PRESS RELEASES
Indiana Historical Society Hosts Hoosier Native Sydney Pollack, Screens "Sketches of Frank Gehry"
January 11, 2007
Indianapolis, IN — The Indiana Historical Society is proud to welcome acclaimed actor/director/producer Sydney Pollack as its next History Makers: IHS Distinguished Speaker Series speaker on Friday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Indiana History Center’s Frank and Katrina Basile Theater. The evening will include a question-and-answer session as well as a screening of Mr. Pollack’s first feature length documentary, Sketches of Frank Gehry. The Indiana History Center is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. |
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The films of Sydney Pollack, a South Bend, Ind., native, have received 46 Academy Award® nominations, including three for Best Director and two for Best Picture. His films include The Interpreter, Random Hearts, Sabrina, The Firm, Out of Africa, Tootsie, Absence of Malice, The Electric Horseman, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, Jeremiah Johnson, and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They. As an actor, Pollack has appeared in Husbands and Wives, The Player, Death Becomes Her, A Civil Action, Eyes Wide Shut and Changing Lanes.
Mr. Pollack won the New York Film Critics’ Award for his 1982 film Tootsie, and the David di Donatello Award for Three Days of the Condor. He also won two Golden Globes for Best Director, the National Society of Film Critics’ Award and the NATO Director of the Year Award. Also the founder of Mirage Productions, he has produced the films Presumed Innocent, The Fabulous Baker Boys, White Palace, Major League, Dead Again, Searching for Bobby Fisher, Sense and Sensibility, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain.
Mr. Pollack is a founding member of The Sundance Institute, The Chairman Emeritus of The American Cinematheque, a sustaining founder of The Film Foundation of the Director’s Guild of America, and on the Board of Directors for The Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation. He has also served as President of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sketches of Frank Gehry, Mr. Pollack’s first feature length documentary, explores the acclaimed architect’s process of turning these abstract drawings, first into tangible, three-dimensional models, often made simply of cardboard and scotch tape, then into finished buildings of titanium and glass, concrete and steel, wood and stone. The two men have been friends for many years, and Mr. Pollack completed the film over a period of five years. The documentary begins with Mr. Gehry’s own original sketches for major projects, which also gave Mr. Pollack his first clues to the style of this documentary—using a combination of film and Mini DV (digital video) to create a sketch quality on the screen.
Program support for this event is provided by Heartland Film Festival, a non-profit organization established in 1991 to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.
Early registration is recommended, as seating is limited. Cost to attend is $15 for the general public and $12 for IHS members and Heartland Film Festival Circle of Friends donors. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Indiana Historical Society at (317) 232-1882 or (800) 447-1830.
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller™, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating Indiana history. The independent, nonprofit organization also publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; provides youth, adult and family programming; assists local historical groups throughout the state; and maintains one of the largest collections of material on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest. The Indiana Historical Society is one of the oldest and largest historical societies in the United States. The Society is located in the Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202. (www.indianahistory.org)
Heartland Film Festival, a non-profit organization, was established in 1991 to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life. Each October, Heartland screens Truly Moving PicturesSM from around the world and presents $200,000 in cash prizes and Crystal Heart Awards to the Festival’s top entries. This includes a $100,000 Grand Prize for Best Dramatic Feature underwritten by the Max Simon Charitable Foundation, a $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature and a $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film underwritten by Vision Racing. The remaining $65,000 is shared among the Crystal Heart and Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award winners. Heartland has awarded more than $1.6 million in 15 years to support filmmakers in their quest to create Truly Moving Pictures.
three-sixty group
Contact: Lisa Dudeck
Day: (317) 633.1456
Cell: (317) 698.7350