A Sad Farewell for the Film and Philanthropic Community
Updated: Jan 14, 2021
Our hearts are heavy with the recent news of the passing of Lorenzo Soria, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. As his family said, "he was deeply committed to the movie industry's power to heal the world and shine a spotlight on injustice."
Kids In The Spotlight has been fortunate to be a grantee of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in their philanthropic endeavors since 2016. More so, we are grateful to have funders like the HFPA who believe so strongly in the work that we do, to help foster youth heal and to shine a spotlight on the injustices they depict in their short films. Such support was evident from Mr. Soria's leadership at the very top.
Our team had the honor and privilege of meeting Lorenzo and his wife, Lilla, at the DPA Gifting Suite for the Oscars earlier this year. Our presence at the gifting suite was because of the recognition the HFPA has given KITS as one of their grantees. Upon our meeting there, Mr. Soria took a personal interest in making sure KITS would be supported by the HFPA. His belief in the power of film was so evident in his fondness for our program. We will never forget getting to speak with him and his lovely wife. His heart for the arts, our program and giving our youth a platform was so special. We offer our condolences and prayers to his family, friends, colleagues and entire HFPA community during this difficult time.
As we continue our work, we will model his commitment to heal the world from injustice through the power of filmmaking.