PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION-USA ANNOUNCES GRADUATE FILM SCHOLARSHIP
PRESENTED TO HUNG P. NGUYEN,
FROM LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF FILM & TELEVISION
Cary Grant Film Award
The Board of Trustees of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and its Chairman, Hon. John F. Lehman, announced today the winners of the 2006 Princess Grace Awards. The Awards for Theater, Dance and Film, first instituted in 1984, are named in honor of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, who helped aspiring artists pursue their goals throughout Her lifetime. Mr. Lehman also announced that this year's Black Tie Gala will be hosted by CNN’s Larry King and will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at Manhattan's Cipriani 42nd Street.
L-R: Nguyen, Prince Albert of Monaco, Schwartz |
Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television graduate student Hung P. Nguyen is the recipient of the prestigious Cary Grant Film Award for his film “Going Home.” The documentary chronicle’s his father’s departure for permanent monastic life in rural California, set against his mother’s haunting remembrance of the Nguyen family’s harrowing escape from Vietnam in 1982.
The Film Panel chose Mr. Nguyen for the Cary Grant Film Award, named as a tribute to the actor’s artistry as well as friendship with Princess Grace of Monaco, due to the panel's high regard for Mr. Nguyen’s work and dedication to film. In addition to the scholarship award, Nguyen will receive a personalized Waterford Crystal obelisk. This special honor is awarded to only one filmmaker each year.
Toby E. Boshak, Executive Director of the Princess Grace Foundation–USA reports, “The film panel was very impressed with Hung’s application and the strong quality of his work. The panel members found his films to be both mature and inventive, and they believe in his potential for future artistic growth.”
Mr. Nguyen commented, “Being awarded the Cary Grant Film Award from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a tremendous honor. This recognition inspires and encourages me to continue striving to create work that challenges our assumptions of cinema and film viewership, whether formally, narratively, or thematically.
“I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to SFTV’s Dean, Teri Schwartz, for her unwavering and heartfelt support during the entire creative process.”
“I am deeply proud that the Princess Grace Foundation is honoring this remarkable young man,” Dean Schwartz said. “Hung is an uncommonly gifted filmmaker. His work perfectly illustrates the School’s vision of master visual storytelling grounded in humanism where outstanding young storytellers can explore the entire complex range of the human spirit through their films.”
In August, “Going Home” was honored with the first place award as BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY at the 2006 Palm Springs International Festival Of Short Films & Short Film Market.
Mr. Nguyen received his B.A. in film studies from U.C. Berkeley before coming to LMU’s School of Film and Television. His first film, “Her Love/Life,” has screened domestically and internationally, and continues to travel the festival circuit. He is the director of photography on a number of films, enjoys taking pictures and hanging out with his dog, Oscar.
The Foundation, a public charity formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982, awards grants, scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships to assist artists with their training. Pulitzer and Tony Award winning Playwright Tony Kushner and "SpongeBob SquarePants" creator Stephen Hillenberg were among previous Princess Grace Award winners. HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, the Foundation's Vice Chairman, together with other notables from the artistic world will preside over the Awards Gala.
Over the last 24 years, more than 400 scholarships have been awarded to emerging talent who represent the best and the brightest in their fields.