Marilyn O'Connor was presented with the Rochester Film Legacy Award on Sunday (08Nov15), the opening day of the annual event, in recognition of her longtime support of the festival.

O'Connor, a retired family court judge, inspired her sons Gordy and the late Philip to pursue careers in film and theatre, and she recalled an early project her boys worked on as kids as she accepted the award at the Little Theater.

"Gordy made a Super 8 film when he was 12," she told the crowd. "Younger Phil was very convincing as an escapee from prison; they shot it right in the woods of Fairport."

The launch of the High Falls Film Festival was a real family affair for O'Connor - Gordy's short film, Dog Bowl, received its New York premiere at the event on Sunday.

Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman died from a drug overdose in February, 2014, aged 46.

In related Hoffman news, two rising playwrights have been selected to share a $45,000 (£28,125) prize fund established by writer David Bar Katz in memory of his close pal.

Clare Barron and Sarah DeLappe impressed judges with their respective plays Dance Nation and The Wolves to land the inaugural Relentless Award, which celebrates unproduced theatre works by American writers. Katz launched the American Playwriting Foundation and its Relentless Award earlier this year (15).