Sir Ben Kingsley Promotional Video Premieres at Bryn Mawr Film Institute Donor Recognition Celebration
May 18, 2012
New signage, murals, mosaic unveiled
Bryn Mawr, PA—Bryn Mawr Film Institute will recognize the donors to its Theater Challenge Campaign at a celebration on Thursday, May 31 featuring the exclusive premiere of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s new promotional video starring Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley. Invited guests will enjoy complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres in the atrium, where they can admire the donor recognition signage recently donated by Montgomery Signs, Inc.
Thursday, May 31
5:30 pm: Wine and hors d'oeuvres in the atrium
6:15 pm: Video Premiere and brief remarks in the auditorium
Sir Ben Kingsley, a member of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s Board of Directors, cut the ribbon at Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s opening ceremony in March 2005 and was honored with Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s Silver Screen Inspiration Award at a gala event in 2008. Despite his busy filmmaking schedule, the Academy Award-winning thespian (Gandhi) graciously donated his time to make this short promotional video about Bryn Mawr Film Institute.
The two-minute video, directed by acclaimed local documentarian Tigre Hill (The Shame of the City), features Sir Ben Kingsley and Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s Executive Director Juliet Goodfriend. The video is edited by Bryn Mawr-based filmmaker Violet Mendoza (No Boundaries), and features music composed by Jackson Greenberg, a 2012 Princeton University graduate. At the video premiere, Hill, Mendoza, and Greenberg will discuss how such a video is made.
The video announces the Donate for Digital initiative, Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s response to the urgent need to convert all theaters to projectors that can accept Digital Cinema Packages (DCP), the new standard for film exhibition. This conversion costs about $100,000 or more per screen and if those funds are not raised, Bryn Mawr Film Institute will go dark.
The donor signage honors core donors who have received naming rights on completed portions of the building—Dorrance H. Hamilton, Jack and Holly Rutkowski, Virginia Ford, and the Connelly Foundation—as well as BMFI’s Executive Director Juliet Goodfriend, on whose behalf the community raised $250,000 of a $500,000 matching grant in fall 2011 so that the arcade would be named after her. The signage also honors the gift of Jonathan Mandell’s 2000 mosaic Casablanca, donated by Margie and Bryan Weingarten and installed in the lobby.
In addition, local muralist John J. DeVlieger will be available to answer questions about his murals of the theater’s facade, which are hung in the “Ransom Way” walkway on the East side of Bryn Mawr Film Institute.
This is an invitation-only event to thank those who have donated to the Theater Challenge Campaign.
About Bryn Mawr Film Institute
Bryn Mawr Film Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to restoring the historic Bryn Mawr Theater and transforming it into the region’s preeminent film entertainment and education center. Founded in 2002 by Main Line academic, business, and civic leaders, Bryn Mawr Film Institute presents a daily program of first-run and repertory art and independent films and provides a comprehensive film studies curriculum, including courses, workshops, discussions, guest lecturers, visual literacy programs, and student screening opportunities. To learn about upcoming events or find news about the theater’s restoration project, visit www.BrynMawrFilm.org, or write to Info@BrynMawrFilm.org.
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Please contact Devin Wachs for more information.
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