FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kelly Hargraves
kelly.hargraves@firstrunfeatures.com
323-662-1930

  Contact: Michelle Berninger
michelle@firstrunfeatures.com
212-243-0600 x27
 
  LIVING DOWNSTREAM, BOOM VARIETAL and DUCH
on DVD August 6
 
     
  LIVING DOWNSTREAM  |   BOOM VARIETAL: The Rise of Argentine Malbec  |    DUCH: Master of the Forges of Hell  
   

LIVING DOWNSTREAM
85 minutes, documentary, color & b/w, optional subtitles in English, English SDH,
French & Spanish, 2010


A film by Chanda Chevannes

Special Features 5 Mini Docs: Why Talk About Chemical Destruction? / What Causes Cancer? / Who Is Most Vulnerable? / What Is the Precautionary Principle? / What Can We Do? • Audio commentaries: Commentary 1 featuring author Sandra Steingraber and director Chanda Chevannes / Commentary 2 featuring director Chanda Chevannes, editor Nathan Shields, and director of photography Benjamin Gervais



Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, this award-winning documentary follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links.

After a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives a worrisome result. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggle with a possible cancer recurrence and her public quest to bring attention to the toxic chemicals in our environment. We follow these invisible toxicants as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how they enter our bodies and, once inside, how they may contribute to cancer formation. Experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research talk about their own findings - findings that illuminate the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.

At once Sandra's personal journey and her scientific exploration, Living Downstream is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.

“Powerfully argued. Steingraber's scientific cool and unflagging sense of mission make for an arresting portrait of a self-styled modern-day Rachel Carson.” - The Washington Post

“A deftly interwoven examination of how cancer is experienced, treated and understood...forceful, reasoned and visually impressive.” - Canadian Medical Association Journal

“An absolute must-see. Excuse my clichés, but 'Living Downstream' is powerful, it is inspiring, it is moving, it is - quietly, like our hero - a tear-jerker. And, upon seeing it yourself, you are likely to make similar exhortations to your friends and family.”
- CineSource Magazine

Packaged in a 100% Certified Green Forestry Practices Eco Pack

UPC: 7-20229-91563-2 | Catalog #: FRF 915632D | SRP: $27.95 | Street Date: August 6

BOOM VARIETAL: The Rise of Argentine Malbec
72 minutes, documentary, color, English & Spanish w/English subtitles, 2011

A film by Sky Pinnick & Kirk Ermisch

Special Features • Behind the Scenes • Music Video: Sounds of Nuthin • Filmmaker Bio



The buzz among wine connoisseurs and novices alike, is one word - Malbec. Originally from France, Malbec found its perfect home, its perfect terroir in the dry Argentine climate. Its booming popularity has swept through the US and the world, reviving a varietal that has been nearly lost. Documenting how an inexpensive blend originally only intended for local demand rising to become an international star, Boom Varietal interviews winemakers spearheading the rise of Malbec, wine connoisseurs, as well as foreign investors hoping to profit from the boom. Boom Varietal will inspire not only your palate, but a love for Argentina's rich culture.

• Winner! Gold Kahnua Award, Honolulu Film Festival
• Silver Ace Award, Las Vegas Film Festival
• Bronze Palm Award, Mexico International Film Festival

“A great documentary...the film is excellent and truly portrays the passion and struggles behind the great Malbec wines we do enjoy here in North America.” - Mano a Vino

“The film captivated me, drawing me into the world of Malbec and the people and places associated with it.” - WineEconomist


Packaged in a 100% Certified Green Forestry Practices Eco Pack

UPC: 7-20229-91564-9 | Catalog #: FRF 915649D | SRP: $24.95 | Street Date: August 6

DUCH: Master of the Forges of Hell
103 minutes, documentary, color, French & Khmer w/English subtitles, 2011

A film by Rithy Panh

From Rithy Pahn, director of the notorious documentary S21: the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, comes his searing follow-up: Duch: Master of the Forges of Hell.

Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the death of nearly 2 million people - a quarter of the Cambodia population. Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, directed both the M13 and S21 centers where tens of thousands of people were tortured and executed. He is the first Khmer Rouge leader to be brought before an international criminal justice court; he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Panh films an incredible, horrifying in-depth interview with Duch, who candidly talks about his ascension in the Khmer Rouge party, and his involvement in the mass murder of his fellow Cambodians. As The Hollywood Reporter said, Panh's film is "likely one of the most elaborate discussions with someone responsible for mass genocide."

“Powerful...riveting...masterfully disturbing. A Cambodian 'Fog of War.'”- Variety

“A companion piece to his documentary, 'S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine,' Cambodian auteur Rithy Panh once again delves into his homeland's bloody historical record. Not unlike Hannah Arendt's classic study of Eichmann, 'Duch' describes a highly bureaucratic apparatus of death, where testimonies culled from tortured prisoners are scrutinized, corrected, and then sent to party headquarters to be examined by defense minister Son Sen and, occasionally, by Pol Pot himself. The film is most telling when Duch holds up copies of his own handwritten lists of slaughtered prisoners, revealing how an entire life was reduced by the Khmer regime into a single stroke of ink.”- The Hollywood Reporter

“Confronted with the evidence by director Rithy Panh, 'Duch' recounts the murderous methodology with chilling clarity - 'Torture them, interrogate them, destroy them' - and the ideological principles by which it was justified. While viewing video testimony from survivors regarding his misdeeds, he responds with some of the most disgusting laughter in all cinema... The twist at the end, in which he explains his newfound Christian devotion, adds a bitter irony.”- The New Yorker

Packaged in a 100% Certified Green Forestry Practices Eco Pack

UPC: 7-20229-91565-6 | Catalog #: FRF 915656D | SRP: $24.95 | Street Date: August 6

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