PRISM award nominations announced

Everyone knows that art has the power to entertain, but sometimes it also has the ability to educate simply by showing real life. Since 1997 the PRISM awards have honored entertainment that provides realistic depictions of substance abuse, addiction and mental health issues. On February 27, 2008 the Entertainment Industries Council, the organization which hosts the awards, announced the 2008 nominees.

The PRISM awards divide feature films into two categories. This year, Georgia Rule and Gone Baby Gone garnered nods for their Wide Releases while Control, In the Valley of Elah, Man in the Chair, Self-Medicated and You Kill Me received nods for their Limited runs. The PRISM awards also recognize individual performances, with the 2008 nominees including Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl), Felicity Huffman (Georgia Rule), Ben Kingsley (You Kill Me) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton).

The Entertainment Industries Council, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and FX networks, began the PRISM awards to honor not only film, but primetime and daytime television, music and comic books, among other mediums. The 12th annual PRISM awards will take place on April 24, 2008 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The ceremony will also be taped for national telecast on FX.

For more information visit www.prismawards.com.