PARK CITY, Utah—Ray-Ban hosted five nights of music and movies at the Ray-Ban Rock Bar, as well as honoring Quentin Tarantino with the 2008 Ray-Ban Visionary Award during the 17th Annual Sundance Film Festival held here.

 

The cast of the feature film, American Son, including director Neil Abramson (fifth from left), stars Nick Cannon and Matt O’Leary (sixth and seventh from left) and screenwriter Eric Schmid (eighth from left), take audience questions after a screening of the film. PARK CITY, Utah—Ray-Ban hosted five nights of music and movies at the Ray-Ban Rock Bar, as well as honoring Quentin Tarantino with the 2008 Ray-Ban Visionary Award during the 17th Annual Sundance Film Festival held here.

 

Vittorio Verdun and Pierre Fay of Luxottica (second and third from left) pose with contest winners Menashe (far left) and Anita Mizrachi (fourth from left) of Eyeland in Voorhees, N.J., Dave and Andrea Stewart of Eclipse Eyewear in Coronado, Calif. and Tempe, Ariz., and James Cook (second from right) of Luxottica with wife Monica (far right).

 

The front entrance of the Ray-Ban Rock Bar.


Pictured, left to right, Dave and Andrea Stewart of Eclipse Eyewear and James and Monica Cook enjoy V.I.P. treatment during the Ray-Ban Visionary Award party.



Vittorio Verdun of Luxottica greets the crowd and introduces award presenter Dennis Hopper.



Legendary actor and film maker Dennis Hopper presents the 2008 Ray-Ban Visionary Award to Quentin Tarantino.


Ray-Ban Visionary Award winner, Quentin Tarantino, regales the crowd with an antidote from his first trip to Sundance in 1992 for his film Reservoir Dogs while accepting his trophy, a gilded pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers.


Lead singer of The Bravery, Sam Endicott, wowed the crowed with an energetic and hit filled set.


The Bravery rocked the house to close out the presentation of the 2008 Ray-Ban Visionary Award.




Ray-Ban, as one of the festival’s official sponsors, took over The Monkey Bar on Main Street to house the Ray-Ban Rock Bar, which featured musical acts NYC DJ trio, The MisShapes, Salt Lake City-based indie rock/punk band, The Future of the Ghost, and Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter, George Stanford, as well as free 3D movie screenings and rock band karaoke.

On Jan. 20, Ray-Ban, in partnership with The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community, honored Oscar-winning screenwriter and Palme D'Or-winning director, Quentin Tarantino with the 6th Annual Ray-Ban Visionary Award. Introduced by Academy Award-nominated actor and film-maker, Dennis Hopper, Tarantino was awarded the honor for distinguishing himself as one of the industry's most original talents due to his work on films like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Grindhouse, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill.

New York City rock band The Bravery performed after the award ceremony. Featuring a sound that is a combination of disco and synth rock, the group performed songs from their 2005 self-titled album, The Bravery, their 2007 album, The Sun and the Moon, and tracks from a soon to be released third album.

Luxottica also sponsored a Ray-Ban promotion and sweepstakes in which both customers and Ray-Ban sales reps were eligible to win a Grand Prize trip to the opening weekend of the film festival. As part of the prize, winners received tickets to movie screenings, spa treatments, lift tickets and the opportunity to dine with Luxottica management, including Pierre Fay, senior vice president and CEO of Luxottica Wholesale for North America, Vittorio Verdun, vice president of marketing for North America, and Marcello Favagrossa, global brand director for Ray-Ban. ■