The Third Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival (TCIFF) will honor Hairspray composer Marc Shaiman with the Sal De Mar Excellence in Composing Award at the Festival’s annual Awards Gala held on Saturday, October 20, 2007. Previously announced award recipients for this year’s event include Mos Def (The Italian Job) who will receive the Tour de Force Award. The Festival will be held October 16-21, 2007 in Providenciales.

Commenting on the award Executive Director Jasmine Guy said, “Having had the honor and joy of working with Marc Shaiman years ago in the Broadway production of ‘Leader of the Pack,’ I am thrilled to see that the Boy Wonder has soared in his career and has been able to share his gifts with the world.”

Marc Shaiman is one of entertainment’s most celebrated contemporary musical visionaries; he is a versatile talent – working as a composer, lyricist, arranger, performer and producer for film, television and theatre. A Tony, Emmy and Grammy award winner, Shaiman was most recently the recipient of the 2007 ASCAP Henry Mancini Career Achievement award.

Shaiman co-wrote the music and lyrics for the smash hit Hairspray which debuted on Broadway in 2002. Based on John Waters’ 1988 cult classic about star-struck teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show, Hairspray went on to win eight Tonys, including Best Musical and Shaiman’s win for Best Original Score.