NewsRelease

(Posted 2-18-04)
Contact: Tiffany Aumann, 336-334-5371

Frank Capra Jr. named N.C. Distinguished Filmmaker
Award to be presented during the Carolina Film and Video Festival

GREENSBORO - One of North Carolina's top filmmaking awards will be presented to Frank Capra, Jr. on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Capra will receive the 2004 North Carolina Distinguished Filmmaker Award during Winners’ Night of the 27th annual Carolina Film and Video Festival. The ceremony will be held at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro.

Nominations for the honor are made by heads of academic programs and by CEOs of film-related institutions and companies. The recipient is chosen by The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Broadcasting and Cinema Advisory Committee, chaired by former host of the WFMY “Good Morning” show Lee Kinard.  The award is presented each year to a person who has an exceptional individual achievement or a career profile of excellence in filmmaking in North Carolina or featuring North Carolina subjects and/or locales.

The award will be presented by Francine DeCoursey, a UNCG Broadcasting and Cinema alumna active in the Wilmington film community and member of the Broadcasting and Cinema Advisory Committee, and Lee Kinard, chair of the Broadcasting and Cinema Advisory Committee.  Previous winners of the North Carolina Distinguished Filmmaker Award have included Earl Owensby and Jacob (Jake) H. Froelich, Jr.
 

Frank Capra, Jr., is president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios-North Carolina, the largest motion picture studio east of Hollywood.  Having fallen in love with Wilmington, N.C., in 1983, while on a location shoot, he has adopted North Carolina and its film industry as his own.  He is the unceasing advocate of North Carolina film financing and production and a major reason why the Tar Heel state ranks third behind only California and New York in terms of dollars spent on film production.
Recipient of a BA in Geology from Pomona College, Capra, Jr., began his career in television, but he moved into film as associate producer on features such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Tom Sawyer, and Play It Again Sam.  From 1980 to 1982, he was president and CEO of Avco Embassy Pictures, acquiring and distributing 15 films including Escape from New York and Time Bandits.  He also served as producer on numerous feature films such as Avco's An Eye for An Eye and Universal/DEG's Firestarter.  Among his recent projects has been serving as executive producer for a documentary about his father, the Frank Capra Anniversary Special (Columbia Pictures Television).
As president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios North Carolina, Capra, Jr., takes an active role in every project, including becoming an active member of the thriving film community he helped to establish. Having undertaking additional study of his own at Cal-Tech, he helped establish a film studies degree program and teaches classes at the UNC Wilmington.  He contributes to his profession through serving on numerous boards, including the Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the National Board of the Directors Guild of America, and the North Carolina Governor's Film Council.

Back to the Latest News Releases
Return to the University News Service Home Page