Actor Bill Duke to Receive 2007 Action On Film Lifetime Achievement Award



t the Long Beach Entertainment Center in Long Beach, California.

Long Beach, CA (_ June 21, 2007 -- The producers of the Action On Film International Film Festival announced Thursday that actor Bill Duke has been chosen as the 2007 winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 2007 film festival on July 27-29 celebrates the action of movie making as well as the struggle and process that filmmakers must follow to become successful. The Black Tie Award Dinner on July 28, 2007 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center will showcase a retrospective of Duke'ss work.

This is an incredible opportunity for our filmmakers to meet and interact with a filmmaker such as Bill Duke, said Josh Neufeld, Festival Director.
    
Duke recently appeared in the blockbuster sequel, X-Men 3. He also co-starred in Never Again with Jill Clayburgh, Exit Wounds with DMX, The Limey with Peter Fonda, Fever with Henry Thomas, Payback with Mel Gibson, and John Landis's Susan'ss Plan with Dan Akroyd, Nastassja Kinski and Billy Zane. Duke has been seen in memorable roles in films such as American Gigolo, Predator, Commando and Bird on a Wire. He received an NAACP Image Award nomination for his role in Action Jackson.
    
Duke made an auspicious directorial debut with The Killing Floor, starring Damian Leak and the late Moses Gunn. He followed with A Rage in Harlem, based on Chester Himes's celebrated novel, starring Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Danny Glover and Robin Givens. He went on to direct the emotionally harrowing action drama Deep Cover, starring Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum; the romantic comedy The Cemetery Club, starring Ellen Burstyn, Olympia Dukakis and Diane Ladd; and the hit sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Lauryn Hill.        
    
The 2006 dinner event was attended by over 1,000 guests. Special guests last year included Nick Mancuso, Russell Wong, Fred Williamson, Alana Curry, Frances Bay Mimi and other celebrities. Previous winners of this prestigious award have included David Carradine, star of Quintin Tarantino'ss Kill Bill films and the celebrated Kung Fu television series, as well as actor and Golden Globe winner John Saxon.
    
I am glad to see the festival growing at such a rapid pace, said Del Weston, show producer and creator. It proves that filmmakers can still achieve great things in independent film.
    
For more information on the 2007 program which will feature the work of over 200 directors please contact the producers via the information provided below.





Actor Bill Duke to Receive 2007 Action On Film Lifetime Achievement Award