Matt Stone and Trey Parker aren't making a joke this time; they really are
receiving the "Maverick Filmmakers" award for Persistence of Vision
on the opening night of the Santa Monica Film Festival, February 13, 2003. The
night's festivities will kick off with a tribute to Stone and Parker, followed
by an after party in their honor. The Maverick Filmmakers award is intended
to honor artists who have made a unique contribution to the independent arts.

Stone and Parker garnered worldwide attention from television and cinema audiences
alike as the creators of the animated phenomenon "South Park". In
1999 the South Park franchise proved its staying power with the feature film
release of the Oscar-nominated South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut The
duo's film career also includes BASEketball, Cannibal the Musical
and Orgazmo.

Festival president, Michael Cain said that the decision to give Stone and Parker
the award this year was an easy one. "The Maverick Filmmakers award was
created to honor those who have made a unique contribution to the arts and Matt
Stone and Trey Parker have done just that with their comedy. The duo always
have spoken their minds on controversial issues and made us laugh with their
thought provoking and cutting edge films, TV series and musicals. The Santa
Monica Film Festival is fortunate enough to have a group of friends and supporters
who realize the exceptional talent that Matt Stone and Trey Parker have and
we believe that equal recognition should be given to filmmakers of all genres."

With less than three weeks until show time, The Santa Monica Film Festival
held February 13-16th, 2003 is gearing up for a much anticipated opening. The
programming line up for the festival will take place at the Laemmle Theatre
in Santa Monica, with additional short film programming at The Yard in Santa
Monica. The festival will showcase over forty short and feature films at the
Laemmle Theatre including Anne B Reel (an urban feature film directed
by Lisa France), Briar Patch (a dark love story starring Dominique Swain
and Henry Thomas,) Stevie (a documentary by Hoops Dreams director Steve
James) and Lost Junction (starring Neve Campbell).

The Santa Monica Film Festival (February 13 - 16th, 2003) is produced by DEFMAN
(Deep Ellum Film, Music, Art and Noise,) DEFMAN is a non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting the independent arts in Dallas, TX and Santa Monica,
CA while raising money for families affected by cancer.