According to FilmFestivals.com, Natalie will be rewarded with the first ever Movie for Humanity Award at the upcoming 65th Venice Film Festival for her commitment to social, humanitarian and environmental causes. From FilmFestivals.com:

From the agreement of S. Pellegrino and the 65. Venice Film Festival, the project of the first ever award dedicated to social commitment has been established. It is a sort of “Nobel Prize” assigned to movie artists who devote themselves to humanitarian causes. The first edition of “Movie For Humanity Award” will be assigned to Natalie Portman, Sunday, August 31st during Kinéo Italian Movie Award (the yearly Audience Award) Night at the Hotel Des Bains, Visconti Hall. Natalie will receive a beautiful trophy and a Check of §50.000,00. She will be devolving the donation to TACARE Girls’ Scholarship Program.

The award, which was inspired by Italian cinema traditional sensitivity towards social and political issues and by the serious involvement of artists all over the world, aspires to provide concrete support to their engagement in promoting human rights, peace and protect the environment, as well as for showing their compassion towards the plight of millions of children raised in poverty as well as the growing poverty in Third World countries, for speaking out about all those global plagues which cry for a decisive voluntary effort.

Keep your eyes peeled for photos. Congratulations to Natalie for the well-deserved award!

Saying things have been quiet with Natalie of late does not do justice to the utter lack of Nat news we’ve been experiencing. However, Ecorazzi reports Natalie will be appearing in an anti-fur Public Service Announcement à la PETA. From Ecorazzi.com:

But for [award-winning Brazilian actress Elissa] Sursara, a guest appearance is not the last of her eco-friendly projects in her stand against animal exploitation. Reportedly joining forces with a super-secret shoe design house to release her own range of vegan-friendly footwear and teaming up with fellow actress Natalie Portman for an anti-fur PETA PSA, it’s the starlet’s own highly-graphic animal rights documentary Rights Revoked for Animal Planet that is said to have tongues wagging.

This is interesting news. According to AFP, Natalie is currently in Rwanda shooting a clip “to promote a Jewish-funded youth village for children orphaned by the 1994 genocide.”

Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman is in Rwanda shooting a clip to promote a Jewish-funded youth village for children orphaned by the 1994 genocide, officials said. “The American film star is currently in Rwanda shooting a film on the genocide,” an official close to the ministry of culture told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The young Hollywood star arrived quietly in the genocide-scarred central African country earlier this week. Israeli media has reported that the clip she is shooting about the new village will be aired in a few weeks on the Oprah Winfrey Show, America’s best-rated television programme.

We have footage of two new public appearances by Natalie. Kicking things off with The Other Boleyn Girl, Natalie and co-stars Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana dropped by at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York on February 11 for a scheduled press conference for the film, and thanks to the lovely Filip of Becki-Newton.net I have added 13 medium-res photos of Nat at the event to the gallery. You’ll notice her outfit matches that of her recent ‘Access Hollywood’ appearance.

Furthermore, yesterday on February 12, Natalie attended the launch party for her Té Casan vegan shoe collection, looking lovely as always. 22 hi-res photos of her at the event have been added to the gallery. You can order shoes from the collection at the Té Casan website; bear in mind that all proceedings will go to charity. Now if only I could afford the shoes…

New Photo Albums:

• ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ New York Press Conference on February 11 2008
• Natalie’s Té Casan Vegan Shoe Collection Launch Party on February 12 2008

Well, its January 15, and Natalie’s shoe collection for Té Casan is now available for pre-order at the label’s official site! The site now features previews of the shoes and their respective prices, and you can place your order(s) here. From Té Casan:

Natalie Portman, Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning actress, fashion muse, style icon and humanitarian, was born in Jerusalem. A Harvard grad, noted for charitable pursuits, noticed the absence of fashionable animal-friendly footwear and collaborated with Té Casan for her debut collection.

Not one to merely lend her name, Portman worked closely throughout to maintain the quality standards and an exceptional design aesthetic. Dazzling, playful, elegant and free of animal products, each shoe exudes the starlet’s own personal style. All of Portman’s proceeds will be donated to the Nature Conservancy, a non profit that works tirelessly to protect ecologically fragile lands and bodies of water.

“As a vegan, it’s been challenging finding designer shoes made of alternative materials. This collection offers a great selection without compromising quality or style.” - Natalie Portman

The updated Té Casan website also came with a new promotional photo of Natalie, a preview of which you’ll find above. For more information on the Nature Conservancy and their work, please visit www.nature.org.

We have an update on Natalie’s upcoming vegan-friendly shoe collection for Té Casan, which you can begin pre-ordering at the label’s website starting tomorrow, January 15.

First off, Natalie and the aforementioned collection are briefly featured in the January 2008 issue of Vogue (US); scan(s) will be added soon alongside a larger scan update, which is currently in the making.

Furthermore, Fabsugar have a wonderful preview of the collection at their website in addition to a better quality version of that beautiful promotional photo for the collection we’ve seen. If you are interested in purchasing Natalie’s vegan-friendly shoes, I highly recommend checking them out at Fabsugar! (And personally, I am in love with some of the shoes. If only I had $200 to spare…)

Finally, Fabsugar also reports that 100% of the proceedings will go to The Nature Conservancy as opposed to the 5% many other sources have advertised. Go figure.

Several news sources (e.g. Starpulse) are reporting that Natalie has designed a collection of “vegan-friendly” shoes for Té Casan. The collection will be out in February 2008, but will be available for pre-order already from January 15 2008 onwards. 5% of the proceedings will reportedly go to charity.

The Té Casan official site has also published the news regarding the upcoming collection. The company’s announcement is accompanied by an absolutely gorgeous campaign photo of Natalie, a preview of which you’ll find to your right. Enjoy!

Paste Magazine reports, Natalie has joined a number of other A-list celebrities in providing her autograph for the tail of a kite which is to be auctioned off for charity. The auction is a part of The Kite Runner film campaign, and the proceedings from the auction will go to the Afghanistan Relief Organization. From Paste Magazine:

eBay’s new charity auction is opting for movie-themed swag: Afghan kites with celebrity-autographed tails, a campaign for the new film The Kite Runner.

Starting today, the kite tails - complete with signed “thank you” cards - are up for grabs. Among the signees are Madonna, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Daniel Craig, Angelina Jolie, Will Ferrell, Benicio Del Toro, former President Bush, Edward Norton and Cher.

Proceeds benefit the Afghanistan Relief Organization, namely for the training of teachers and construction of rural libraries in Afghanistan. Other things to bid on will be a peek at the new James Bond movie set, lunch with Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini and having your name included in his next book.

The auction runs December 5-15 2007 on eBay; if you are interested in bidding on Nat’s kite, here’s a preview of her kite tail signature. Remember all the proceedings go to a good cause.