George Lucas to Receive One-Time-Only Irving “Bud” Levin Award at Historic 50th San Francisco International Film Festival

Director/Producer to be Recognized for his Love of Film, Entrepreneurship and Commitment to San Francisco

December 6, 2006

San Francisco, CA—The San Francisco Film Society announced today that George Lucas will be the recipient of the one-time-only Irving “Bud” Levin Award to be presented at the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF, April 26 – May 10, 2007).  The International is the first film festival in the Americas to celebrate its 50th anniversary. For over half a century, SFIFF has presented the best in world cinema. SFIFF50 will honor that tradition while energetically embracing new works, new platforms and new audiences.

The Levin Award, named after the founder of the San Francisco International Film Festival, honors a man who has a deep appreciation for movies as an art form; a recognition of the important role that San Francisco plays in the world of art and cinema; a flair for innovation and entrepreneurship; a spirit of adventure and passion for community. The award will be presented to Lucas at Film Society Awards Night on Thursday, May 3 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel.

The Film Society’s Education Program will be the beneficiary of the gala black-tie fundraiser honoring Lucas as well as the not-yet-announced recipients of the Film Society Directing Award, the Peter J. Owens Award for brilliance in acting and the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting. Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin (the founder’s son) are the chairs of the Film Society Awards Night committee. Irma Levin, Bud’s widow, is a member of the committee. Honorary chairs are Karen and John Diefenbach.

Graham Leggat, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society, announced Lucas’s upcoming appearance at the SFIFF50 saying, “Independent and visionary, George Lucas has created characters, films and technologies that have gripped audiences and changed the face of filmmaking, distribution, and licensing. No one is more deserving of the Levin Award for his entrepreneurial acumen, love for the art of cinema and passion for community than George Lucas and we are honored that he has accepted this award.”

George Lucas’s devotion to timeless storytelling has resulted in some of the most successful and beloved films of all time. His dedication to cutting edge innovation has pushed filmmaking techniques into the future throughout his career. His commitment to San Francisco has engendered a vast filmmaking community in the Bay Area.

A love of film drove Bud Levin from an early age. He worked in the movie theaters run by his family when he was in high school and before long was heading up the business. He loved San Francisco as much as he loved cinema, and in 1957 decided that the city deserved a world-class film festival. The goal of creating a festival to rival the great European festivals of the day—Venice, Cannes, Berlin—seemed crazy to some, but with his charm, inexhaustible energy and flair for showmanship, he managed to do it. He traveled the world to book the finest international films, and back at home gained the endorsement of the Art Commission and the participation of San Francisco society, as well as film critics and scholars. The mayor, the governor and the publishers of the major Bay Area daily newspapers all joined the honorary board of directors. The San Francisco International Film Festival was awarded an “A” ranking by the international ruling body of film festivals. Levin’s gift for building a profitable business was equaled by his strong philanthropic streak; in essence he funded the Festival out of his own pocket for eight years. Years later when asked why he founded SFIFF, he said, “It was my gift to the city.”

San Francisco has also played an important role in Lucas’s career.  In 1971, using San Francisco production studio American Zoetrope and long-time friend Francis Ford Coppola as executive producer, Lucas transformed an award-winning student film into his first feature, the stunningly prescient THX-1138. His second feature film, the low-budget American Graffiti (1973), became the most successful film of its time, and garnered the Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics’ and National Society of Film Critics’ awards. Pushing the boundaries of storytelling into new directions, American Graffiti was the first film of its kind to tell multiple stories through interweaving narratives backed by a soundtrack of contemporary music.

It was Lucas’ third film, 1977’s Star Wars that changed everything and became an international phenomenon. Refusing to accept the limitations of filmmaking at the time, Lucas created his own visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, to deliver the hundreds of shots that were required to make his vision a reality. Star Wars broke all box-office records, set new standards for sophistication in film visuals and sound, garnered eight Academy Awards, and inspired a generation of young people to follow their imagination and dreams. The success of Star Wars allowed Lucas to remain independent and continue operating in Northern California.

Lucas has been the storywriter and executive producer of a series of box-office hits beginning with the continuation of the Star Wars saga: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. In 1981, he created the classic adventurer Indiana Jones, and co-wrote and executive-produced the successful series consisting of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), a trilogy that won eight Academy Awards.

As executive producer, Lucas has supported numerous directors from behind the scenes including Akira Kurosawa (Kagemusha, 1980); Paul Schrader (Mishima,1985); Haskel Wexler (Latino, 1985); Jim Henson (Labyrinth, 1986); Francis Ford Coppola (Tucker: The Man And His Dream, 1988); and Ron Howard (Willow, 1988).

Lucas returned to directing in 1999 with the first of three new episodes of the Star Wars saga: Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the year’s top box-office hit, which was also the first major live-action film to be projected digitally. Three years later, Episode II Attack of the Clones broke new ground as the first major movie shot using entirely digital media. In 2005, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the final movie in the epic saga, was the top-grossing film worldwide of 2005.

Lucasfilm Ltd., the company that Lucas founded has grown into one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. Industrial Light & Magic continues forging new paths. Since its inception, it has won 14 Academy Awards and has created visual effects for some of the most popular movies ever made. ILM has become a trailblazer in the world of digital imagery, beginning with the world’s first computer-generated character in a live-action movie, created for 1985’s Young Sherlock Holmes, to the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, to Davy Jones and his crew in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest and most recently created the Dragon in Eragon, opening next month.  Skywalker Sound, meanwhile, has applied its own brand of perfection and devotion to the crafting of a film’s soundtrack and post-production editing. Lucasfilm post-production innovations, including the SoundDroid and the EditDroid, pioneered non-linear video editing and became the basis of the standard editing platforms used in film and television today. Together, Skywalker Sound, ILM and Lucasfilm have been nominated for more than 100 Academy Awards and received 40 Oscars and special achievement awards.

Lucas has also taken a leadership role in applying his technical and storytelling expertise to the classroom, engaging students through interactive multimedia environments. He is chairman of the board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation and also serves on the board of the Film Foundation and is a member of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Advisory Board.

Over the years, Lucas has received some of the entertainment industry’s highest honors, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society. He has also received the nation’s highest award for technological achievement, the National Medal of Technology, presented by the President of the United States for 30 years of innovation at Industrial Light & Magic.

The San Francisco Film Society, presenter of the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 26 –May 10, 2007), is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image.