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EW SHOW DAILY 10 ASCRS News Today Monday, May 8, 2017 by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer All accepted films, which are 8 minutes or less, are available on-de- mand during the meeting at com- puter kiosks in the Convention Cen- ter, as well as online. Onsite in 2016, films submitted for recognition were viewed 14,000 times. What's more, attendees said they thought 99% of scientific films were educationally valuable. Find out more about the ASCRS Film Festival Awards at annualmeet- ing.ascrs.org/film-festival-awards. EW ASCRS Film Festival takes on true Hollywood vibe at this year's ceremony and reception T he 35th annual ASCRS Film Festival Awards will have action, drama, suspense, education, class, and maybe a few ophthalmology super- heroes. A reception will take place today at 4:15 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 5:15 p.m. "I think the Film Festival is a truly unique aspect of the annu- al meeting," said the chair of the event, Richard Hoffman, MD, Eugene, Oregon. "This year will mark the 35th anniversary of the ASCRS Film Festival, which will have special significance since it will take place in Hollywood." As such, the event will certainly have a red carpet vibe. Like in years past, it will be filled with the usual pomp, with judges wearing tuxedos and gowns and awards fashioned like the Oscar statues presented at the Academy Awards. This year a short, retrospective film covering the history of the Film Festival Awards and clips from past ceremonies will honor ASCRS' own "Academy Awards." The reception prior to the ceremony will carry the Hollywood theme, and attendees just might catch a glimpse or get to mingle with some "Hollywood types" (impersonators of famous actors). ASCRS will host its own Film Festival Walk of Fame, similar to the Holly- wood Walk of Fame, with previous grand prize winners honored with their own stars. Door prizes will include a Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet with keyboard and stylus pen and other surprises. The award ceremony was estab- lished in 1982 to honor filmmakers in ophthalmology. There are 10 categories—Cataract Complications, Cataract/Implant Surgery, Glauco- ma, In-House Productions, Instru- ments/Devices/IOLs, New Producer, New Techniques, Quality Teaching, Refractive/Corneal Surgery, and Special Interest—and a winner and runner-up is chosen for each. Of this selection, two are recognized as the "best of the best," and there is one grand prize winner. Ahead of the meeting, judges view all film submissions, grading them on applicability and educa- tional value, originality, scientific content and validity, clarity, cine- matic quality, and artistic effect. The top 50 or so films are then scruti- nized further, narrowed down to overall winners and those for each category. This year there were more than 200 submissions, an increase over last year's 170 submissions. Judges this year, in addition to Dr. Hoffman, include Mitchell Weikert, MD, chief judge, George Beiko, MD, international guest judge, John Hart Jr., MD, Elizabeth Hofmeister, MD, Susan Mac- Donald, MD, Neda Shamie, MD, Shachar Tauber, MD, and Michael Taravella, MD. "The entire ceremony is devoted to the film producers and their films. We try to make the ceremony en- tertaining with regard to the use of film outtakes and presentations, in addition to having it somewhat ed- ucational with viewing of segments from winning films and the best of the best films," said Dr. Hoffman, a former grand prize winner and winner of two other category awards himself. Ophthalmology stars grace Film Festival big screen 2016 ASCRS Film Festival in New Orleans ASCRS•ASOA News Today Watch ASCRS•ASOA News Today in many Los Angeles hotels for the latest meeting highlights Hotel Channel Number Omni 61 Westin Bonaventure 82 LA Hotel 1 JW Marriott + Ritz Carlton at Convention Center 72 Sheraton Grand 80 Marriott Courtyard LA LIVE 57 Residence Inn 57 Millennium Biltmore Hotel 87

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