Bank of America Awards Palms Springs International Film Society $30,000.

Funding supports Student Screening Day and brings world-class films to 1,100 high school students

PALM SPRINGS, CA - The Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced a donation of $30,000 to Palm Springs International Film Society in an effort to continue support of Student Screening Day. For the last six years, Bank of America has been the presenting sponsor of this event.

“We are proud to support the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival and Student Screening Day,” said Al Arguello, Inland Empire market president at Bank of America. “We consider Student Screening Day to be an integral component of the Festival and an important way of bringing culture and arts to the youth in our community.”

“Our Student Screening Day programs have proved to be among the major highlights of both the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Palm Springs ShortFest,” said Darryl Macdonald, Executive Director Palm Springs International Film Society. “The engagement and enthusiasm shown by the thousands of students who have attended these programs over the course of these last six years has been nothing short of remarkable. Bank of America has been steadfast in their support for expanded cultural and educational opportunities for youth in our community, as exemplified by their sponsorship of these programs, along with all of our Student Media Literacy programs, enriching these students' lives in immeasurable ways. We're hugely grateful for their ongoing support.”

Student Screening Day is an educational program that serves approximately 1,100 Palm Springs students of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and means. The program is designed to expose students to examples of international and independent cinema and provide them with the opportunity to question filmmakers about their creative process and other issues raised in the films.

Students in attendance are bused from nine area high schools to an official festival venue for screenings of two films selected based on their curricular and social relevance. The film’s directors are also in attendance for post-screening Q&A sessions.

· Student Screening Day is scheduled for Monday, January 13 at the Palm Springs High School (2401 E Baristo Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

· The screening times will begin between 9:15 am and 9:30 am

· Participating high schools: Cathedral City, Coachella Valley, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Shadow Hills and Rancho Mirage

About Bank of America Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. We serve approximately 51 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,200 retail banking offices and approximately 16,200 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users and more than 14 million mobile users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. www.bankofamerica.com

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees annually for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Danny Boyle, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Helen Mirren, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Kate Winslet.

The Awards Gala of the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and Entertainment Tonight. The City of Palm Springs is the Title Sponsor of the Film Festival. Presenting Sponsors are Wells Fargo, The Desert Sun and Spencer’s. Major sponsors are AARP, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Wessman Development, Bank of America, Wintec, Regal Entertainment Group, Windermere Real Estate, Eisenhower Medical Center, Guthy-Renker, Integrated Wealth Management, VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com, Ocean Properties, Panavision, Chihuly and Telefilm Canada.

-OFFICIAL PSIFF PRESS RELEASE-

Edited by Vanessa McMahon