American Documentary Film Festival to Open in Palm Springs, CA on March 29; Oliver Stone Set to Receive Filmmaker Award.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The first annual American Documentary Film Festival is set to open in Palm Springs, CA, on March 29, 2012. The event, which runs through April 5th at the Camelot Theatres, will include more than fifty screenings of documentary films, plus film seminars and filmmaker Q&As. Festivities begin Thursday evening, March 29th, at 6pm with a special Opening Night Reception honoring legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone.

"Oliver will receive our highest honor, the 'Filmmaker Who Makes A Difference Award'," says Ted Grouya, Festival Director. "His grit and determination as an American film director, producer and screenwriter have resulted in films that have raised awareness and inspired change."

Following the reception, Stone's controversial 2003 documentary, Comandante, will be screened. The documentary, which details Stone's first journey to Cuba to interview Fidel Castro, was screened extensively in other countries, but rarely screened in the United States because it was considered too 'sympathetic' to the Castro regime.

The American Documentary Film Festival, which is being presented by the Palm Springs Cultural Center, has long been a dream of Grouya's. "As a filmmaker, and a fan of the documentary art form, I had been working to create a festival focusing on documentaries for a number of years. The opportunity to partner with Ric and Rozene Supple and their Palm Springs Cultural Center was the catalyst I needed to make the American Documentary Film Festival a reality."

Founded in 2007, the Palm Springs Cultural Center is dedicated to enhancing the life and well-being of those who live in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley by providing access to culture and the arts. The Center does this by developing, producing, and/or subsidizing a variety of community programs and events, including its Certified Farmers' Markets, the Arthur Lyons' Film Noir Festival, Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the American Documentary Film Festival and more.

"We've known Ted for quite some time," said Ric Supple, President of the Palm Springs Cultural Center. "So when he approached us and said he wanted to create the largest documentary festival and market on the West Coast, we didn't give it a second thought."

For more information, and a complete schedule listing, visit http://americandocumentaryfilmfestival.com/

Contact: Michael C Green, +1-760-880-4921, [email protected]

SOURCE American Documentary Film Festival