Costa’s “Jungle Fish” Wins Film Award

For its focus on the people and culture of Guyana, Costa Sunglasses film Jungle Fish has received a LightStay Sustainability Film Award from the Sundance Institute and Hilton Worldwide as part of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, held January 20. “We hope the recognition the film receives helps generate more conversation about ways we can all work to uncover sustainable economic practices within our communities,” says Al Perkinson, executive producer of Jungle Fish and vice president of marketing at Costa Sunglasses, “without depleting our precious natural resources already in jeopardy.”

Read more in the press release below.

Costa’s Jungle Fish Wins Film Award from the Sundance Institute

Daytona Beach, Fla. – Jan. 21, 2013 – Costa Sunglasses accepted a 2013 LightStay Sustainability Film Award from the Sundance Institute and Hilton Worldwide for its work alongside Director Louisiana Kreutz in the short feature, Jungle Fish. The winning films and directors were celebrated in Park City, Utah on Jan. 20 as part of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

The 2013 LightStay Sustainability Award winners were chosen out of 1,500 feature-length documentaries and more than 5,000 short film entries submitted to the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund. The winning films each reflect global issues relevant to Hilton Worldwide’s business and community impact.

Jungle Fish shines a light on the native people of Guyana who, for decades, have struggled for economic independence. Poverty and illiteracy have forced many of the adults into a life of lawlessness and poaching while children often flee the country to seek work in Brazil’s dangerous mines.   But hope prowls in Guyana’s rivers in the form of the largest freshwater fish in the world, the arapaima. The film follows three expert fishermen on a two-week voyage deep into the heart of Guyana’s rainforest to demonstrate how the arapaima can be caught with a fly rod. If they succeed, it will prove that the country’s fledgling sport fishing industry is viable and able to provide a brighter future for the native people, the rainforest they call home, and the endangered arapaima.

“Sustainability issues and solutions around the health of our communities are urgent and critical topics for many documentary filmmakers. Further, the support provided directly to documentary filmmakers through this collaboration between Hilton Worldwide and Sundance Institute will help ensure the sustainability of these independent artists in their careers,” said Cara Mertes, director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund.

“Following the people of Guyana on their journey as they work to create a better life for their next generation has been hugely inspiring,” said Al Perkinson, executive producer of Jungle Fish and vice president of marketing at Costa Sunglasses. “We hope the recognition the film receives helps generate more conversation about ways we can all work to uncover sustainable economic practices within our communities, without depleting our precious natural resources already in jeopardy.”

Other films receiving a 2013 LightStay Sustainability Film Award include:

Revolutionary Optimists (Feature): Directors: Nicole Newnham and Maren Grainger-Monsen
Hungry (In-Process): Director Sandy McLeod
Studio H (Honorable Mention): Director Patrick Creadon

Jungle Fish has been selected to screen in several film festivals in 2013, including the Idyllwild Cinema Fest in California and the Fly Fishing Film Tour.

Click here to view a trailer of Jungle Fish.

Last year, Hilton Worldwide launched the Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainbility Award in support of Sundance Institute. The Hilton WorldWide initiative supports the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund’s full range of year-round activities, including by awarding grants to documentary film projects focusing on a broad range of sustainability and global development issues.

Hilton HHonors, the company’s loyalty program for its 10 global brands, and its luxury brand, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, a part of its luxury portfolio, will participate as the official hotel sponsors of the Sundance Film Festival through 2014. For more information on Hilton Worldwide and its sustainability efforts, visitwww.hiltonworldwide.com/sustainability. For more information on Sundance Institute, visit www.sundance.org.

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund 

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund provides year-round support to nonfiction filmmakers worldwide. The program advances innovative nonfiction storytelling about a broad range of contemporary social issues, and promotes the exhibition of documentary films to audiences. Through the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Edit and Story Laboratory, Composers + Documentary Laboratory, Creative Producing Lab, as well as the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Creative Producing Summit and a variety of partnerships and international initiatives, including ‘Stories of Change’ and Good Pitch, the DFP provides a unique, global resource for contemporary independent documentary film. www.sundance.org/documentary

Sundance Institute  Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka , An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening , Light in the Piazza  and Angels in America . Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Hilton Worldwide  

Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 93 years, Hilton Worldwide has offered business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,900 hotels and timeshare properties, with 650,000 rooms in 90 countries and territories and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. Visit www.hiltonworldwide.com. For more information and connect with Hilton Worldwide at www.facebook.com/hiltonworldwide, www.twitter.com/hiltonworldwide, www.youtube.com/hiltonworldwide, www.flickr.com/hiltonworldwide and www.linkedin.com/company/hilton-worldwide

About Costa™

For Costa, the leading manufacturer of the world’s clearest polarized performance sunglasses, conservation is all about sustainable fishing.  Many fisheries that should be vibrant and healthy are all but devoid of native fish because they have fallen victim to poor fishing practices, unregulated development, lack of watershed protection or all of the above. Costa works with partners around the world to help increase awareness and influence policy so that both the fish and fishermen of tomorrow will have healthy waters to enjoy.  Costa encourages others to help in any way they can.   Costa offers superior lens technology and unparalleled fit and durability.  Still handcrafted today in Florida, Costa creates the highest quality, best performing sunglasses on the planet for outdoor enthusiasts.   For more information, contact 1-800-447-3700 or visit the company’s web site at www.costadelmar.com. Join the conversation on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/costasunglasses or on Twitter @CostaSunglasses.