For Immediate Release, June 1, 2010
Contact:  Lauren Sucher, 202/429-3822 or lsucher@usip.org
                Allison Sturma, 202/429-4725 or asturma@usip.org

(Washington) – For the first time, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is participating in the AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival. The two organizations have teamed up to present a thematic strand of six films that explore the human side of conflict. The strand is called "Peacebuilding on Screen."
 
Tara Sonenshine, executive vice president of USIP, said, "The performing arts, and especially film, are such important parts of peacebuilding and can promote dialogue and international conflict management. The United States Institute of Peace is delighted to collaborate for the first time with AFI and Discovery Channel on the Silverdocs festival."
 
Sky Sitney, festival artistic director, has been working closely with the Institute to plan the festival program and welcomes the role of the Institute as a new partner. The film festival runs from June 21-27; full details of the select films, panels and presentations will be released in June. There will be panel discussions following each film.
 
The six films in the "Peacebuilding on Screen" strand are:

• BUDRUS / Israel/Palestinian Territories/USA, 2009, 82 minutes (Director: Julia Bacha)— This rousing film about one Palestinian village and its unlikely hero—humble family man turned activist Ayed Morrar—reveals the power of ordinary people to peaceably fight for extraordinary change.
• FOUND / Canada, 2009, 6 minutes (Director: Paramita Nath)—For Laotian-Canadian poet Souvankham Thammavongsa, a discarded scrapbook sheds light on a harsh infancy in Southeast Asia emphasizing how family memory is often an aggregation of disparate pieces.
• GRACE, MILLY, LUCY… CHILD SOLDIERS / Canada, 2010, 73 minutes (Director: Raymonde Provencher)—Grace Akallo is one of many northern Ugandan women attempting to live a normal adulthood after being forced as children to fight for the Lord's Resistance Army, a notoriously brutal rebel group. Akallo and several others have become activists, striving to help female ex-rebels find a voice in the world, acceptance at home and forgiveness from one another. (International Premiere)
• LA ISLA—ARCHIVES OF A TRAGEDY / Germany/Guatemala, 2010, 85 minutes (Director: Uli Stelzner)—Guatemala’s violent history of repression at the hands of extremist political regimes is laid bare following the discovery of a vast archive of secret police documents. As a team of dedicated forensic specialists sort through the files, the voices of the disappeared challenge the culture of impunity that plagued the nation.
• MY SO CALLED ENEMY / USA, 2010, 87 minutes (Director: Lisa Gossels)—Filmed over a seven-year period, the film follows a group of teenage Israeli and Palestinian girls committed to mutual understanding and a just solution to the conflict that continues to rage in their homeland. (World Premiere)
• WAR DON DON / Sierra Leone, 2010, 85 minutes (Director: Rebecca Richman Cohen)—Is Issa Sesay a war criminal guilty of crimes against humanity? Or a reluctant fighter who protected civilians and played a crucial role in forging peace in Sierra Leone? A trial in the United Nations’ “special court” in the heart of Freetown attempts to reveal the answer to this question.

Tickets and more information on the USIP “Peacebuilding on Screen” program at Silverdocs can be found at: www.silverdocs.com.

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About AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs
AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival is a six-day internationally recognized event that honors excellence in filmmaking, supports the diverse voices and free expression of independent storytellers and celebrates the power of documentary to improve our understanding of the world. Now in its eighth year, the 2010 festival runs June 21–27 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, DC area. The 2009 Festival featured 122 films from more than 60 countries and attracted over 27,000 attendees, including the influential audiences of the nation’s capital and media professionals from around the world. The concurrent five-day International Documentary Conference presents thought-provoking presentations and engages a diverse group of over 1,000 filmmakers and industry leaders concerned with the future of non-fiction storytelling, production and distribution. For more information, go to Silverdocs.com.
 
About the American Film Institute
AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work, and to educate the next generation of storytellers.  As a national, public-supported educational and cultural organization, AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is the only non-profit organization dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.
 
AFI preserves the legacy of America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative and scholarly record of American films made from 1896 to the present, and the AFI Archives, which contains rare and previously unseen footage from AFI's 40-plus year history.
 
AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of programs and special events during the year, including the annual AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards.  For 37 years, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the institute's almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year.  AFI's 100 Years/100 Movies… series and definitive movie reference lists, as well as Target presents AFI Night at the Movies, have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers.
 
And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the longest running international film festival in Los Angeles; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the US; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, D.C. area.
 
AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its world-renowned AFI Conservatory, offering a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines – Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. AFI also explores new digital technologies through AFI Conservatory curriculum and workshops and at AFI DigiFest, and showcases the work of young storytellers through AFI ScreenNation and emerging filmmakers through AFI Project: 20/20.
 
Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.
              
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 180 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green, and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit discoverycommunications.com.
 
About the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
AFI Silver is one of the nation's premier film theaters, building an appreciation of the art and artists through exploring and celebrating new and classic films and filmmakers from around the globe. AFI Silver offers a year-round program of the best in American and international cinema, featuring a dynamic mix of retrospectives, special events, tributes, on-stage guest appearances, specialty first-run movies, festivals, premieres, and education and community-based programs in a theatrical setting of the highest standards. Anchored by the stunningly restored 1938 Silver Theatre, the three-screen AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a state-of-the-art film and digital media exhibition venue that serves as a national model for preserving and honoring our shared film and film-going heritage.
 
About the United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe. Please visit www.usip.org.