On Monday, Dec. 3rd, a special reception and presentation ceremony was held during the IFFS for the IFFS Excellence Awards presented by Babelgum. Special guest, American actor Ernie Hudson presented the Awards to the distinguished and accomplished group of recipients. The 2007 IFFS Excellence Awards were presented by Babelgum, a next generation global Internet TV network.

The IFFS Excellence Awards honor and pay tribute to the dedicated professionals and executives managing film festivals. The award recipients were recognized for their contributions to independent film and the entertainment industry. For decades the tireless work of the film festival professional has made monumental impacts on the industry for individual filmmakers, buyers, sellers, and countless organizations involved in entertainment. Six IFFS Excellence Awards were presented in Las Vegas in the International and Regional category.    

In the International Category the IFFS Excellence Award winners include: Piers Handling, Director and CEO, Toronto International Film Festival Group; Holden Payne, Director of Operations, Seattle International Film Festival and Git Sheynius, Festival Director, Stockholm International Film Festival.

Honorees of the IFFS Excellence Award in the Regional Category include: Kelly Williams, Film Program Director, Austin Film Festival; Marc Lhormer, Executive Director, Sonoma Valley Film Festival and Andrew Rodgers, Executive Director, RiverRun International Film Festival.

"As film festivals continue to evolve and play a larger and more pivotal role in the entertainment industry we're absolutely thrilled to be honoring such accomplished and dedicated professionals for their contributions at this year's summit," said Waco Hoover, Co-Founder & President of the IFFS.        

Sponsors of the 2007 IFFS include AAA Flag & Banner, Agile Ticketing Solutions, Babelgum, Bates Creative Group, Baseline StudioSystems, B-Side Entertainment, ClicknPrint Tickets, ENTA USA, Festival Media Corporation, FilmHook, IndieFlix.com, IndiePix, inticketing, iTravel411, KeyRelevance.com, LENZCAP, Limelight Networks, Nevada Film Office, Northbound Entertainment, Onstream Media Corporation, Origin Digital, POP, Qube Cinema, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, SkyPRO AG, Varto Technologies, and Withoutabox.

Media Partners of the 2007 IFFS include Cineuropa.org, Fest21.com, FilmFestivals.com, Film Festival Reporter, Filmmaker, Film Threat, Independent Film Quarterly, indieWIRE, MovieMaker, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Reeler, National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC), Digital Cinematography and DV Magazine.

About International Film Festival Summit (IFFS)
The International Film Festival Summit is the only annual conference and trade show for professionals from the film festival industry. The IFFS provides a platform for the community to explore ways to collaborate and promote the advancement of the film festival industry. This is a place to dialogue with your peers, share insights and gain knowledge that will help you grow your film festival and foster sustainability. The IFFS is dedicated to providing resources, information and avenues of communication for industry professionals and the entertainment industry. For IFFS North America visit www.filmfestivalsummit.com. For IFFS Europe visit www.iffseurope.com.