Scott Mantz & Cecilia Peck Join the SDiFF Foundation Board of Directors

The San Diego Film Foundation, best known for presenting The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) each October, announces dynamic additions to the San Diego Film Foundation Board of Directors and the Social Justice Advisory Board for the San Diego International Film Festival.

Emmy-Nominated Filmmaker Cecilia Peck and Film Critic and Emmy-Nominated Producer Scott Mantz (formerly of "Access Hollywood") have joined the San Diego Film Foundation Board of Directors. Producer and Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and award winning filmmaker Thomas Morgan join the Social Impact Advisory Board for the San Diego International Film Festival.

Tonya Mantooth, CEO and Artistic Director of the Festival shared: "We are experiencing a wonderful period of growth for the San Diego Film Foundation and the San Diego International Film Festival both with our artistic reach and our professional partnerships. We are thankful to be surrounded by a community of professionals who are passionate about film and its capacity to transform perspectives and create empathy. As we continue to grow the festival, the films we are able to access, and its impact on San Diego - we are thrilled to have the voices and perspectives of Cecilia, Scott, Susan and Thomas to help guide us forward."

Cecilia Peck, Emmy Nominated Filmmaker and daughter of Gregory Peck, shared: "I have been involved with the Gregory Peck Award for the past three years at the San Diego International Film Festival which has been a wonderful way to celebrate my father and honor the work he accomplished both on camera and in the community. I have watched the festival make incredible artistic leaps and grow its impact. Joining the Board of Directors for the San Diego Film Foundation is a natural progression for me to help continue to be a part of that forward momentum."

Emmy Nominated Film Critic, Scott Mantz shared: "I've been involved with the San Diego Film Foundation and the San Diego International Film Festival since it changed leadership six years ago. The growth and progression with Tonya at the helm has been explosive. For a film advocate like myself - it is an honor to work to premiere films at the Festival that go on to become award winners and have an impact on the film industry. Partnering with the Pendry SD Hotel as our festival headquarters for the second year is another exciting piece of the puzzle as the San Diego International Film Festival continues to grow its economic impact on San Diego. Those high profile screenings and partnerships serve to support the continued growth of the Independent Film Industry that depend on the festival circuit to find their audience."

Susan Sarandon was the Executive Producer of Storied Streets, a documentary on homelessness that was screened during the 2016 SD International Film Festival, and later toured the San Diego School system as a part of the 2017 FOCUS on Impact Film Tour. Sarandon is an advocate of social change through film and a new member of the Festivals Social Impact Advisory Board. "Our passion for making documentaries allows us to shine a light on issues of social justice both here at home and around the globe. But making the film is only the first step. To have an impact, the film has to be seen. We are so grateful to the San Diego Intl Film Festival for their partnership to take Storied Streets into the classrooms where it made such a difference in the overall understanding of the issue of homelessness and provide students with the knowledge and compassion to make changes within their own community," said Sarandon.

Filmmaker Thomas Morgan, who has worked closely with Mantooth and the festival for the last 3 years is now joining the Festival Social Justice Advisory Board shared: "Last year, I had the wonderful experience of touring in the San Diego schools with Storied Streets - our documentary on homelessness for the SDFF FOCUS on Impact Film Tour. Tonya and I have a shared interest in telling stories that help us examine important topics, and encourage the next generation to be change makers. I have seen this focus both in the Social Justice Track of the Festival and the FOCUS on Impact school tour. I am looking forward to helping the Festival continue to explore this important area of film as a member of the Social Justice Advisory Board."

Biographies:
Scott Mantz, San Diego Film Foundation Board Member

Recipient of the ICG Publicists Guild Press Award (honoring outstanding entertainment journalism), Film Critic Scott Mantz was THE RESIDENT Film Critic and Emmy-nominated Film Segment Producer for "Access Hollywood" and "Access Hollywood Live" from 2000 to 2018. Currently, Mantz is the President and co-Founder of the LA Online Film Critics Society, and he is also a longtime member of the Producers Guild of America and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

In 2017 and 2018, Mantz hosted the Official Golden Globes Red Carpet Preshow for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and he moderated Facebook Live press events for blockbusters like "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Blade Runner 2049."

All year long, Mantz is an in-demand moderator of panels, press conferences and post-screening Q&A sessions with filmmakers and acting talent (particularly during Awards Season), and he is the regular host of in-theater programming for Fathom Events.

During his tenure with "Access Hollywood," Mantz orchestrated the show's coverage of all things film, including red carpet premieres, press junkets, set visits and film festivals (Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, Telluride, and Cannes).

His on-camera movie reviews also appeared on various national platforms, including the monitors at gas-pumps, supermarkets, and taxicabs.

Over the years, Mantz has been a regular contributor of reviews and film commentary for "The TODAY Show," Headline News, CNN, National Public Radio, KNBC-Channel 4, KTLA-Channel 5, KTTV-Channel 11 and the PBS movie review series "Just Seen It."

Cecilia Peck, San Diego Film Foundation Board Member
Emmy nominated filmmaker Cecilia Peck directed and produced the Netflix Original feature documentary Brave Miss World, following one rape survivor's journey from trauma to activism, and the Academy Award shortlisted documentary Shut Up & Sing, about the country music band the Dixie Chicks. She produced A Conversation with Gregory Peck, a portrait of her renowned actor and humanitarian father. As an actress, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in "The Portrait," and played the leading role in Torn Apart, among others. She runs the website http://www.bravemissworld.com, the #1 website on google search worldwide for survivors of rape and assault. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband writer Daniel Voll, and their two children

Thomas Morgan, Festival Social Justice Advisory Board Member
Thomas attended college at Central Michigan University where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration in 1990. Morgan worked as real estate developer and investment banker for most of his career. In 2009, after a "series of unlikely events" Morgan left the CORPORATE world behind to become a documentary filmmaker and activist.

His films have been labeled "Filmanthropy" as he has leveraged them to create movements and a call to action. In Storied Streets, Morgan captures the painful reality of homelessness in America and gracefully unearths pain and personal triumphs of those living unhoused in our country. Through the film he has protested, petitioned and pushed for laws making the violence against the homeless a hate crime, higher wages and abolishment of laws criminalizing homelessness.

With the 2013 documentary short film, Waiting for Mamu, he speaks to the power of one, through the story of Pushpa Basnet, who at age 21 began helping free children from the prison floors in Nepal. The award winning film has raised the money to build a permanent home, The Butterfly Home, in Kathmandu and assisted in supporting their education. He has added Executive Producer to his resume through his support of Silenced, a film about US government whistleblowers, and India's Daughter, an Oscar contending film about the rape and murder of a 23 year old medical student in India.

Morgan has been a keynote speaker many times on Capitol Hill and twice before the U.S. Congress. He also spoke for the PPL forum at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and at 2013 at the United Nations. His TED Talk entitled "Put On Your Underoos It's Time To Save The World" has been seen via internet by hundreds of thousands. He has done one of the most unusual TEDx Talks from Nepal soon after the earthquake while providing relief to Pushpa Basnet and her children and was the commencement speaker at his alma mater given what has been called "One the best commencement speeches of 2015."

About the San Diego International Film Festival (SDiFF):
The San Diego International Film Festival is the region's premier film event and one of the leading stops on the independent festival circuit. SDiFF offers a totally unique film experience; including world premieres, never before seen studio releases, the best in independent filmmaking and a full schedule of glamorous parties and intimate events with filmmakers.
Join us Oct 10-14, 2018!