Two-time Oscar® Winner Sean Penn Will Open 2024 Amdocs

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Jan. 31, 2024 - PRLog -- The American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs) (https://www.amdocfilmfest.com) announced two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn will headline Opening Night and screen his documentary, "Superpower," on March 21, 2024 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

This year's event is presented by the Supple Foundation which supports cultural arts programs, events and scholarships throughout the Greater Palm Springs area.

"Sean Penn, one of the most distinguished actor-auteurs of his generation and a committed humanitarian, is not only headlining our festival this year but also being honored with our highest accolade, the 'Seeing The Bigger Picture' award," stated Ted Grouya, Director of AmDocs.

Penn's film, "Superpower," started as a feature on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but took a dramatic turn when Russia invaded Ukraine while Penn and his film team were in the country.

Penn has been nominated five times for an Academy Award® Penn won his first Academy Award® in 2003 for the Clint Eastwood feature, "Mystic River." In 2008, Penn won his second Oscar® for "Milk," when he portrayed San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk. Penn also earned nominations for "Dead Man Walking,", "Sweet and Lowdown," and "I Am Sam."

The 2024 festival will be the 13^th consecutive year of the event, which has attracted and honored top filmmakers such as Oscar®-winners Oliver Stone (Platoon, Born on the 4^th of July), Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine), and the late John G. Avildsen (Rocky, Karate Kid) and many other acclaimed artists, including Peter Bogdanovic, Pierce Brosnan, Dionne Warwick, Shia LaBeouf, Haskell Wexler, George Takei, Sacheen Littlefeather and more. Festival passes and tickets are now available at https://filmfreeway.com/AmericanDocumentaryFilmFestivalandFilmFund/tickets.
Go to www.amdocfilmfest.com for the full schedule and synopses of films.

AmDocs is proud to unveil a media partnership with KESQ, the ABC affiliate station in the Palm Springs area, for the 2024 event.
"We are excited to partner with KESQ, a staple of the Coachella Valley with skilled storytellers," Grouya said. "They have been recognized by the Emmys® for many of their journalistic stories and we're excited to showcase some of their work."

"Documentaries and News are both about the same thing, using truth to enrich our communities. We are proud to be a part of AmDocs 2024, a great festival that Teddy Grouya and team built into a powerhouse, world-renown festival," said Jerry Upham, General Manager at KESQ, which is part of Gulf California Broadcasting.