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SIX PBS PROJECTS - FIVE FILMS AND ONE WEB ORIGINAL - SELECTED FOR 2005 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
BEYOND THE FIRE, THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX, FROZEN ANGELS,
THE GARDEN, SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS AND TRUDELL
CHOSEN FOR FESTIVAL
(Alexandria, VA) - Under the leadership of President and CEO Pat Mitchell, PBS returns
to Park City with a diverse group of five films and web original participating in the 2005
Sundance Festival. "We are proud of these six extraordinary projects selected by the premier
independent film festival in the world. These films reflect both the excellence and the enormous
diversity of our programming," said Mitchell. Mitchell will be at Sundance along with programming
executives John F. Wilson, Senior Vice President, Programming; and Gustavo Sagastume, Vice President,
Programming.
Following is a list of PBS films at Sundance:
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX, by Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt, follows Texas teenager Shelby Knox
as she joins a youth group on a campaign for better sex education in Lubbock high schools. As Shelby is swept
into the fight, she begins to question her deeply conservative Southern Baptist upbringing. When the campaign
broadens to include a fight for a gay-straight alliance, Shelby must finally confront her family and a local
youth pastor in this coming of age story. THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX is slated to air in an upcoming season
of the acclaimed PBS series P.O.V. A co-production of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association
with P.O.V./American Documentary, Inc.
FROZEN ANGELS, by Eric Black and Frauke Sandig, follows a cast of characters through the wonder-world of
assisted human reproduction while, at the same time, portraying Los Angeles, a city better known for elevating
the superficial into an art, for Hollywood, Disneyland, freeways, silicone-implants, film sets of epic proportions,
and perfect bodies at Muscle Beach. But in the Mecca of the Body Perfect, one in six couples is now infertile and
Angelinos lead the world in number of fertility clinics per capita. All of their customers are wealthy, 99% are white.
FROZEN ANGELS, a highly visual film blurring the line between fiction and documentary, makes the connection to
people and the society that would seek to design its children. An ITVS Production.
SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS, by Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller, follows an all-male Shakespeare company
working behind bars at Kentucky's Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. For one year a cast comprised of murderers,
rapists and thieves rehearse and perform a full production of Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest, a play fittingly
about forgiveness. In the film, the parallels between actor and inmate, text and life are striking. On the surface
level in the film, the men rehearse their lines alone, with each other and in rehearsal. They experiment with
different ways to deliver a line, to make a gesture or how to change the meaning of a scene-with one subtle stroke.
On a deeper level, this constant searching within a character mirrors the constant search within the men themselves
to find meaning in their past actions and present lives. The film shows men who are, in some ways, stuck in time,
constantly replaying the text and gestures of their own crimes, wondering what subtle stroke would have changed their
fate. And in this process, these men test the power of truth, change and forgiveness. An ITVS production.
TRUDELL: THE LIVES AND WORDS OF JOHN TRUDELL
Documentary Competition. World Premiere
Directed by Heather Rae.
A chronicle of legendary Native American poet/activist John Trudell's travels, spoken word performances and politics.
A co-presentation of Native American Telecommunications (NAPT).
Presented on Independent Lens.
SUNDANCE SPECIAL SCREENING
THE GARDEN
Directed by Frederick Wiseman.
Madison Square Garden is America's best known center for popular, live entertainment. The public goes there to see basketball,
hockey, the dog show, the cat show, boxing, concerts, wrestling, tennis, theatre, the circus, trade shows for a wide variety of
products and to eat in its many restaurants. The film, THE GARDEN, shows many of the events that take place at the Garden and
the nature of the behind the scenes work required to efficiently and professionally present these different and complex events.
Presented on PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York.
And in the SUNDANCE ONLINE FESTIVAL:
BEYOND THE FIRE: Teen Experiences of War, an Electric Shadows online project presented by ITVS, created and produced by
Sesh Kannan and developed by Free Range Graphics, at www.beyondthefire.net, engages and educates American teens through
the real life stories of their peers from seven war torn countries, including Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq,
who have made their way to the U.S. in search of a better life. Now more than ever, teens and their teachers and parents are
in need of accessible, engaging and informative sources to shed light on world issues, to help American teens become more
enlightened citizens of the world. In a media environment dominated by the perspectives and voices of adults, there is a great
need for teens to hear from their peers if lessons in world issues, politics and geography are to be relevant. BEYOND THE FIRE
sparks teen dialogue on issues of war, geography, history and human rights.
About PBS
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations,
reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides
high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions.
PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services
for adult learners. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org),
continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available
at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy Award-winning weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. on PBS. Hosted by Susan Sarandon,
the acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom,
artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories
about a unique individual, community or moment in history, which prompted Nancy Franklin to write in The New Yorker: "Watching
Independent Lens... is like going into an independent bookstore-you don't always find what you were looking for but you often
find something you didn't even know you wanted." Presented by ITVS, the series is supported by interactive companion websites,
and national publicity and community outreach campaigns. Further information about the series is available
at www.pbs.org/independentlens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS, and is funded by the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by
PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About ITVS
Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television,
innovative new media projects on the Web and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at
10 P.M. on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster
plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently
produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991,
ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing TV audiences face-to-face
with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting itvs.org
ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People.
About P.O.V.
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and entering its 18th season on PBS, P.O.V. is the first and most-awarded series
on television to feature the work of America's best contemporary-issue independent filmmakers. Airing Tuesdays 10 P.M.
during the summer, and with prime time specials during the year, P.O.V. has brought over 220 award-winning documentaries
to millions nationwide, and now has a Webby-Award winning online series, P.O.V.'s Borders. Since 1988, P.O.V. has pioneered
the art of presentation and outreach using independent non-fiction media to build new communities in conversation about today's
most pressing social issues. More information about P.O.V is available online at pbs.org/pov.
-PBS-
CONTACT:
Cara White, 843.881.1480; carapub@aol.com
At Sundance: 843.224.1442; Park City Marriott, Room 107
Stephanie Aaronson, PBS at Sundance: 703.338.6986
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