Contact: Jon Lambert P.O. Box 1029 Ojai Film Festival Ojai, CA 93024 Phone 805/640-1947 Ojai Film Festival [email protected] Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tab Hunter to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from Ojai Film Festival

August 28, 2016 – Ojai, CA . . . Ojai Film Festival executive director Maryse Gartner announced today that the Festival will honor famed actor and singer Tab Hunter with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Film Festival will screen two Tab Hunter movies, as the opening film on Thursday, November 3, 2016 and Tab Hunter: Confidential on Saturday, November 5, 2016. The second screening will be followed by a moderated Q&A with Hunter and producer Allan Glaser.

During the 1950’s and 60’s, Tab Hunter was America’s heartthrob, receiving top billing in films like and and topping the pop music charts. With his matinee idol looks and charming screen persona, Hunter was linked to several of Hollywood’s leading ladies, including , , and . Behind the scenes, Hunter fended off rumors of homosexuality even as he maintained long-term partnerships with and figure skater Ronnie Robertson. According to Hunter, "[life] was difficult for me, because I was living two lives at that time. A private life of my own, which I never discussed, never talked about to anyone. And then my Hollywood life, which was just trying to learn my craft and succeed.”

“It’s a real honor to be selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Tab Hunter. “I have the utmost respect for the Ojai Film Festival and its support for quality filmmaking. When I heard the Festival was screening Tab Hunter: Confidential and Damn Yankees I was doubly flattered. I’m looking forward to attending the Festival in November.”

With the publication of his autobiography Tab Hunter: Confidential, in 2005, the actor confirmed that he is gay and celebrated his partnership of thirty years with producer Allan Glaser. Glaser, best known for the campy western Lust in the Dust and Dark Horse, produced Tab Hunter: Confidential. The documentary has received rave reviews on the festival circuit. David Friend, of Vanity Fair, calls the film “…slick, savvy, rollicking, and eye-popping…Tab Hunter: Confidential is not only brave for its candor and enlightening for the social context it provides, it is also a delightful eyeful, using ingeniously edited vintage clips and employing rarely seen still photos.”

The Ojai Film Festival has received 407 film submissions and 67 screenplays for the 2016 competition. Featuring a range of quality films from around the world, the Festival will be held November 3 -13 in Ojai, a small city in Southern about 80 miles north of . The Film Festival has a reputation for screening quality works, including documentaries, features, animations, narrative shorts and student films. More information on the Festival’s notable achievements, film submissions process, key leadership, and history is provided on its website www.ojaifilmfestival.com.

For press inquiries regarding Tab Hunter and Allan Glaser, please contact Jon Lambert at [email protected].

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