Golden Door International Film Festival to Award 4th Annual Scholarships

The Golden Door International Film Festival (GDIFF) will be awarding more than $5000 in scholarships to Jersey City students, as well as to filmmakers of movies spotlighting autism awareness, at a ceremony to be held March 14th.

With a roster of industry insiders including several Academy Award winners on its board, the Golden Door International Film Festival was recently named Best Film Festival in the state by NJ Stage Awards and is BECOMING a "must-show" venue for serious filmmakers. GDIFF has also established a philanthropic branch dedicated to raising awareness about autism through cinema. Recent sponsors have included Tommy Hilfiger and Autism Speaks, and autism-themed movies like "Jack of the Red Hearts" starring Famke Janssen and Anna Sophia Robb have premiered at the festival, along with appearances by these stars.

Jersey City native and Academy Award-winner Leon Gast was one of the presenters at the student scholarship ceremony last year. Gast won the Academy Award in 1996 for Best Documentary Feature for "When We Were Kings" about the "Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. This year, scholarships will be presented to film students from New Jersey City University, St. Peters University and Snyder High School Media Arts Program. Also honored will be filmmakers who are either on the autism spectrum or whose films center on the subject of autism.

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