Award winning actress coming to Black Bear festival

Milford — The Black Bear Film Festival is proud to announce that our Film Icon guest star for the 2018 festival will be multi- award winner actress Jane Alexander.
"We couldn't be more excited. Jane is a true Renaissance woman," Executive Director Robert John Keiber said. "We are so lucky. Milford is going to love her."
Added Vice president Karen Kelly, "I have known Jane for ages, and she is not only talented, but so intelligent, caring and the ultimate conservationist. She is the real deal."
Alexander studied math and theater at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. A chance to study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, lead her to become a member of the Edinburgh University Dramatic Society.
Alexander has worked in nearly every acting format, from Broadway (Tony award) to film (four Oscar nominations), to television (two Emmys).
Following theater roles in "The Inspector General" and "Look Back in Anger," Jane found critical success in 1967 as the mistress of black boxer Jack Jefferson in the landmark production of "The Great White Hope" at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC., opposite James Earl Jones.
She and Jones both won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for their performances when the play went to Broadway the following year.
Both also earned Academy Award nominations after making the transition to film.
The 1970 film version of The Great White Hope would mark the first of four nominations for Jane.
She was also nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting roles in "All the President’s Men" (1976), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), and as a lead in "Testament" (1983).
In 1993, Jane took a sabbatical from acting when President Clinton appointed her as the first chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Her 2000 book, "Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of Politics" chronicles the challenges she faced heading up the organization.
In 2004, Alexander joined the theater faculty at Florida State University (FSU). She holds honorary doctorates from 11 colleges and universities in the U.S. In addition, Jane is an avid and active environmentalist and bird enthusiast.
She has been active on many boards, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, Project Greenhope, the National Stroke Association, and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament.
The Black Bear Film Festival will be held Oct. 19 (Gala), 20, and 21, 2018.
For information, visit blackbearfilm.com or call 570-409-090