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Press Releases< back to Press Release listAngels in the Dust Opens Sept. 28 in LAANGELS IN THE DUST
Documentary on AIDS Orphanage in South Africa Opens September 28, 2007 at Laemmle's Music Hall Theatre **WINNER - 2007 Emerging Pictures/Full Frame Audience Award** **SPECIAL JURY PRIZE - Seattle International Film Festival** LOS ANGELES – Cinema Libre Studio will distribute Participant Productions’ and director Louise Hogarth’s (THE GIFT) documentary, ANGELS IN THE DUST, which recently premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival where it won the 2007 Emerging Pictures/Full Frame Audience Award opens September 28th in an exclusive Los Angeles engagement at Laemmle's Music Hall Theatre (Beverly Hills). It was produced by Dream Out Loud Films and Participant Productions. The film, which looks at the AIDS crisis in South Africa through the eyes of orphans, will premiere in New York theatres on 9/14, Los Angeles on 9/28, along with San Francisco/Bay Area and Seattle, in Washington D.C., Boston and Philadelphia on 10/12, and select U.S. cities thereafter in a platformed release. ANGELS IN THE DUST is the inspiring story of Marion Cloete, a woman who—with her husband and two daughters—fearlessly walked away from a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to establish Boikarabelo, an extraordinary village and school that provide shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For a nation overwhelmed by an epidemic of HIV/AIDS, orphans, rape, violence, and apartheid’s legacy of social and political unrest, the film offers a clear pathway of hope and a replicable paradigm for the future. Hogarth, a filmmaker who has dedicated her career to projects that address social and human rights issues, has focused recently on HIV/AIDS issues. Her last documentary, THE GIFT, was an unflinching look at a suicidal cycle of HIV-positive gay men who deliberately pass along the virus. That film premiered at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, screened at almost 200 festivals and was acquired by the Sundance Channel as the centerpiece of its annual week of AIDS awareness programming. When Hogarth was in South Africa to investigate the horrific phenomenon of baby rape (there’s a primitive myth that sex with a virgin can cure diseases such as HIV/AIDS, which has spawned more HIV infections as well as severe trauma in infant populations), she met Marion Cloete. She brought the story to Participant Productions, which financed the film. ANGELS IN THE DUST will also feature a social action campaign to generate long term support for the orphanage and to increase awareness about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDs in South Africa. Alicia Witt has signed on as official celebrity spokesperson/guardian angel for the project. It will highlight the extraordinary work being done by non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups and charities working to assist the victims. More information, including the virtual orphanage where donors may donate directly through the web site, is available at www.participate.net. ANGELS IN THE DUST was written & directed by Louise Hogarth, produced by James Egan and Louise Hogarth and Executive Produced by Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann. - 30 - About Participant Productions: Participant Productions is a Los Angeles-based production company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films and documentaries. Participant’s films have been chosen to awaken, inspire and empower audiences to take action and create change. The company is headed by CEO Jim Berk and President Ricky Strauss. Participant was founded in January 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Participant¹s most recent success is AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and Best Original Song and has become the third-highest grossing documentary in history. Past films have included GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK., SYRIANA, NORTH COUNTRY and MURDERBALL, which collectively received 11 Academy Award nominations in 2006. For more information visit www.participate.net. About Cinema Libre Studio Cinema Libre Studio is a haven for independent filmmakers with views, offering one-stop shopping for production, co-production, and distribution, foreign sales, marketing, and post-production services. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company is best known for distributing social issue documentaries and narrative features in theatres and on DVD which include OUTFOXED, UNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQ, THE EMPIRE IN AFRICA, CONVENTIONEERS, DARFUR DIARIES and many more. For more information visit www.cinemalibrestudio.com. EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: To request a screener please email press@cinemalibrestudio.com or call 818-349-8822. To arrange an interview with the filmmaker, Louis Hogarth or Marion Cloete please contact Rachel Aberly at rachel.aberly@particpantproductions.com or by phone at (310) 550-5109. PUBLICITY CONTACTS: Cathy Mouton and Beth Portello Cinema Libre Studio cmouton@cinemalibrestudio.com bportello@cinemalibrestudio.com 818-349-8822 Rachel Aberly Participant Productions rachel.aberly@participantproductions.com 310-550-5109 < back to Press Release list
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