The 18th Annual ARPA International Film Festival Honors Award-Winning Actor Esai Morales

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Oct. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- The Arpa Foundation For Film Music & Art is proud to announce award-winning actor, Esai Morales, as the recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award.  The award will be presented on Sunday, November 15th during the Arpa International Film Festival Awards ceremony to be held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.  Celebrating its 18th year, the Arpa International Film Festival continues to grow, showcasing films that address international humanitarian issues such as genocide, the holocaust, human freedom, women's rights, homelessness and more.

Actor Esai Morales, known for his advocacy work on education and the environment, was selected by the Arpa Foundation to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award because of his impact as an actor and role model.  Moreover, his ideals align themselves with those of the Foundation and his exemplary body of work spans over 3 decades.  Morales made his feature film debut in Bad Boys in 1983 alongside Sean Penn but it was his breakthrough role in La Bamba that made him a star, contributing to making the film the most commercially successful Latino-themed rock biopic of all time. To this day, his role as Bob Morales continues to captivate audiences and can be seen across a variety of media platforms. In 1997, Morales co-founded the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, created to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries. The NHFA has since provided scholarships to hundreds of Hispanic students in excess of one million dollars.

The Arpa International Film Festival runs November 13th through 15th at the famed Egyptian Theatre located in the heart of Hollywood.  Each night, the Festival brings attendees a star-studded Red Carpet, VIP Reception and World Class Entertainment, which is all-inclusive with the purchase of the festival's All Access Gold Pass.

The first Arpa International Film Festival was produced by AFFMA in 1997, with a mission to cultivate cultural understanding and global empathy, creating a dynamic forum for international cinema with a special focus on the works of filmmakers who explore the issues of Diaspora, exile and multi-culturalism.  A strong emphasis is placed on ideals of independent thought, artistic vision, cultural diversity and social understanding.

For more information about the Arpa International Film Festival and ticket information, please visit www.arpafilmfestival.org

Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art is a nonprofit charitable organization registered as 501(c) 3.