CineVegas To Honor Voight, Dafoe, and the Kuchars

CineVegas will honor two actors, two directors and two video game design pioneers at the 2009 Festival, it was announced today by Trevor Groth, Artistic Director of the festival.

Jon Voight will be given the Marquee Award, "recognizing his artistic excellence, professional accomplishment and dedication to cinema." Willem Dafoe will be honored with the Vanguard Actor Award, "which honors the distinctive mark he has made in film through his brave performances." The Vanguard Director Award will be given to George and Mike Kuchar, "which recognizes their distinctive vision and ability to make films without compromise." In addition, CineVegas will be honoring Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago with the inaugural Planet Illogica Award for Excellence in New Media. This award is for artists "working in the realm of video gaming who have pushed the boundaries of storytelling in their field."

"What an honor it is for CineVegas to have the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of these esteemed actors, directors and artists at our 11th annual Festival," stated Groth. "In addition to paying tribute to such powerful acting forces as Jon Voight and Willem Dafoe, as well as two pioneers of underground cinema the Kuchar Brothers, we are also proud to partner with Planet Illogica to award Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, two revolutionaries in the video gaming design world, for their outstanding achievement in the world of new media and as trailblazers in a compelling new era of storytelling."

The awards will be given out on Sunday, June 14 at the CineVegas Awards Reception, to be held at Rain Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort. CineVegas runs June 10-15, 2009.