SNAGFILMS PICKS UP AWARD-WINNING KATRINA DOCUMENTARY
“Independent America – Rising from Ruins” launched on SnagFilms
TORONTO, SEATTLE, NEW YORK (September 7, 2010): Independent America – Rising from Ruins, the award winning documentary from HRH Media and Open Door, has been acquired for broadcast by US premium content website Snag Films (www.snagfilms.com), the leading destination for independent documentary film. It is being released today as Snags featured film.
The film reveals the passionate struggle of small business owners in New Orleans and how they risked everything to resurrect their neighborhoods after Katrina. In the face of roadblocks from not only big box retail, but from their own government, the people in the film demonstrate the perseverance and dedication of the human spirit.
The 70-minute HD film was awarded “Best Feature” at the 2009 New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival and was a Featured Selection of the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival, North America’s largest film festival. More detail can be found at www.risingfromruin.com.
Set in the spring of 2008, three years after the disaster, the film shows many communities that still lack local services such as grocery stores, gas stations and banks. Yet, government support and financial breaks for large chain stores - including tax-free land and buildings - have resulted in small, local businesses being forced to subsidize their competition through the assessment of higher property taxes. Compounding the struggle – the injustice - for the small outfits is decreased sales due to competition and an inability to compete with lower prices offered by the larger stores. This is the story of the frustrating, spirited battle of a people passionately dedicated to bringing their communities back to life in an enduring, sustainable way.
The film’s director Hanson Hosein, a former NBC foreign correspondent and Emmy winner, adds: "I’m pleased that we can share our film in such a widespread way, particularly to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating landfall. Post-Katrina New Orleans offers many lessons for a country in crisis, and how fiercely independent local businesses can help resuscitate an economy." Hosein is the Director of the Master in Communication Digital Media program at the University of Washington.
Executive Producer/Producer Tom Powers (Open Door Co.) adds; “We are very happy to be getting this film and it’s message out there with the help of SnagFilms. They have been a great partner in the past and we look forward to expanding our relationship with this release”.
"SnagFilms is thrilled to be featuring Rising From Ruins continuing our commitment to bringing Open Door's unique and amazingly inspirational stories to as wide an online audience possible. We hope that as New Orleans and the surrounding communities continue to heal from Katrina and BP oil spill that Rising From Ruins will serve as a beacon of hope on a very personal level” adds Andrew Mer, VP Content Partnerships at SnagFilms.
Rising from Ruins is the follow up to the award-winning Sundance Channel film Independent America – The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop, which is also featured on Snag Films, as well as Hulu.com.
About HRH Media (http://www.hrhmedia.com)
HRH Media is an independent production company headed by Emmy Award winner and NBC foreign correspondent, Hanson Hosein and his partner, network news journalist Heather Hughes (NBC, MSNBC). Hosein is presently Director of the Master of Communications in Digital Media program (http://mcdm.uw.edu) at the University of Washington in Seattle.
About Open Door (www.opendoorco.com)
Launched in 2005, Open Door is in the business of producing, distributing and investing in “Content That Matters” across all media platforms. Other films it has produced include the award winning documentaries Independent America – The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop (Sundance Channel), Black Nation(SVT) and Cracked Not Broken (HBO).
About SnagFilms
SnagFilms features free ad-supported viewing of more than 1600 award-winning titles from some of the greatest names in documentary film production and distribution. Since its launch in July 2008, SnagFilms’ library has been featured on over 1 billion web page views, including throughout the AOL channels, and the websites of The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Politico, hundreds of blogs, and thousands of social network pages.
“Independent America: Rising from Ruins” an Official Selection at the Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) announced that “Independent America: Rising from Ruins” (www.risingfromruins.com) has been officially selected to take part in the 2009 festival. The film reveals the passionate struggle of small business owners in New Orleans and how they risked everything to resurrect their neighborhoods after Katrina. In the face of roadblocks from not only big box retail, but from their own government, the people in the film demonstrate the perseverance and dedication of the human spirit.
Shot in full high-definition, the 70-minute film will be screened twice, on Monday, May 25 at 6:30 pm, Pacific Place Cinemas 11 and again on Wednesday, May 27 at 4:45 pm, Pacific Place Cinemas 11.
Set in the spring of 2008, three years after the disaster, the film shows many communities that still lack local services such as grocery stores, gas stations and banks. Yet, government support and financial breaks for large chain stores - including tax-free land and buildings - have resulted in small, local businesses being forced to subsidize their competition through the assessment of higher property taxes. Compounding the struggle – the injustice - for the small outfits is decreased sales due to competition and an inability to compete with lower prices offered by the larger stores. This is the story of the frustrating, spirited battle of a people passionately dedicated to bringing their communities back to life in an enduring, sustainable way.
"I'm incredibly honored to have our film featured at the largest festival in North America for people who truly love movies,” said Hanson Hosein, the film’s director. “Seattle is now my hometown, and very much embodies the independent, self-sufficient ideals of Independent America. So in a sense, there's a direct connection between this city and New Orleans as it's featured in the documentary.”
SIFF's mission is “to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that a community is fostered that is more informed, aware, and alive.”
Producer Tom Powers (Open Door Co.) adds; “Having never been to New Orleans before, I was most struck by the scale of the destruction – even three years after the fact there is still so much to do. I was even more struck, however, by the resolve and determination of those who came back to attempt the rebuilding of a sustainable future. Their personal risk is enormous”.
The film’s director, Hanson Hosein, will be present at each of the SIFF screenings, available for interviews and questions.
CONTACT
Tom Powers, Executive Producer: (416) 855-7386; tpowers@opendoorco.com
INDEPENDENT AMERICA – RISING FROM RUINS, WINS BEST FEATURE AT NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
NEW ORLEANS/TORONTO APRIL 14, 2009 - Independent America: Rising from Ruins has won the Patois Award for Best Feature at the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival. The film (70’, HD) (http://www.risingfromruins.com) takes a hard yet hopeful look at the risks and rewards faced by entrepreneurs leading the recovery in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Emily Ratner, Festival Co-Director states, “We are thrilled to present the Patois Award for Best Feature to the film Independent America: Rising From Ruins. This award is one of the highest honors that our festival bestows and is given to the film that most exemplifies our mission: using the media of film to generate and promote community dialogue about important social justice issues. Rising from Ruins is exactly the kind of film we love to present. It is a powerful film that is especially relevant to all of us living here in New Orleans. And it’s great filmmaking.”
The film’s director Hanson Hosein, former NBC foreign correspondent and Emmy winner, adds: “It’s daunting to make a film about such a storied city as New Orleans. So this award tells me that we got it right. It’s exactly the momentum we need as we take “Rising from Ruins” national. Post-Katrina New Orleans offers many lessons for a country in crisis, especially how fiercely independent local businesses can help resuscitate an economy.” Hosein is the Director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media http://mcdm.washington.edu/ program at the University of Washington.
Executive Producer, Tom Powers from Open Door states: “We are honored to have been given this award – particularly in New Orleans. It means a lot and we look forward to screening the film around the country”. He noted the film’s next screening will be at the Seattle International Film Festival in May.
Independent America: Rising From Ruins, is a co-production of Open Door Co. and HRH Media.
About PATOIS: New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival (www.patoisfilmfest.org
PATOIS was founded by New Orleans artists and activists, and is dedicated to nurturing the city’s human rights community. PATOIS is the language spoken at the intersection of art and social justice.
About Open Door (www.opendoorco.com)
Launched in 2005, Open Door is in the business of producing, acquiring, distributing and investing in Content That Matters. It is content with a Double Bottom Line:
• High impact personal, social & political themes, characters and subjects
• Provocative, edgy, uncomfortable, thoughtful, intelligent, challenging
• Real stories that make a difference in who we are, how we view ourselves and how we relate to others
About HRH Media (www.hrhmedia.com)
HRH Media is an independent production company headed by Emmy Award winner and NBC foreign correspondent, Hanson Hosein and his partner, network news journalist Heather Hughes (NBC, MSNBC). Hosein is presently Director of the Master of Communications in Digital Media program http://www.uwdigitalmedia.org/ at the University of Washington in Seattle.
CONTACT
Tom Powers, Executive Producer: (416) 855-7386; tpowers@opendoorco.com
Emily Ratner, Co-director, New Orleans International Film Festival: (216) 978-1395
emily@nolahumanrights.org
TORONTO/EDMONTON Jan. 22, 2009 - Independent America: Rising from Ruins, a new feature documentary by filmmaker Hanson Hosein and Executive Producer Tom Powers will have its world premiere on Super Channel, Jan. 26, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET. The pairs’ first collaboration, the award-winning Independent America - The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop will immediately precede it at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Independent America: Rising from Ruins (70’, HD) (www.risingfromruins.com) takes a hard yet hopeful look at the risks and rewards of small business ownership in post Katrina New Orleans. It depicts the locals coming home to resurrect their businesses and neighborhoods and the challenges they now face from all sides including their City government and big box retail.
Hanson Hosein, a former NBC foreign correspondent and Emmy winner who is currently the Director of the Master in Communication Digital Media program at the University of Washington, said “It’s inspiring how small business was the first to return to the city, even as some chain retailers chose not to return.” “There’s a lesson there for any community in distress after a disaster – who can you count on? The answer we found, quite simply, is your neighbour”.
Tom Powers (Open Door Co.) adds; “Having never been to New Orleans before, I was most struck by the scale of the destruction – even three years after the fact there is still so much to do. I was even more struck, however, by the resolve and determination of those who came back to attempt the rebuilding of a sustainable future. Their personal risk is enormous”.
“Super Channel is proud to offer smart documentaries, produced by Canadian companies like Open Door. They are a terrific example of the innovation we are offering viewers,” said Sandy Perkins, Super Channel, Vice-President of Programming. “Our goal is to offer Canadians more programs that can’t be found anywhere else and we are pleased we can find entertainment made right here at home.”
For Hosein, Rising from Ruins is the completion of an unfinished journey. When doing his first full-length documentary “Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop”, Hosein and his wife, Heather Hughes, decided to bypass New Orleans six weeks before Katrina hit, in order to make a key interview with Wal Mart in Arkansas. “Now we’re here to honor the voices of Moms & Pops and hopefully help them shape the future of an independent New Orleans,” says Hosein.
Independent America: Rising From Ruins, shot and produced in full HD video, is a co-production between Open Door Co. and HRH Media.
CONTACT
Tom Powers, Executive Producer: (416) 855-7386; tpowers@opendoorco.com
For Super Channel
Sylvie Powell, Communications: 613-290-1497; spowell@medialanecom.com
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“Independent America: Rising from Ruins” to have worldwide premiere in New Orleans on 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Three years after Hurricane Katrina’s onslaught, New Orleans is at a tipping point. Parts of the city still look like a war zone, the recovery further slowed by a bad economy and high energy prices.
Some neighborhoods remain half-populated, former residents scared away by a lack of essential services – particularly retail. As “The Shock Doctrine” author Naomi Klein told us, “New Orleans is still being destroyed.”
However, even as chain retailers are reluctant to return to the city in the aftermath of the storm, independent Mom & Pop stores immediately stepped into breach. “Independent America: Rising from Ruins” is the inspirational story of the small businesses that have risked everything to resurrect their neighborhoods.
From the city’s top chef (and former marine) who manned a soup kitchen, to the hardware store owner who kept looters at bay to provide vital supplies, this documentary shows how neighborhood Mom & Pops are crucial to community vitality – especially during times of disaster.
Shot in full high-definition, “Rising from Ruins” will have its worldwide premiere at the Katrina-related event, “We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For,” organized by The New Orleans Institute, on Saturday August 30th. The film’s director, Hanson Hosein, will be in the city and available for interviews that week.
The production is funded by Canadian broadcaster Superchannel as well as the University of Washington’s Department of Communication. Contact: film@independentamerica.net +1.206.801.1867 (Pacific) or +1.416.587.0541(EasterIndependent America: Rising From Ruins, is a co-production of Open Door Co. and HRH Media.