Michael Dudok de Wit, who won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short for his acclaimed film FATHER AND DAUGHTER, has donated to charity the high definition television he won for giving the shortest acceptance speech (18 seconds) at the Oscar awards ceremony. Dudok de Wit, who lives in London, donated the television to Hollygrove, L.A.s oldest non-sectarian residential facility for abused children. Founded in 1880 as the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society, Hollygrove has served over 15,000 orphaned, abused and neglected children. Today Hollygrove provides therapeutic, residential and foster care to children who have been removed from their families by the court system. Many of these children were born addicted to drugs or have witnessed violent crimes and suffer from a combination of disorders including depression, anxiety and learning disabilities. The 68 children at Hollygrove range in age from 6 to 13 and all live in cottages with childcare counselors who provide 24-hour care and model healthy family relationships. Dudok de Wit stated, The decision to give the television to Hollygrove was made jointly by Acme Filmworks, my producers and myself. It was a very obvious decision for us to make, and Im delighted that Hollygrove can make use of it. I wish the children and staff at Hollygrove all the best. This year marked the second Oscar nomination for Dudok de Wit. He was also nominated in 1994 for his film THE MONK AND THE FISH.
Want to see clips, images and background information on FATHER AND DAUGHTER and the other animated short nominees for 2001? Then go to AWN's Oscar Showcase.
