ELLEN BURSTYN TO RECEIVE ONFILM FESTIVAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD MARCH 24

Acclaimed actress Ellen Burstyn will receive the ONfilm Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Norfolk's Attucks Theatre. The closing gala and award presentation, honoring excellence in acting, writing or producing, will conclude the weeklong festival highlighting internationally acclaimed screenwriters, directors and films.

The night will include a screening of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," a film for which Burstyn won an Academy Award. A reception and book signing will follow the film.

The evening is black-tie optional. Tickets are $8 per person and may be purchased at the door or in advance through Ticketmaster.

Burstyn has appeared in more than 100 films and was nominated for Academy Awards for her work in "The Exorcist," "The Last Picture Show," "Resurrection" and "Requiem for a Dream." She hosted the 35th annual Tony Awards and the 49th annual Academy Awards, and has also received numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Burstyn was the first woman president of Actors' Equity and currently serves as co-president of the fabled Actors Studio in New York along with Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel.

In her first book, "Lessons in Becoming Myself," published last year, Burstyn chronicles her moving rise to fame from her humble childhood in Detroit to the silver screen.

Hosted by Old Dominion University and the City of Norfolk, the ONFilm Festival marks a collaboration between Old Dominion and the city to expand and enhance the university's nearly decade-old film festival into an international event.

Under the theme "Colonial Encounters," the festival will explore colonialism and cultural interaction in the Americas and across the globe through a multitude of film screenings, discussion forums and seminars.

For a more information and a full listing of events visit http://www.odu.edu/ONFilmFest.