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The International Cinematographers Guild's (IATSE Local 600) Eastern Region will present its 2011/2012 Billy Bitzer Awards to retired 1st assistant cameraman George Berrios (Malcolm X, Diner, Tin Man) and posthumously to cinematographer Andrew Laszlo, ASC (First Blood, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) at New York's Tribeca Film Center on November 17.

Named for D.W. Griffith's cinematographer (The Birth of a Nation, 1915, Intolerance, 1916), the Bitzer awards recognize career achievements and union work. In 1926, Bitzer became a founder and the first president of the then Local 644, New York's original cinematography union. Bitzer worked on more than 1,000 films, but died in comparative obscurity as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, his film work having been derailed by his union organizing activities.

The awards were established as an annual event in 1975 by Chuck Austin and Sol Negrin, becoming bi-annual in 1988.

About the International Cinematographers Guild
The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) represents more than 7,000 members who work in film, television and commercials as Directors of Photography, Camera Operators, Visual Effects Supervisors, Still Photographers, Camera Assistants, Film Loaders, Publicists and all members of camera crews. The first cinematographers union was established in New York in 1926, followed by unions in Los Angeles and Chicago, but it wasn't until 1996 that Local 600 was born as a national guild. ICG's ongoing activities include the Emerging Cinematographer Awards and the Publicists Awards Luncheon. The Guild also publishes the award-winning ICG Magazine. www.cameraguild.com.

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