AMFM Fest in Coachella Valley June 13-16 Honors Virgo Mortensen at Inaugural Event

CATHEDRAL "CAT" CITY, CA, May 26, 2013 (Press-News.org) New Coachella Valley Festival AMFM (Art, Music, Film and More) will honor acclaimed actor and artist Viggo Mortensen at their inaugural Festival, taking place in Cathedral "Cat" City, June 13-16, 2013, Festival organizers Film 4 Change announced today.

Mortensen is the fourth artist to receive the award, named for (and originally presented posthumously to) renegade renaissance man Dennis Hopper. Film 4 Change previously bestowed the award to Dean Stockwell and Alex Cox at the Albuquerque Film Festival. According to Film 4 Change's and Festival Co-Directors Rich Henrich and Robert Galarza, "This is why we elected to honor Viggo Mortensen, because he embodies what all Hopper Award recipients have: a carefully curated body of work, a disregard for convention, and a thirst to excel in all artistic pursuits."

AMFM embraces the sprit of Hopper and the Festival's motto: hip, cool, funny, strange, social change. "We are a community of artists committed to having pride in what we do and dedicated to making our country great through artistic and creative innovation," Henrich says.

Galarza adds, "What we admire so dearly [about Mortensen] is the lack of ego about one's ability to be an artist and the understanding that all people have the ability to create if they simply maintain the courage to be free and attentive . The fact is that Viggo, like Dennis, maintains the sincere belief that all people have the capacity to create from their personal artistic soul simply by having the courage to be truly free and in doing so allowing themselves to maintain the childlike curiosity to embrace places, cultures, languages and all foreign aspects of the world."

Viggo Mortensen, who's certainly excelled in many disciplines, has a body of work in film (starting with WITNESS in 1985; A WALK ON THE MOON; A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE; the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy; and most recently, ON THE ROAD, where he plays William S. Burroughs), music, fine art, photography and poetry (he'd published a book of poetry before he started acting). The Festival will show Alex Kleinert's 2010 Documentary WILD HORSES AND RENEGADES (an avid horseman, Viggo appears in the documentary); exhibit some of his artworks; and present the Award to Mortensen to close the Festival during an awards brunch at the Festival's headquarters hotel in the Coachella Valley on Sunday, June 16.
Why did Galarza and Henrich choose Mortensen for the award? "There is a soft philosophical aspect to this man whose calm resolve embodies the spirit of an artist with the courage to bring the light of his creative soul to the forefront of our world.

"You can see the fearlessness and hardened resolve of a person who has overcome the challenges and obstacles of personal resistance to bring out the lightness of himself in his craft. To create from this space is truly genius. To overcome the same demons that exist within each of us make him truly great and it is this greatness that gives us reason to honor his work. His courage to freely create and overcome all personal constraints inspires us. In the venerability of his work he embodies Dennis' spirit and we are honored to give him this award."

Galarza and Henrich think Hopper would be pleased at their selection. "We imagine he might say this if he knew: 'Cool, man. I mean, he's an artist, man. There ain't nobody better. I taught him to paint. Not really, I just cleared out my studio in Venice and created some space. That's really what an artist needs most, man. Space. To create, to ponder. To just be, to take it in and let it go through you. Who's gonna give him the award? I would but I don't think most people will see me. You will and a couple others will know it, too. Just tell him to keep doing his thing, not "their" thing, man. By the way, he's getting a real piece of f#$@in' art, man. Give him my best. Let him know, I'll always be with him and all the other cats that keep creating because they are artists. Plain and simple. Not puppets but creators.'"

Henrich and Galarza have also added Joshua tree-based rock group and now AMFM headliner GRAM RABBIT, as well as Venice Beach's Terraplane Sun to the extensive music programming slate.

Award-winning Gram Rabbit (best new LA band in the 2005 LA Weekly Music Awards) came to prominence with their debut album Music to Start a Cult By, and, five records later (Welcome to the Country was released last year) it seems to have worked. In addition to their success on record and in live performances, Gram Rabbit's songs have been used in 30 commercials, TV shows and movies. The Gram part of their name seems to derive from founding members Jessika Von Rabbit and Todd Rutherford playing Gram Parker covers, and the legendary cremation of Parker in Joshua Tree.

With ranging musical backgrounds and instrumental configurations, Terraplane Sun, founded in 2010, has developed a unique, raw sound that—popular both live and recorded-- has rapidly become a favorite of TV music supervisors. Their song "Is There A Way" was featured on the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie;" "Selfish Ways" was on FX's shows "Damages" and "Bloodshot Eyes;" and "Hey Rat" appeared on FX's show "The League." Most recently, A&E has used their song "Trouble" as the theme song for "Relapse," from the Emmy Award-winning producers of "Intervention."

AMFM Fest runs June 13 -16, 2013 at the UltraStar Mary Pickford Theater, the Cathedral City Town Square and other select desert venues. Film 4 Change's mission is to bring communities together through the power of story and the art of laughter while showcasing the best emerging talent and thought leaders in art, music, film, photography and comedy. The Festival features six world premiere films (more than 50 in all), dozens of live shows, comedy, fine art, spoken word, seminars, a Celebrity Indy Kart Race and more. Other celebrity guests range from Michael Madsen, Ed Asner, Jason London, Jason Mewes, David Zayas, Tinsel Korey and Billy Wirth to filmmakers Monte Hellman, Adrian Belic, Gary King, Jesse Baget and even the Coachella Valley's own Christian Sesma.

The Festival also embraces Film 4 Change's commitment to social change. It showcases the work of members of the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City, as well as the students of the Cathedral City High School to raise financial support for the Club and to promote art and filmmaking to all children of the Coachella Valley. AMFM has also partnered with Variety Children's Charity of the Desert with a special fundraising screening, as well as the Palm Springs Animal Shelter where they contribute funds from the sale of artwork to the shelter and host a pet adoption center to bring each animal's story to life and to connect their band of creative spirits to those animals in need. For more information on how to support Festival partners, please contact Scott Robinson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City at (760) 324-5844, Todd Marker of Variety Children's Charity at (760) 773-9800, and Pat Brayer, director of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter at (760) 416-5718.

Tickets ranging from $5 for an individual screening to $199 for an All-Access Passes are now available for purchase, either at http://www.amfmfest.com at the Mary Pickford Theater, the Desert IMAX or at the AMFM box office located at the Mary Pickford Theater. For more information on ticket sales, schedules, and more, please visit their website http://www.amfmfest.com or contact the Festival directly at: info@amfmfest.