2012-02-11 07:43:45 - • Distinguished panel to share best practices for getting projects the “green light”

• Ford Fund grant awarded to Blair Underwood for Students Helping Our World Program

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10, 2012 – More than 300 students and executives are expected to attend the 8th annual Hollywood Bureau Symposium entitled “Film Financing in Black and White” on Monday, Feb. 13, at the Museum of Tolerance. A distinguished panel of industry executives will discuss the challenges and solutions for securing funding for a film project. The panel discussion is sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund and is part of the 43rd NAACP Image Awards Program.

The panel will discuss the unique challenges of securing funding for a film with a minority cast and reflect on recent commentary surrounding George Lucas and the struggles of securing funding for the film “Red Tails.” Vic Bulluck, executive director of the NAACP

Hollywood Bureau, will moderate the panel.

“Ford is proud to reunite again with the NAACP Hollywood Bureau Symposium to bring vital information to those persons aspiring careers in the film industry,” said Pamela Alexander, director of Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund. “We believe through this symposium individuals will be greatly enriched by the real life tools and solutions to help their dreams become realities of getting their projects off the ground.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel which includes Debra Martin Chase, Martin Chase Productions; Lawrence C. Hinkle, partner, Fox Rothschild, LLP; Broderick Johnson, co-founder and co-CEO, Alcon Entertainment; David McGriff, associate, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan; and Elizabeth Powell, vice president, Business and Legal Affairs, IM Global.

Ford Fund also will present its annual symposium grant to Blair Underwood, actor, author and humanitarian for his work with Students Helping Our World (S.H.O.W.) Program.

S.H.O.W. is designed to motivate high school students from lower performing schools to improve their grades. In order to earn an incentive, students are required to achieve a 96 percent attendance rate and receive grades no lower than C. Founded in 2009 in Chicago, this is the first year S.H.O.W. will be in Los Angeles. Underwood is working with the Mayor of Los Angeles and Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. Four Los Angeles high schools have been targeted for the program.

The Hollywood Bureau Symposium is one of several events that lead up to the live broadcast of the NAACP Image Awards, which is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 17, at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

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About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. For more than 60 years, Ford Motor Company Fund has operated with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. The award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program teaches new drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods. Innovation in education is encouraged through national programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and dealers work on projects each year that better their communities in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit www.community.ford.com.

About NAACP Hollywood Bureau
Headquartered in Los Angeles, the NAACP Hollywood Bureau opened officially in October 2002. The NAACP Hollywood Bureau is a satellite of the National office that deals with issues of diversity programming and minority employment in Hollywood, and oversees the production of the NAACP Image Awards. Recognizing the national and international influence of power of the entertainment industry, the Hollywood Bureau was established as part of the follow-up to the NAACP Diversity Initiative started in 1999.