Arthur Benjamin, co-sponsor of the Dallas International Film Festival, speaks with filmgoers while his dog Bandit looks on from the podium.

Arthur E. Benjamin, chairman of The Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, renewed the foundation’s five-year commitment to The Art of Film, Dallas International Film Festival Opening Night and Dallas Film Society Honors this past weekend. This year the foundation is proud to be joined by Sheri Deterling and Geoff Hawkes in its sponsorship of all the events this year.

“I started supporting DFS to honor the memory of my uncle, Robert S. Benjamin, who long ago founded United Artists and Orion Pictures, and taught me how to give back to the communities that I live in and value. It was simply a way to give to the city of Dallas, and I am excited to be a part of such a creative community.”

Last year Mr. Benjamin, Ms. Detering & Mr. Hawkes were privileged to work with their partners the Trinity Film Fund & M3 Films on the movie about the life of Stanley Marcus, on THE STARCK CLUB, and on JOBS, the Ashton Kutcher film on the life of Steve Jobs. This year, partnering with Farah White, through their companies Femmewerks Productions and American Dog Rescue, released CHAMPION, a family film about a rescue dog and worked witg with Gary Coghill’s Lacraux Films on WORDS & PICTURES.

About Arthur E. Benjamin

Arthur E. Benjamin is an internationally recognized educator, corporate leader, philanthropist and animal welfare advocate. He has founded, acquired and/or grown numerous businesses and educational institutions, as well as other nonprofit organizations, including American Dog Rescue and The Butterfly Effect Foundation. His primary goal in business and philanthropy is “Better Lives for People and Pets,” fueled specifically by his passions for education, animal rescue and the fight against breast cancer.

About Sheri Deterling & Geoff Hawkes

Sheri is a Dallas native and Texas lawyer who married her sweetheart Geoff at the turn of the new century. The two moved to Portland, Oregon where Geoff served as the treasurer of a Fortune 500 company for eight years. When the drizzling rain of the Pacific Northwest became too much to bear, they moved back home to Dallas and soon became involved in film through their dear friend Gary Coghill. Sheri and Geoff’s two young sons, Brian and Christopher, aren’t really sure what to make of all this “movie business”, but they thought it was really cool when Sheri had her photo taken with Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe at the Toronto Film Festival last year.