Longtime Hollywood post fixture Leon Silverman—a founder of the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) and president since the group's inception in 2002—is receiving the HPA's Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Silverman will accept the award at HPA's annual awards gala, scheduled for November 12 at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles.

"The award shines a light on his role in the organization, his significant contributions to the post-production industry, and his unfailing support of the vision of so many filmmakers," said Barbara Lange, executive director of SMPTE and HPA, in a prepared statement. 

Silverman, a Chicago native who began his career in 1977 at Compact Video in L.A., joined Pacific Video in 1982, remaining there through the company's merger-induced name change to LaserPacific, its 1991 IPO, and its 2003 acquisition by Eastman Kodak. In 2009, he joined the Walt Disney Studios as general manager, digital studio, a role that had him overseeing digital infrastructure on the studio lot. Under his aegis, Disney has built a new 26,000-square-foot Digital Studio Center, a new editorial center, and a digital review theater equipped with HDR laser projection.

Silverman has also served two terms as a governer for the Hollywood Region of SMPTE, and is currently governor at large. He is an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers, an affiliate member of the American Cinema Editors, and a recent invitee to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"I am constantly reminded that what we achieve in our industry, we have achieved by working closely together as a community," Silverman said in a prepared statement. "To be part of the exhilarating and sometimes daunting backdrop against which we work is an uncommon pleasure and honor itself, and I enjoy every day of the journey."