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Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA) 17th Annual Awards honor “The Hurt Locker” and Fox Television’s “Glee”

Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP to receive CIMA Board of Directors Award

Golden Globe Award-winner Samantha Eggar to host Beverly Hills Hotel event on February 28th

(Los Angeles, CA (February 15, 2010) – The Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA) 17th Annual Mass and Awards Brunch on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 will honor the feature film “The Hurt Locker” and the Fox Television series “Glee,” with film reviewer and veteran Venice Film Festival Catholic jury member Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP to receive the CIMA 2010 Board of Directors Award. The celebration, which will return for a second year to the Crystal Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA, will begin with a Mass at 10 AM, presided over by His Eminence, Cardinal Roger Mahony with a brunch and awards ceremony to follow, announced CIMA President Jane Abbott. Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe and Cannes’ Palm d’Or-winning actress Samantha Eggar (“The Collector”) will serve as special guest host. Patricia Boren and John Kelly are producer and co-chairs of the event. John and Gloria Gebbia are honorary co-chairs.

The CIMA Awards were created in 1992 by former DGA President Jack Shea and other prominent Catholics in the entertainment industry. Their purpose is “To promote and applaud individuals, films and TV programs that uplift the spirit and help us better understand what it is to be part of the human family.”

The CIMA 2010 Film Award will be given to “The Hurt Locker” directed by 2010 Oscar nominee and DGA Award-winning Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal (2010 Oscar and WGA nominee), who was embedded with an actual EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) bomb squad. One of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2009, “The Hurt Locker,” filmed in Jordan, follows the tour of a

U.S. Army EOD team (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) as they defuse bombs, deal with the threat of insurgency and the growing tensions which develop among their unit. Ms. Bigelow will be present to accept the 2010 CIMA Film Award.

According to CIMA 2010 Awards co-chairs Patricia Boren and John Kelly, “CIMA chose to honor ‘The Hurt Locker’ because of its uncompromising approach to the Iraq war and its consequences seen through the experience of the bomb diffusion specialists for whom war becomes an addiction rather than a cause. The film depoliticizes the heroic work of the EOD specialists and lets the audience experience the human toll war takes on people and the intense psychological struggle of the soldiers to find meaning in life beyond the dangerous work they do.”

Past CIMA Award feature films include: “Doubt;” “In the Valley of Elah;” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe;” “Hotel Rwanda;” “The Passion of the Christ;” “Seabiscuit;” “Dead Man Walking;” “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan,” among many others.

The 2010 CIMA Television Award will be presented to the Fox Television series “Glee,” which recently was honored as “Favorite New TV Comedy” at the 36th Annual People’s Choice Awards and as “Best TV Series – Musical or Comedy” by the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, “Glee” focuses on a high school Spanish teacher who becomes director of a glee club at a fictional Midwest high school and who hopes to restore it to its former glory.

“CIMA selected “Glee” because of its beautiful and kind heart,” said long-time CIMA member and screenwriter Brian Oppenheimer. “These talented actors play students who reflect the diversity of our schools today and the many challenges facing young people. The show demonstrates how the arts integrate life and learning in a joyful way, tinged with humor and sometimes pathos, as kids and teachers try to figure out the best choices to make in life.”

Past CIMA Television Award recipients include: “Without A Trace;” “Ugly Betty;” “Cold Case;” “Medium;” “Joan of Arcadia;” “The West Wing;” Judging Amy;” “Homicide - Life on the Streets;” “The Practice” and “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” among many others.

The 2010 CIMA Board of Directors Award will be given to Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP, MEd Media Studies, Director, Pauline Center for Media Studies (PCMS) and media literacy education specialist, film and television journalist and author. Sr. Rose has been involved in media since she entered the Daughters of St. Paul more than 40 years ago, from publishing to filmmaking. She has served on ecumenical and Catholic juries at the Venice, Locarno, and Berlin Film Festivals. In 2008 she was the president of the SIGNIS ...