Friday, October 20----The jurors at the Turks and Caicos International Film Festival don't have much time to relax on the beach. They are too busy screening the films in competition, and deliberating in time for Saturday evening's Awards Gala at the swanky Palms Resort on beautiful Grace Bay.

The Festival will be honoring a number of categories with the Sal Del Mar Awards. The Awards have been named for the "salt of the sea", which is this island nation's largest export product. The hard-working jurors include: actor Robert Forster, director Sanaa Hamri and festival programmer and film executive Eleonora Granata Jenkinson.

Robert Forster is a tremendously respected character actor who has distinguished himself both on the screen and on the Broadway stage. A native of Rochester, New York, Forster began his acting career in local theater, moving to New York City in 1964, where he made his professional debut in the two-character Broadway production of MRS. DALLY HAS A LOVER. Other stage credits include A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, TWELVE ANGRY MEN and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

He made his memorable film debut, as the object of lust for both Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, in the John Huston adaptation of Carson McCuller's REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE (1967), and has since made an impression in such films as MEDIUM COOL, DELTA FORCE, ALLIGATOR, AVALANCHE, STUNTS and THE DON IS DEAD. Hollywood thought it an odd choice when supernova director Quentin Tarantino cast Forster as one of the leads in JACKIE BROWN. The rave reviews the actor received culminated in an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor that has revived his career and put him suddenly in great demand.

Robert Forster in JACKIE BROWN

Sanaa Hamri has directed innovative music videos for some of today's leading music artists, including Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Dr. Dre, Prince, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Sting and India Arie. This past year, Hamri moved into feature films with her well received romantic comedy SOMETHING NEW, which was distributed by indie powerhouse Focus Features. With a varied career helming music videos, television commercials and now feature films, Hamri is becoming one of the industry's fastest rising star directors.

Sanaa Hamri

Eleonara Granata Jenkinson is a veteran of the independent and international film scene. She began her career in Italy with the prestigious Rizzoli Corriere della Sera, eventually overseeing the company's worldwide acquistions and production from Los Angeles. She then moved to prominent positions in the production and acquistion departments of Pandora Cinema and Turner Pictures. Recently, she has represented a number of prominent international film festivals as their US representative, including the Venice and Locarno Film Festivals, and several others.

These three dynamic personalities will convene later today to discuss and debate the Awards that will be given out tomorrow evening at the beachside Gala.

Sandy Mandelberger
Festivals Editor