Dallas Film will honor Dallas Sonnier with The Stodghill Award at the 2020 Spotlight Luncheon. The luncheon is being chaired by Dr. Carr Vineyard and Mrs. Meghan Vineyard. The Stodghill Award recognizes individuals for their long-term philanthropic efforts on behalf of the art of film. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit Dallas Film's Mercury One High School Film Labs, a series of six informative and engaging film workshops to pique the interest of student filmmakers and teachers in Dallas-Fort Worth area high schools.

Sonnier is a veteran of the entertainment industry with an independent approach to financing and a production model that has generated some of the most unique independent movies in recent memory. He is a committed architect of change in the Dallas movie scene with the paramount goal of fiercely protecting the singular visionary work of filmmakers. In 2016, Sonnier developed Cinestate and acquired Fangoria positioning the company into a full-fledged entertainment studio thriving in the heart of the country. With two creative labels, a podcast network, a half dozen published novels, a print-only collectible magazine with a robust circulation, and more than half a dozen features under its belt, Cinestate has established itself as a critical voice in genre entertainment.