Berkeley Video and Film Festival 2011 Bestows Pioneer in Television Awards A newly designated award this year

at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival is t he Grand Festival Pioneer in Television Award, for distinguished service in the medium of TV. Berkeley, CA, September 29, 2011 -- A newly designated award this year at the Be rkeley Video and Film Festival is the Grand Festival Pioneer in Television Awar d, for distinguished service in the medium of TV. This year Andrew Stern, professor Emeritus, and founder of the UC Berkeley Schoo l of Broadcast Journalism, is receiving one of the Pioneer in Television awards and BVFF is screening his 1964 classic broadcast video, Brunswick, Quiet Conflic t. Marc N.Weiss, Barbara Kopple, Laurence Storch, and Ed Sharpe will receive the Pi oneer in Television Award for their early work in reel to reel video, capturing the Miami Republican Convention in 1972; with a whimsical short docum ent of Allen Ginsberg, providing an extemporaneous song poem, Bagels, Borscht, and Brotherhood, aptly restored and preserved by engineer and broadcast journalist Ed Sharpe of Glendale, Arizona. Chip Lord, one of the founders of ANT FARM a radical media consortium from the S .F. bay area in the 1960's and 1970's famous for their Cadillac Ranch in Texas and the S. F. Media Burn, receives a Pioneer in Television Award, for h is dedication and production of avante garde media, in the last half of the 20th century. BVFF will be screening his short homage to Jean Luc Godard, Un Ville d e I'Avenir. Founded by award winning independent filmmakers who were involved with the "inde pendent underground cinema revolution" in the early and mid-1960's, THE BERKELEY VIDEO + FILM FESTIVAL was created in 1991 to provide a venue for independent fi lm and videomakers creating works that challenge and confront our notions of "El ectronic Cinema." The EAST BAY MEDIA CENTER, (EMBC), located in Downtown Berkeley's Arts District, was founded by Mel Vapour and Paul Kealoha Blake. Out of the EBMC the BVFF was born... This is the 20th event...Mel reminiscences, "With the suppo rt of George Manupelli (director of Ann Arbor Film Festival), who had met Vapour at the Ann Arbor film festival in the late 60 s, BVFF would become a fest ival of international acclaim showing unusual, off-beat as well as mainstream documentaries and short film. More importantly, the BVFF grew quic kly in popularity because of its willingness to promote highly experimental as well as politically conscious film that would always include the development of highly advanced technical refinement and skill." Every BVFF as a fantastic event but this year is extra-special due to the 20 yea r birthday! BVFF will be screening over 50 remarkable new films and videos by Independent Pr oducers. There film,s range from documentaries, shorts, student films, ethnograp hic, animation, machinima and art films. Screenings will start Friday evening at 7:30pm, and continue Saturday and Sunday at 1:00pm through the evening. Held September 30, October 1 & 2, 2011 at the Landma rk Shattuck Cinemas - 2230 Shattuck Avenue - Downtown Berkeley. You may purchase tickets there Here are a brief description of just a few of the great movies to be seen... go to the BVFF website for a complete program. This link will navigate you to the p rogram schedule: http://www.berkeleyvideofilmfest.org/BVFF%202011%20Selections.h tml

Contact : Mel Vapour East Bay Media Center 1939 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704 F: 510-843-3379 510-843-3699 maketv@aol.com http://www.berkeleyvideofilmfest.org