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The first Turks & Caicos Intl. Film Fest, celebrating the fusion of music and cinema, kicks off Oct. 17 and will honor composer John Debney and the late Tupac Shakur.

Fest features movies from around the world that tell stories about music, feature music or have musical themes and runs until Oct. 21.

Debney will be recognized for his ability to create work across a variety of genres. He received an Oscar nom for his score for "The Passion of Christ" and has won three Emmys and eight ASCAP Awards. His most recent work includes collaborations with violin virtuoso Joshua Bell on DreamWorks' "Dreamer" and trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval on the bigscreen OutKast tuner "Idlewild."

Shakur will be recognized as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, and cultural lines. He was both an actor and a rapper/hip-hop artist, with many of his songs featured in movie soundtracks. His mother, Afeni Shakur, will accept the award.

Kudos will be presented during an Oct. 21 Awards Gala. For more information, log onto www.turksandcaicosfilmfestival.com.