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Contact: Kelly Hargraves
kelly.hargraves@firstrunfeatures.com
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  Contact: Michelle Berninger
michelle@firstrunfeatures.com
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  Press Releases below:
MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY  |   11 FLOWERS   |    FERLINGHETTI: A REBIRTH OF WONDER
 
   

MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY
120 minutes, documentary, color, 2012

A film by Stephen Vittoria

Featuring Cornel West, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Peter Coyote, Giancarlo Esposito, Amy Goodman, Ruby Dee, Tariq Ali, Dick Gregory, Ramona Africa & Dave Zirin


Special Feature • Short Film: Manufacturing Guilt: Is Mumia Innocent?*

Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now after more than 30 years in prison, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, provoke and inspire.

Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America's most famous political prisoner - a man whose existence tests our beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Angela Davis and others, this riveting film explores Mumia's life before, during and after Death Row - revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, "the most eloquent and most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world...the 21st Century Frederick Douglass."

• Featuring the song "Society" sung by Eddie Vedder

“This passionate documentary traces the path of a brilliant journalist whose message cannot be silenced.” - Variety

“A powerful indictment of the hypocrisy inherent in the American dream. A must-see for any and all who are concerned with upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans.” - The Huffington Post

“Fascinating and persuasive. Vittoria creates a context that suggests how easily innocents could be railroaded. The result is not unlike Oliver Stone's rewrite of U.S. history.” - Seattle Times

“Uncompromising.” - Boston Globe

“A bracing change from the usual back-and-forth of the evening news.” - The New York Times

“A firebrand intellectual, a political prisoner, a man of eloquence and insight... Vittoria offers lots of context - about the Black Panthers, MOVE, George Wallace, and Frank Rizzo... Abu-Jamal writing and talking about "mass incarceration," about Nat Turner and Frederick Douglass, from his tiny cell.” - Philadelphia Inquirer

“Juicy, visual... Vittoria does a fine job setting the stage and dissecting racial tensions.” - New York Daily News

UPC: 7-20229-91547-2 | Catalog #: FRF 915472D | SRP: $24.95 | Street Date: June 11

* Manufacturing Guilt, the new short film from Stephen Vittoria takes on the colossus of Abu-Jamal's contentious case, distilling a mountain of evidence and years of oft-repeated falsehoods to the most fundamental elements of police and prosecutorial misconduct that show a clear and conscious effort to frame Mumia Abu-Jamal for the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. This powerful 25 minute film clearly explains Abu-Jamal's account of the night, his clear and long-standing proclamations of innocence, and the absurdity and patent falsehoods that comprised the Philadelphia police and prosecution's original case. Thirty years of history and politics have tangled our understanding of this case nearly beyond comprehension. But Manufacturing Guilt cuts through the confusion to produce a clear picture of how Abu-Jamal's guilt was manufactured and his innocence suppressed beginning only moments after he and Faulkner were found shot in the early morning hours of December 9th, 1981. (Running Time - 25 minutes) C. Street Legal Cinema

11 FLOWERS
115 minutes, fiction, color, Mandarin w/English subtitles, 2011

A film by Wang Xiaoshuai

One of China's foremost directors, Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle, Shanghai Dreams) has created a moving coming-of-age tale set in the final days of China's Cultural Revolution.

11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in Guizhou province. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school in their daily gymnastics, he is told he must wear a clean, new shirt, which forces his family to make a great sacrifice. Soon after, Wang has an encounter with a wounded, desperate man on the run. In no time their fates are intertwined.

• The New York Times Critic's Pick

“Luminous, intimate & lovely.”- The New York Times

“A beautifully crafted, small gem of a film, reminiscent of Stand by Me.”- This Week in New York

“Critic's pick! A finely tuned, riveting drama.”- New York Magazine

“By turns wistful, hopeful and even funny, balancing a momentous historical context with a stirring evocation of childhood, 11 Flowers is among Wang Xiaoshuai's finest films.”- Variety

“Wang Xiaoshuai's latest masterpiece. The careful, observational beauty and depth of 11 Flowers puts it in the upper echelon of Wang's work. It might be his best film”- San Francisco Chronicle

“Recommended!”- National Public Radio

Packaged in a 100% Certified Green Forestry Practices Eco Pack

UPC: 7-20229-91549-6 | Catalog #: FRF 915496D | SRP: $27.95 | Street Date: June 11

FERLINGHETTI: A REBIRTH OF WONDER
79 minutes, documentary, color, 2010

A film by Christopher Felver

Featuring Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Allen Ginsberg; Pulitzer Prize winner Gary Snyder; Dennis Hopper; former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins; Dave Eggers; Anne Waldman; Obie Award winner Michael McClure; PEN Open Book Award winner Amiri Baraka; Bob Dylan & more


Special Feature • Ferlinghetti reads his poem "The History of the Airplane"

This incisive and entertaining portrait of American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti explores his vital role as catalyst for numerous literary careers and for the Beat movement itself. Interviews with Ferlinghetti and others reveal a rich mélange of characters and events that unfolded in postwar America, including the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. In 1953 Ferlinghetti opened City Lights Bookstore, which quickly evolved into an iconic institution symbolizing social change and literary freedom. Six decades later, it is still going.

“Rousing! A wide-ranging knockabout jamboree.” - Christian Science Monitor

“He was not just present at the creation of the Beat Generation, he was also one of its midwives.” - The New York Times

“A pleasure.” - Village Voice

“Refreshing and revealing.” - This Week in New York

“A thoughtful, vividly shot film...set against the turbulent background of post-war America and the rise of beat culture.”
- Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the United States (2001-2003)

Packaged in a 100% Certified Green Forestry Practices Eco Pack

UPC: 7-20229-91548-9 | Catalog #: FRF 915489D | SRP: $24.95 | Street Date: June 11

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