Ghetto Film School Honors Peter Becker and The Criterion Collection at 2013 Benefit Tonight

The Ghetto Film School (GFS), an award-winning, non-profit, independent film organization has announced that it will honor Peter Becker and The Criterion Collection at its 9th Annual Spring Benefit Dinner tonight, June 12, 2013, at The Standard High Line in New York City.

At the benefit, GFS will also award scholarships to its college-bound Fellows Program participants, continuing in their 13-year strong commitment to developing and supporting young filmmakers. Scholarship presenters and attendees at the event will include directors

David O. Russell, Lee Daniels, Joshua Marston, and Nelson George, actors Tracy Morgan and Julia Stiles and Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment Katherine Oliver. GFS will also pay tribute to the Benefit Committee that includes dedicated supporters Spike Jonze, Sarah Jones and Blake Lively.

"To be associated with Joe Hall and the Ghetto Film School is an honor in and of itself," says Becker. "To be invited to this event to represent the Criterion Collection makes me doubly proud. The students that come through Ghetto Film School are an astonishingly inspiring and focused lot, and The Sessions we have with them every summer discussing classic cinema are among the highlights of the Criterion calendar."

The Criterion Collection has been a longtime supporter of GFS since its inception in 2000. The company is dedicated to compiling the greatest cinema from around the world and reissuing enhanced editions in superb technical quality with added features that enrich the experience and appreciation of the films. As President of The Criterion Collection, Peter brings this Passion for film to GFS, inspiring the next generation of young filmmakers. His commitment is realized in countless ways - from leading film appreciation classes at Criterion and serving on film juries to donating thousands of films from The Collection to their film libraries and events.

According to GFS Founder and President Joe Hall, "Criterion Collection is the holy grail for cinephiles the world over, and we're so proud to have them as part of the Ghetto Film School family. Peter, his Criterion collaborators, and legion followers take their art seriously, and we love our place in the rarefied mix of that special community. Most importantly, Criterion's impeccable reputation for quality, aesthetic and design bravura, and going deep on all things important is only surpassed by the good heart and generosity they've shown our students and organization over the years."

This year also marks the first-ever graduating class of The Cinema School (TCS), which the Ghetto Film School helped open as the nation's first film High School in 2009 through a partnership with the NYC Department of Education. The school prepares students for the top colleges and universities with a rigorous Liberal Arts course of study, including a 4-year cinema studies and production curriculum. 100% of the 2013 graduating senior class has been accepted to college and the TCS valedictorian, Yamel Garcia who plans to attend Emerson College in the fall, will be receiving a scholarship at the dinner.

This is the 9th annual benefit for the organization that last year honored Robert DeNiro. 2013 Event Sponsors include News Corporation, Omnicom Group, Turner Broadcasting, AT&T, Ogilvy Entertainment, AAF, Deutsch, Discovery Communications, HBO, IFC TV, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, pivot TV, VH1, Westwind Pictures and Wieden+Kennedy.

For more information about Ghetto Film School or inquire about covering the event on June 13th, contact Rubenstein Communications or visit www.ghettofilm.org.