Commemorating iHollywood Film Fest 2022 with Andre Miripolsky and SharkTales Art

Thanks for joining Founder and Festival Director Joyce Chow to unveil the official 2022 IHollywood Film Fest commemorative poster and POAP with Los Angeles pop artist Andre Miripolsky during NFT Expoverse in Los Angeles. World-renowned artist Andre Miripolsky is known for his decades-long discovery and development of an iconic LA/Hollywood shark character that dons oversized sunglasses and puts on the ritz with a tuxedo bow tie and cane walking down the red carpet. Miripolsky explains, “the sharks began in 2000, but the attitude came in 2006, when a well-known Hollywood director, Betty Thomas, commissioned me to do a 6'x60' mural running the length of her lap pool. When I saw the pool and how close the mural would be to the water, I immediately thought of sharks coming out of the ocean donning sunglasses and devouring LA/Hollywood.” Since then, Miripolsky had his Sharks run all around Los Angeles, capturing them mostly in large watercolor and oil paintings. Last year, Miripolsky dove deep into the digital art world and launched SharkTales Art as a way to introduce and help educate people about web3 and ocean conservation. Art, humor, and facts are woven together into visual stories that bring awareness to the fact that the ocean is our planet’s largest ecosystem. Sharks are older than dinosaurs, and yet +80 million sharks are killed every year for their fins. Ocean science needs our support. Art has the power to open up people’s emotions to new ideas. The collaboration between IHollywood Film Fest and Miripolsky is a natural fit on multiple levels and is a case study example of the supportive culture across the web3 community. The IHollywood Film Fest 2022 will be at the TCL Chinese Theatre multiplex, during the Television Academy’s Emmy Awards week includes live screenings, an opening party, closing night awards, and another historic first. As a leader in the convergence of Hollywood and Web3, IHollywood Film Fest is looking forward to making this year’s festival another one for the record books. IHollywood Film Fest is where storytellers converge with tech, spirit, and Hollywood. IHFF was the 1st film festival to award filmmakers with NFTs of their awards. The International Hollywood Film Festival brings the most innovative technologies in Web 3.0, FinTech, DeFi, and blockchain technologies to empower filmmakers and artists. IHFF is a proud member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and is a member of their Entertainment, Arts, and Media plus Tourism committees. The iHollywood Film Fest was created in 2020 to bring community to creatives. It began with a vision of creating a new standard of inspired creativity by educating, inspiring, and celebrating storytellers. The iHollywood Film Fest celebrates film, mini-movies, influencer videos, photography, podcasting, NFTs, and keeping the arts alive with the dream of Hollywood. https://iHollywoodNFTs.com Andre Miripolsky is an American pop artist based in Los Angeles, California. His career began with the design of Elton John’s piano costume in 1980 (which Elton wore at his 1980 Central Park Concert), and is best known for his “Fear No Art” button, album covers, the Miripolsky Barbie and Absolut Vodka artist. He also painted the backdrops for the Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno. He has worked with other musicians including Cheap Trick, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones, Rolling Stones, and Tatsuro Yamashita. Miripolsky is the co-creator of Viva LA, the new iconic brand to celebrate the creative culture of Los Angeles. https://miripolsky.com SharkTales Art is a communal approach to art collecting and ocean conservation. We aim to use art in order to catalyze change by evoking new emotional feelings about sharks through collaboration, technology, and immersive exhibitions like the Aquaverse. Scientists say sharks and rays are disappearing from the world's oceans at an "alarming" rate. The number of sharks found in the open oceans has plunged by 71% over half a century, mainly due to overfishing, according to a new study. Three-quarters of the species studied are now threatened with extinction. Through awareness, education, and action we can help reverse this trend. https://sharktales.art