NEWSLETTER
Wednesday, October 29 at 8 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre
Rochester, N.Y., September 17, 2025—Tickets are on sale now for the October 29 ceremony and gala where actress Rita Moreno will accept the George Eastman Award for her distinguished contribution to the art of cinema.
The ceremony will feature an appreciation of her career by Peter Bagrov, senior curator, Moving Image Department, a compilation of highlights of her work, and an on-stage conversation with Moreno—to be followed by a celebratory gala in the museum.
Date: Wednesday, October 29
Location: George Eastman Museum, 900 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14607
Time:
- 8 p.m. Award Ceremony in Dryden Theatre
- 9 p.m. Gala in Potter Peristyle, Concourse, and Eastman Mansion
Features:
- Music by Orquesta Antonetti
- Desserts, wine, and champagne
- Cocktail attire / black tie optional
All tickets for the George Eastman Award fundraising event include reserved seating for the award ceremony, admittance to the gala, and valet parking.
- Patron ticket: $400
- Supporter ticket: $250
- Friend ticket: $175
Moreno received an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Anita in West Side Story (Robert Wise, 1961). In 1977, she became the third artist to have received competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards (EGOT). Moreno has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, from President George W. Bush; the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama; the Screen Actors Lifetime Achievement Award; the Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture; and the Peabody Career Achievement Award.
Visit eastman.org/eastmanaward2025 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Sponsorship
7Crest Financial Services, an Ameriprise Private Wealth Advisory Practice, is the generous Major Sponsor of the event. Pike Construction Services is the Supporting Sponsor.
About the George Eastman Award
The George Eastman Award was established in 1955 as the first award to recognize the enduring artistic value of the oeuvre of a film actor, director, or cinematographer. The first two presentations of the award in 1955 and 1957, known as the Festival of Film Artists, were a tribute to the legends of the silent film era (1915–1930). Since then, the George Eastman Award has honored a range of actors, directors, and cinematographers including including Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall, Louise Brooks, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Dolores del Rio, Cecil B. DeMille, Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Keaton, Ramon Navarro, Gregory Peck, Mary Pickford, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, James Stewart, Meryl Streep, Gloria Swanson, and last year’s recipient Goldie Hawn.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 31,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. The George Eastman Museum is supported with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information, visit eastman.org.
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