HFPA Philanthropy

It’s almost 70 years since the term ‘edutainment’ was created by Walt Disney to describe True-Life Adventures, a series of short and full-length documentaries released between 1948 and 1960. Edutainment has been in place for centuries before that though nowadays vital issues are discussed not only through books, but via films, television, museum exhibits, games, social media platforms, and even in Metaverse via various special projects in VR and AR.

Anything's Possible is not only the title of Billy Porter's new film, it might as well be the motto for this year's Outfest Event. This wonderful HFPA-grantee proved once again that they know how to advance the most diverse filmmakers and put on quite a show, too.

The Actors’ Gang is an experimental theatre and nonprofit group based at the Ivy Substation in California. It was founded in 1981 by a group of actors, including Tim Robbins, now a member of the board and Artistic Director of the troupe.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Outfest, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious LGBTQ+ film festivals, turned to Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner (and Golden Globe nominee) Billy Porter to kick off the ruby anniversary of the cinematic showcase. How apropos that that gemstone’s dazzling deep red hue is the perfect symbol of not only burning love, which seemed to fill the air at L.

Exactly 60 years ago, an unusual film opened at the Venice film festival. Smog had been filmed entirely in Los Angeles, a somewhat singular distinction for a time in which production mainly flowed in the opposite direction, with big American studios frequently filming sword-and-sandal epics at the famed Cinecittà studio (productions were so common that they came to be nicknamed “Hollywood on the Tiber).

For more than 30 years, HFPA grantee Women Make Movies has produced and financed films by female directors that tackle the difficult subject of reproductive rights. Watching some of these through the lens of what happened on June 24, when the US Supreme Court overturned the almost 50-year-old Roe vs.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced an agreement to co-sponsor a series of Global Forums with the Narrating Behavior Change Program of the World Bank to promote the growth of edutainment programming around the world; the use of entertainment media with educational objectives. “This partnership seeks to connect Hollywood with the global development community by developing new creative programming with the goal of helping to promote important sustainability goals, which improve the lives of millions of people struggling with healthcare, environmental and other challenges,” said Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA.

OUTFEST was established in 1982 in Los Angeles as the first and only global LGBTQIA+ arts, media, and entertainment organization to support artists, communities, and filmmakers to change the world through their stories. Since 2005, the HFPA has donated almost $600,000 to this wonderful non-profit organization that last year hosted over 300 screenings and panels, six programs and engaged with over 50,000 attendees.

We spoke to Gina Guarino Eskow about the Valley Cultural Foundation, an important non-profit organization that has changed the arts landscape of the San Fernando Valley. The Valley Cultural Foundation, one of the HFPA grantees, was founded in 1975 to assist the LA City Department of Parks and Recreation in bringing arts and culture to the San Fernando Valley.

For the past 33 years, the HFPA has donated over 50 million dollars to organizations and charities related to cinema, among them the preservation of film and the heritage of filmmakers. 138 films to date have been restored.