FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (10/04)
Contact: Louisiana Film Center Tel: (318) 424-9090
P.O. Box 155 Fax: (318) 424-9190
Shreveport, LA 71161

Festival Coordinators -- Drs. Jefferson Hendricks or Michelle Glaros, (318) 869-5264; or Kathleen Paylor Bellamy, Louisiana Film Center (318) 424-9090

The following news release is from the Louisiana Film Center.

Louisiana Film Festival at Centenary Welcomes Academy Award Nominated Filmmaker Alice Elliott during Student Division Event Nov. 12 & 13

SHREVEPORT, LA — Documentary filmmaker Alice Elliott will visit Shreveport during the Louisiana Film Festival – Student Division. Ms. Elliott will screen her award-winning film The Collector of Bedford Street during the film festival which will be held at Centenary College on Nov. 12 and 13.

Ms. Elliott will be present at screenings in order to answer questions about her films and the filmmaking process. In addition to screening her film, she will conduct a workshop for K-12 student filmmakers.

Students (grades K-12) interested in submitting a film to the festival may visit the Louisiana Film Festival website at http://www.lafilmfest.org. The final date for entries has been extended to Oct. 15. A $25 entry fee is required.

Alice Elliott has won awards as both a director and producer of documentary films. In 1997 she made her directorial debut with The Collector of Bedford Street, which was shown at 27 film festivals and won 13 awards. The film also received a nomination at the 2002 Academy Awards in the “Documentary Short Subject” category.

Ms. Elliott is devoted to making films that promote community and social responsibility. The Collector of Bedford Street is a documentary short about Larry Selman, Alice Elliott’s neighbor, a community activist and fundraiser who is developmentally disabled. When Larry’s primary caregiver becomes unable to care for him, his New York City neighborhood community rallies together to protect his lifestyle as a man living independently with developmental disabilities.

Ms. Elliott founded her production company, Welcome Change Productions, in 1991 and her work has since received praise from many groups within the disabled community.

For more information about the making of The Collector of Bedford Street, visit her web site at http://www.welcomechange.org.

Ms. Elliott’s participation in the festival will give students an opportunity to learn from a compassionate and accomplished documentary filmmaker. For further information, contact Dr. Michelle Glaros or Dr. Jefferson Hendricks, both of Centenary College, at (318) 869-5264.

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