1301 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20229
USA
America Abroad Media (AAM) will host its fourth annual “Power of Film” Awards Dinner at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 15. The special awards event will honor five outstanding leaders whose work exemplifies the power of media to inform, educate and empower citizens about the critical social and public policy issues of our time.
This year’s honorees include the Showtime hit series Homeland, an American political drama based on the most critical national security issues facing the United States and the world today. To date, the ever-popular show has won 8 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, 5 Golden Globe Awards, 3 AFI Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, a Humanitas Prize, a Producers Guild of America Award, 2 Writers Guild of America Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award, 2 People’s Choice Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and is a Television Academy honoree. The show’s executive producer Howard Gordon will be among the honored guests at the 2016 “Power of Film” Awards.
Aaron Lobel, Founder and President of America Abroad Media, stated, “No series on television has touched as directly, dramatically, and presciently as Homeland on the most critical national security issues facing the United States and the world today. AAM is proud to honor Homeland for its willingness to examine difficult issues, to explore the tough decisions and tradeoffs facing our top policymakers, and to help the public foster a deeper understanding of pressing national security challenges.”
Individual honorees include Saudi TV actor and comedian, Nasser Al Qasabi, who will be honored as one of AAM’s 2016 Media Leaders. Qasabi is one of the Arab world’s best-loved TV satirists, widely recognized for his various roles in the series No Big Deal, as a judge on Arabs Got Talent, and for his anti-ISIS Ramadan comedy series Selfie, which topped ratings region-wide via the pan-Arab MBC network.
Afghan TV executive and head of TOLOnews Lotfullah Najafizada will accept AAM’s 2016 Partner Award on behalf of TOLO TV, as the network is recognized as a special AAM partner. Over the years, TOLO TV has worked with AAM on unique programming, playing a significant role in furthering AAM’s mission and values in a key country where the approach is in high demand. This award comes at a particularly poignant time for TOLO TV, following a January 2016 suicide bombing orchestrated by the Taliban in Kabul, wounding and killing several TOLO staff members.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), one of the nation’s premier representatives to foreign governments and current Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to becoming Chairman of the Committee, Royce served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and was a member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) is currently in his 27th year as a member of Congress and has served as the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee since 2013, making him the top Democrat on the Committee. He also serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, including the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
Royce and Engel will be recognized for their efforts to transform and improve U.S. international broadcasting.
Additionally, the late American-Israeli journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, tragically captured and killed by ISIS in 2014, will be memorialized, as his mentor at The Media Line, Felice Friedson, and his mother, Shirley Sotloff, accept the award in his honor. While working for ABC News affiliates in Israel and Jordan, Steven’s career took off with his coverage of the Arab Spring in 2010. His excellent reporting has been featured on numerous news outlets, including Time magazine, Foreign Policy, The Media Line, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN and FOX. Steven traveled the region, visiting Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Bahrain and Libya, while reporting on Mu’amar Qhaddai, Al-Qa’ida, Bashar Al-Assad, Bengazi and other key flashpoints.
The event’s host committee includes numerous national security and foreign policy experts, among others, former Congressman Mike Rogers, former CIA operative John MacGaffin, former NATO Supreme Commander Admiral James Stavridis, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy (co-chair), General John Allen, and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency General Michael Hayden (co-chair). Among others, past award recipients include Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), BAFTA recipient Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips), Al-Arabiya General Manager Turki Aldakhil, UAE Federal National Council Affairs Minister Noura Al Kaabi, Bollywood actor and director Aamir Khan (Lagaan), Best Picture winner Argo, and award-winning documentary Difret.
The event’s sponsors include Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airlines, The John Templeton Foundation, and McLarty Associates, among others.
Tickets to the 2016 AAM Awards Dinner are available for purchase online, here: http://www.eventbee.com/
ABOUT “THE POWER OF FILM” AWARDS DINNER:
WHEN:
Tuesday, November 15
- 6 to 7pm: Award recipients available to media for interviews and photos*
- 6 to 7pm: VIP Reception
- 6:30 pm: General Admission
- 7 to 10pm: Dinner and program
WHERE:
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
1301 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
TICKETS:
Producer Tickets for general admission to the reception and dinner are $350 per person. Director Tickets, which include access to the VIP reception, honoree meet-and-greet, dinner, and a listing in the event program, are $1,000 per person. Purchase tickets here.
