Leon Isaac Kennedy to Receive the Prestigious Legends Award at PVIFF in Atlanta

ATLANTA - Oct. 11, 2018 - PRLog -- Legendary actor, film writer/producer and entrepreneur, Leon Isaac Kennedy will be awarded the prestigious "Legends Award" at the 13^th Annual Peachtree Village International Film Festival (PVIFF) hosted by the African American Cinema Gallery (AACG) & Gipp.  The event will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Cinema Park Studios located at 135 Walton Street Northwest Atlanta, GA 30303. Each year the festival attracts more than 3000 guests from around the world with an online footprint of more than 300 million global impressions.

"I am honored to receive such an accolade. Storytelling has always been a huge part of my life and I thank God for allowing me to do things in this industry that would cause a lasting impact in films for generations to come", says Kennedy.

Leon Isaac Kennedy's career spans over 4 decades and he is recognized in history books as one of the creative pioneers in radio, TV and movies. Kennedy is also noted as a trailblazer in Hollywood by becoming one of the first minorities to take a project from the Idea Stage – Script It – Raise the Financing and produce and star in the Project.

"Penitentiary," starring Leon Isaac Kennedy was a big mainstream hit that became the number #1 Independent Film of The Year, which was a very prestigious achievement given a climate that offered limited opportunities for minorities. Additionally, Kennedy was one of the first minorities to deal directly with the Foreign Film Buyers - thus dispelling the myth that Black Films have no overseas commercial value.

As a result of his pioneering efforts, Kennedy's Films have played in virtually every country in the world and opened many doors for today's Independent Filmmakers, as well as many of the opportunities that minorities in media are able to access today. Kennedy would also go on to produce or star in other classics, such as "Body and Soul" and "Lone Wolf McQuade."

"I want to work with this generation of Filmmakers. I want to save them the money and just as important, I want to save them from the wasted time and barriers that I had to go through just to get a film made and distributed" says Kennedy, who is often referred to as "The Godfather of today's Independent Filmmakers" by such talents as Ice Cube, Robert Townsend and many others who have respectfully stated – "Leon busted open the doors for the rest of us!"

PVIFF was created in 2006 under the previous name (Sweet Auburn International Film Festival) and has served as the launching pad for many successful filmmakers and other artists alike in the film & entertainment industry. This dynamic international film festival showcases feature length films, shorts, music videos, documentaries, and screenplays from around the globe. PVIFF also features celebrity attractions, innovative workshops, panels, parties, and much more.

Artists such as Director/Writer Rob Hardy & Producer Will Packer of Rain Forest Films, Actress, Mrs. Ruby Dee, Producer, Director/Writer, Malcolm Lee, Roger Bobb formerly of Tyler Perry Studios, Emmy Award Winning Producer, Dean Hargrove, Casting Director/Producer, Reuben Cannon, Director/Producer, Roger Bobb, Casting Director, Alpha Tyler formerly of Tyler Perry Studios, Actor, Anthony Anderson, Ms. Kim Fields, Actor, Bill Nunn, Humanitarian, Afeni Shakur, classic R&B group Full Force and many more have all participated in various aspects of PVIFF over the years.

Leon Isaac Kennedy, a writer, producer, actor and visionary will be added to the shortlist of only 5 honorees to have received the legends award in the history of the festival.

For more information or for interview requests, please contact Reid Rich at publicityprincess@yahoo.com or call 310-560-1383. To learn more about PVIFF, visit: www.pviffatl.com.