Steven Spielberg to Receive JBFC Vision Award

Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg is the recipient of the 2011 (JBFC) Vision Award, the center announced today.

As the non-profit organization continues its celebration, the director/screenwriter/producer will be honored on Saturday, Sept. 17.

"I have been following the JBFC story since before it opened its doors and am very excited to be there to celebrate a decade of films and education and to receive this award," said Spielberg in a statement.

Said Steve Apkon, JBFC's executive director, There is no greater storyteller in film than Steven Spielberg, and we couldn't be more thrilled to honor him with the JBFC Vision Award and to welcome him here on the occasion of our 10th anniversary."

JBFC plans to use all proceeds from the A Tribute to Steven Spielberg event to benefit its education and outreach program, which primarily take place in the Media Arts Lab.

"Today, more than ever, our children must become visually literate, and the JBFC is leading the way," said Spielberg, who called the programs which target school-aged children and teens "extraordinary."

"No one has had a greater impact on the movie industry and our culture in the past 40 years," added Apkon in the statement. "[Spielberg] has been an enormous inspiration to our mission and programs here at the Jacob Burns Film Center and the Media Arts Lab."