Burbank’s multi-platinum vocalist Mark Slaughter of the metal band Slaughter performed during Sunday’s closing award ceremony.
Gary Owens, a TV and radio announcer, opened the award ceremony by welcoming the audience to “beautiful downtown Burbank,” a phrase he coined and became infamous for.
Actress Loretta Swit received the Achievement in Television award for her work on various TV shows, including “M.A.S.H.”
Swit told the audience that as a child, she remembered saying she wanted to be an actor because the glitz and glamour made acting appealing.
“What it does is motivate you to try hard and work hard,” Swit said of receiving an award.
Film festivals like Burbank’s have acknowledged young film makers who are working tirelessly to make into the movie industry, she said.
The festival’s president, Val Tonione, a Burbank native, decided to organize the event in Burbank because he said it is home to major film studios, such as Warner Bros., Dreamworks, the Walt Disney Co.
“I really founded it with the idea to bring out the young film makers and expose their talents and that was the idea,” he said.
Before the festival began, Tonione reviewed 1,190 film submissions, which he said took eight months.
“It’s been a year in the works,” he said
The university told festival organizers that they could host the event again next year, he said.
“It’s quite a big event,” Tonione said.
Sunday’s closing ceremony was bittersweet for Tonione, but he and organizers will soon begin working on next year’s festival.
“It’s been a lot work and we start all over again in another month,” he said.
