and director Paul Thomas Anderson will accept the inaugural Jonathan Demme Award of the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Jonathan Demme, a longtime Austin Film Society Advisory Board Member, was considered a patron saint of Texas film. AFS worked with Demme’s family to select Paul Thomas Anderson for the inaugural award. A disciple of Jonathan Demme, Paul Thomas Anderson became close with the Texas film community when he shot THERE WILL BE BLOOD in Marfa, Texas.

Steven Gaydos, Vice President and Executive Editor of Variety, will present Armie Hammer with Variety’s “ONE TO ACCLAIM” Award.  This award honors actors and filmmakers who have achieved excellence early in their careers. Armie Hammer currently stars in Luca Guadagnino’s CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, which has been nominated for four Oscars®.  Hammer can next be seen in Sony Pictures Classics’ FINAL PORTRAIT, directed by Stanley Tucci, opening March 23, 2018. The film will premiere at SXSW.

Paul Thomas Anderson and Armie Hammer will be in the company of other Texas Film Hall of Fame members whose works have contributed to Texas’s rich legacy in film and television. This year’s Texas Film Awards, taking place March 8, 2018, will be held for the first time at the new AFS Cinema, which opened in May 2017.

Austin Film Society’s CEO Rebecca Campbell has led the Texas Film Hall of Fame celebration since its inception 2001. “These two honorees are incredible examples of the versatile talent within the Texas film community, and we’re thrilled to honor them.  By holding the Texas Film Awards–a celebration of the perennial impact of film–at the AFS Cinema, we’re able to honor filmmakers and actors like Anderson and Hammer in a sanctuary dedicated to their art and give guests a tangible understanding of the power of cinema and media arts,” Campbell stated.

Campbell continued, “This year’s honorees are two creative powerhouses. We are excited to commemorate the remarkable work of Paul Thomas Anderson, who continues to make stunning films such as the Oscar®-nominated PHANTOM THREAD. His involvement is especially poignant as we honor the legacy of Jonathan Demme, a close collaborator and mentor.” Campbell continues, “Armie Hammer’s impressive performances, including in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME and THE SOCIAL NETWORK, exemplify the Variety’s “ONE TO ACCLAIM” Award and its goal: to recognize accomplished Texas talent that are poised for great career leaps.”

The Texas Film Awards raises funds for the Austin Film Society’s year-round artistic and educational programs. AFS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by filmmaker Richard Linklater with the mission to make Austin synonymous with great film.

More about the honorees:
Paul Thomas Anderson
An 8-time Academy Award® Nominee, American film director, producer and screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most critically acclaimed artists of his generation. His work reflects a lifetime of cinephilia but also a deep study of the after-effects of the industrial era on contemporary western culture and thought. His eight narrative feature films as writer-director include HARD EIGHT (1996), BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997), MAGNOLIA (1999),  PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), THE MASTER (2012), INHERENT VICE (2014) and most recently PHANTOM THREAD (2018), for which he has been nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Motion Picture of the Year. He has been awarded Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE and the Berlin Film Festival for THERE WILL BE BLOOD. The latter earned two Academy Awards for Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor) and Robert Elswit (Best Cinematography).

Anderson resides in the San Fernando Valley, California with partner Maya Rudolph and their four children.

Armie Hammer
Hammer stars in Luca Guadagnino’s CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, which was critically acclaimed at Sundance 2017 before going onto this year’s awards circuit, where it has been nominated for a Golden Globe and four Oscars. Hammer’s performance as ‘Oliver’ earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. This year, Hammer will also appear in Boots Riley’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU which premiered at Sundance 2018 and Anthony Maras’ film HOTEL MUMBAI. In 2017, Hammer voiced the role of ‘Jackson Storm’ for Pixar’s CAR 3 and starred in Ben Wheatly’s FREE FIRE which earned the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award for Midnight Madness. In 2012, Hammer earned a SAG Award nomination for his portrayal of Clyde in Clint Eastwood’s J EDGAR. Hammer’s performance as the Winklevos Twins in the award winning film THE SOCIAL NETWORK, gained him critical praise and positioned him as one of Hollywood’s breakouts of 2010. Hammer’s additional film credits include Tom Ford’s NOCTURNAL ANIMALS and Guy Ritchie’s THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

Media Inquiries:
For more information or to apply for credentials to cover the event’s red carpet, please contact Stephanie Davidson, Frank PR, Stephanie@frankpublicity.com.

Tickets:
For more information about purchasing a ticket, please contact Meghan Malone, Austin Film Society’s Development & Communications Associate, at Meghan@austinfilm.org.

Sponsorship:
For information about sponsorship packages, please contact Robert Ramos, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at Robert@austinfilm.org

About Austin Film Society
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, the Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch, and love creative media. AFS curates and screens hundreds of repertory, international, and art house films annually at the AFS Cinema; delivers financial support to Texas filmmakers through the AFS Grant; operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, and Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate. Through its award-winning after school classes, intern training, and the Ed Lowry Student Film program, AFS encourages media literacy and provides a place for youth of all backgrounds to learn the craft of filmmaking and gain access to tools for media production. By hosting premieres, special events, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community.

To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about Austin Film Society’s mission visit: www.austinfilm.org and follow @AustinFilm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the Texas Film Awards
Austin Film Society’s Texas Film Awards is the year’s biggest event for Texans in film. Now in its 18th year, the Texas Film Awards brings together legends of cinema and television for an unforgettable evening of festivities inducting industry icons into the Texas Film Hall of Fame, all benefiting the artistic and educational programs of the Austin Film Society. The 2018 Texas Film Awards is chaired by Kathy Blackwell, Executive Editor of Texas Monthly.

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