Documentary

Fox Searchlight to Remake MEET THE PATELS

Fox Searchlight will remake MEET THE PATELS, the documentary that won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, reports Deadline. The remake will be written and co-directed by the original brother and sister team of Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel.
MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30-year-old Indian-American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams … and his parents. Filmed by Ravi’s sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair.

Fresh out of a breakup with his secret white girlfriend, who his parents knew nothing about, and freaked out that he’s almost 30 and single, Ravi goes on a family vacation to India with his head and heart spinning.

Ravi is willing to do whatever it takes to find love—but there’s one tricky detail to consider: In his family, everyone has the last name Patel. Patels marry other Patels. It’s not incest, it means they are from the same 50-square mile radius in India. Struck with how overwhelmingly happy the marriages are of his Patel family and friends, Ravi enters a fool-proof Patel matchmaking system and embarks on a worldwide search for another American Patel just like him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7litSYXbpRs
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LUCHA MEXICO to US Premiere at DOC NYC 2015 | TRAILER

LUCHA MEXICO will have its US PREMIERE at the upcoming DOC NYC 2015. Directed by Ian Markiewicz & Alexandria Hammond (Better Than Something: Jay Reatard), the ultimate look behind the mask, LUCHA MEXICO documents the joyous spectacle of Lucha Libre, which has thrilled fans in Mexico for generations. The film gives the audience the ultimate access to these legendary masked wrestlers, in the ring and beyond the lights of the stadium. Born into the entertainment business, ‘El 1000% Guapo’ SHOCKER is one of the most successful Luchadores of the modern era. His life is consumed by a need to be in the ring. As tag team partner with extreme American strength competitor JON ‘STRONGMAN’ ANDERSON, Shocker also becomes a guide to working in Mexico City. After long days of body building at Fabian’s Gym, owned and operated by their masked wrestler colleague FABIAN “EL GITANO,” these uniqueentertainers headline events around the country. Injuries and death eventually threaten to endthese thriving careers, forcing each performer to search for what truly matters in their lives. A supporting cast of fan-favorites further reveal Lucha Libre from the inside, with BLUE DEMON JR discussing life behind a legendary mask, the tragic HIJO DEL PERRO AGUAYO pursuing violent creative change, and veterans like TONY SALAZAR and ARKANGEL teaching the new generation. These stars and more illuminate the physical and emotional challenges they face in the constant fight to stand between the ropes and thrill every last fan. With an unprecedented level of access to the top Lucha promotions and performers in the world, LUCHA MEXICO steps into the ring, pulls back the mask, and reveals a powerful look into the beating heart of Mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POs2psGsCE0
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‘Straight’ John Refuses to Marry Transexual Martine Until She Gets a Real Vagina in Trans Documentary TRANSFIXED | TRAILER

Alon Kol’s feature documentary TRANSFIXED will be presented within the FOCUS section at the Festival du nouveau cinema in Montreal, Canada, on October 14th and Octber 17th. In the film Martine Stonehouse and John Gelmon are middle-aged underdogs, living with Asperger Syndrome. Despite their social limitations, both dream of getting married, but straight-identifying John refuses to tie the knot until transsexual Martine gets a real vagina. Will Martine and John find together the happiness that they deserve? Transfixed will be released in Canada in early 2016. Throughout his life, Martine Stonehouse fought for his rights as transgender. His spouse John Gelmone, Asperger’s syndrome and Tourette’s unconditional support. But the two can not consummate their love Martine must undergo the final sex change operation. Although the director Alon Kol had enough material to trace the route of the activist awarded the Pride Award of Toronto in 2012, he chose instead to present the difficult Martine path toward its complete transformation into a woman. A difficult road since even if it is surrounded by friends that show him gratitude and affection, his weight problem, highlighted by several experts, represents a dangerous obstacle to his surgery and his health. Without compromise or complacency documentary Kol enters the intimacy of this woman and reveals a fragile but an unrivaled determination. Forget the prestige Caitlin Jenner; the portrait offers the filmmaker is that of a woman whose daily lives are much more modest and the economic situation certainly more precarious, but the narrative is no less upsetting. While the transgender community is recognized as never before, Martine Stonehouse itself as a heroine to be welcomed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJrLhGOwqsI
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San Francisco Film Society Launches Doc Stories, Opens With New York Times Op-Docs

The San Francisco Film Society is launching a new documentary film series, Doc Stories, with the inaugural edition taking place November 5 to 8, 2015. Alongside the feature film selections, 2015 Doc Stories will also include a number of programs of short films, which will explore the importance of the form to contemporary journalism and the realities of online content consumption. The Opening Night will feature New York Times Op-Docs, and the Closing Night will feature Heart of a Dog directed by Laurie Anderson. 2015 Doc Stories Lineup New York Times Op-Docs OPENING NIGHT Filmmakers in conversation with Op-Docs series producer Kathleen Lingo The New York Times, perhaps the world’s most influential and important media company, has been creating short-form content since 2011 and has also been especially supportive of Bay Area filmmakers. This program runs the gamut from Pentecostal preachers to klezmer-playing Holocaust survivors and celebrates this exceptional fusion of groundbreaking journalism and inspirational documentary filmmaking. (70 min) Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom Evgeny Afineevsky (Ukraine/USA/UK 2015, 102 min) This on-the-ground document of the Ukrainian civic uprising that resulted in the departure of President Viktor Yanukovych melds startling footage of events as they unfold with subsequent testimonials from witnesses and participants to create a visceral portrait of historic events and some of the individuals who made up a popular movement. Director Evgeny Afineevsky skillfully manages multiple perspectives and stories to create a coherent and vital rendering of history unfolding moment to moment. Song of Lahore Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (USA/Pakistan 2015, 82 min) Director and special guests in person Pakistan’s Sachel Studios was founded in 2004 in an attempt to preserve and revive centuries-old musical traditions that faced extinction after the imposition of Sharia law in the ’70s and more current Taliban pressure discouraging musical performance. When a video of the group’s version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” performed on traditional Pakistani instruments goes viral online, they get a chance to gain the kind of acclaim that Lahore’s musicians once enjoyed. What Happened, Miss Simone? Liz Garbus (USA 2014, 102 min) Director and special guest in person After its glorious reception at SFIFF58, the Film Society offers another opportunity to see this extraordinary documentary on the big screen. A full biography filled with candid conversations, interviews, letters and performances, this film is the definitive take on Nina Simone’s life. Paying special attention to her career-jeopardizing choices during the Civil Rights movement and her insistence on justice and unflinching when presenting her surprising weaknesses, What Happened, Miss Simone? is a fitting portrait of an inimitable and powerful artist. Cartel Land Matthew Heineman (USA/Mexico 2015, 100 min) Director and special guests in person This bold film gives extraordinary access to dangerous and sometimes deadly skirmishes in the Mexico-US drug wars, following vigilante groups on either side of the border as they empower themselves to take action against drug cartels that they feel are endangering their everyday lives. A vivid and sometimes brutal portrait of citizens motivated to take the law into their own hands, Cartel Land reveals fault lines and grey areas in every aspect of the conflict. A Conversation with Davis Guggenheim Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim will participate in an intimate onstage conversation about his documentary work and current film, He Named Me Malala, an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and her fight for the rights of girls around the world. Guggenheim has directed some of the most successful documentaries of the last decade and this will be a rare opportunity to hear about his approach to his craft, and thoughts about the documentary form. (70 min) Field of Vision Series co-founder AJ Schnack in person Launched in late September, Field of Vision is a new film unit committed to artistically thoughtful documentaries, rooted in investigative journalism. Created by Oscar winner Laura Poitras (Citizenfour), AJ Schnack (Caucus) and Charlotte Cook, Field of Vision will pair filmmakers with developing and ongoing stories around the globe. Join co-creator AJ Schnack for a selection of original films from the inaugural season and a conversation about the series’ creation and the current state of short-form documentary. (TRT 90 min) Janis: Little Girl Blue Amy Berg (USA 2015, 106 min) Director and special guests in person Most of us are familiar with the iconic Janis Joplin, troubled wild child of the San Francisco music scene of the ’60s who died tragically of an overdose at the age of 27. Amy Berg goes beyond the legend to present an intimate portrait of a complicated artist, weaving archival material-some of it never seen before-with compelling interviews and Joplin’s reflective letters to friends and family, read with a bright sweetness by Chan Marshall (Cat Power). Profiles in Courage: Short Documentaries from HBO Filmmakers in person Ebola in Liberia, LGBT rights in Cuba, a brave Nepalese couple seeking to regain their eyesight. HBO has long been the acknowledged leader in the documentary world, and never more so than now. These inspiring short films-all strong contenders for the Academy’s short list for short documentary films-show the unique global perspective and entertaining storytelling style that make HBO such an important contributor to film culture. (TRT 93 min) Thank You for Playing David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall (USA 2015, 82 min) Co-directors in person When video game developer Ryan Green’s very young son Joel is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, he turns to what he knows best to combat his family’s emotional upheaval-he creates a game. With great emotional power, co-directors David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall create an intimate space for their heart-rending documentary that demonstrates how art and technology can help process grief and combat the various dragons everyone must try to slay. Hitchcock/Truffaut Kent Jones (France/USA 2015, 80 min) Director in person One of cinema’s most influential books is brought vividly to life in Kent Jones’s enjoyable and expertly constructed documentary that illuminates the careers of and relationship between two of cinema’s greats, Alfred Hitchcock and François Truffaut. Featuring audio recordings of the interview between the two masters, gorgeous film clips and interviews with directors such as Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Olivier Assayas and Martin Scorsese, this is essential viewing for any lover of cinema. Heart of a Dog CLOSING NIGHT Laurie Anderson (USA 2015, 75 min) Director in person Laurie Anderson’s playful essay film is nominally a tribute to her rat terrier, Lolabelle. In her inimitable way, Anderson takes this canine paean as her center and folds in a world of moving, funny and salient ideas about life, death, love, truth, memory, Buddhism and our four-legged soul mates. Skillfully weaving personal memories with inspired connections to current events and philosophy, Anderson creates a funny and moving meditation for dog lovers and other humans.
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HOT SUGAR’S COLD WORLD Sets Release Date of November 6 | TRAILER

Hot Sugar’s Cold World, a fly-on-the-wall look into the life of a modern-day Mozart, Nick Koenig (Hot Sugar) as he creates one-of-a-kind music made entirely out of sounds from the world around him, will open November 6, 2015 in theaters and iTunes with special live performances to follow across the US and Canada. Nick lives every young musician’s dream, but when his internet- famous girlfriend, (rapper Kitty) goes on tour and they split, he flies to Paris where he grew up, to move on with his life, while hunting for increasingly unique and exotic sounds to sample and turn into beats. Through his journey, Hot Sugar goes on some crazy adventures, meets some fascinating people and learns what it takes to survive as an artist. With appearances by former members of Das Racist, legendary filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Only Lovers Left Alive), the world’s most renowned Astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos” on FOX) and comedian Martin Starr (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”) among a host of other musicians and personalities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V5CJaa5zLE Hot Sugar’s Cold World, an official selections of 2015 SXSW Film Festival and 2015 Hot Docs Film Festival, is directed by Adam Bhala Lough, Executive Produced by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill, and features Nick Koenig, Martin Starr, Kool AD, Heems, Dapwell, Kitty, Rachel Trachtenburg, Jim Jarmusch, Dr. Neil deGrasse, Tyson, Shelby Fero.
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Janis Joplin Documentary JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE Sets November Release Date

The Janis Joplin documentary JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE will be released in the US via FilmRise reports Variety. JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE will be released in theaters in New York on November 27 and in Los Angeles and additional cities early December with home media and digital to follow. The documentary will make its U.S. TV broadcast premiere on PBS’s American Masters in 2016. Written and directed by Berg, the Oscar-nominated documentarian known for Deliver Us From Evil and West of Memphis, Janis: Little Girl Blue examines the iconic rock ‘n’ roll singer with exclusive interviews with friends and family and never-before-seen letters, photos, audio, and video footage of Joplin. The documentary also includes a number of letters Joplin wrote to her parents, read by singer Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power. “Janis Joplin, the artist and the woman, was a major figure in the counterculture movement,” Berg said in a release. “She also played an important role for women as a ground breaker and the first woman of rock and roll. I am so pleased that FilmRise will be giving this film a platform so that more people can be introduced to this wonderfully talented and complex icon.”
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Civil Rights Icon Grace Lee Boggs, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, Dies at 100

Grace Lee Boggs, civil rights icon, and subject of the 2013 documentary American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, has died at the age of 100. According to the a statement on the Boggs Center website, Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit on Monday night, October 5, 2015. Philosopher-Activist Grace Lee Boggs Dies in Detroit: A Champion for the People October 5, 2015–Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit this morning. She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Grace was an internationally known philosopher activist for justice. She had been politically active since the 1930’s working with A. Phillip Randolph’s first march on Washington and later C.L.R. James. For more than 40 years she worked closely with her late husband James Boggs in advancing ideas of revolution and evolution for the 20th and 21st Centuries. She helped organize the 1963 March down Woodward Avenue with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Grassroots Leadership Conference with Malcolm X. Grace Lee Boggs was active in Labor, Civil Rights, Black Power, women and environmental justice movements. Later, with her husband James, she helped organize SOSAD, WePros, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Gardening Angels and Detroit Summer. Grace was a founding member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership and was a strong advocate for place based education and supported the James and Grace Lee Boggs School. “Grace died as she lived surrounded by books, politics, people and ideas,” said Alice Jennings and Shea Howell, two of her Trustees. A memorial celebrating her life will be announced later. President Barack Obama, issued a statement, saying “Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of author, philosopher, and activist Grace Lee Boggs. Grace dedicated her life to serving and advocating for the rights of others – from her community activism in Detroit, to her leadership in the civil rights movement, to her ideas that challenged us all to lead meaningful lives. As the child of Chinese immigrants and as a woman, Grace learned early on that the world needed changing, and she overcame barriers to do just that. She understood the power of community organizing at its core – the importance of bringing about change and getting people involved to shape their own destiny. Grace’s passion for helping others, and her work to rejuvenate communities that had fallen on hard times spanned her remarkable 100 years of life, and will continue to inspire generations to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with Grace’s family and friends, and all those who loved her dearly.” The filmmakers of the documentary also issued a statement saying, “Grace Lee Boggs passed away peacefully this morning. We are so grateful for the vision of justice and human connection that she gave us and feel incredibly privileged to have been able to share her story with others.” The documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, plunges us into Boggs’s lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labor to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond. Boggs’s constantly evolving strategy—her willingness to re-evaluate and change tactics in relation to the world shifting around her—drives the story forward. Angela Davis, Bill Moyers, Bill Ayers, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Danny Glover, Boggs’s late husband James and a host of Detroit comrades across three generations help shape this uniquely American story. As she wrestles with a Detroit in ongoing transition, contradictions of violence and non-violence, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, the 1967 rebellions, and non-linear notions of time and history, Boggs emerges with an approach that is radical in its simplicity and clarity: revolution is not an act of aggression or merely a protest. Revolution, Boggs says, is about something deeper within the human experience — the ability to transform oneself to transform the world. POV is streaming the film for free until November 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JvyZtNA4CU
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Marlon Brando Documentary LISTEN TO ME MARLON to Premiere on Showtime

LISTEN TO ME MARLON which premiered earlier this year at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, will premiere on SHOWTIME on Saturday, November 14th at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon), LISTEN TO ME MARLON, unlocks two-time Oscar(R) winner Marlon Brando’s extensive never-before-heard personal audio archive, bringing viewers on a creative odyssey into the mind and motivation of the enigmatic legend. As the lines between Brando’s on screen persona and personal life blurred, his audio recordings uncover his intellectual introspection, humor and sensitivity; a man in perpetual search for moral clarity. LISTEN TO ME MARLON was released in over 150 theaters this summer and was one of this year’s most successful films at Film Forum in New York. Unbeknownst to the public, Marlon Brando amassed a vast archive of personal audio materials over the course of his lifetime. Now – for the first time – those audio recordings come to life in LISTEN TO ME MARLON. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film reveals the complexities and contradictions that were Marlon Brando by telling the story in his own words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZlWjE_NJfI LISTEN TO ME MARLON is written, edited and directed by Stevan Riley and produced by Academy Award(R)-winning producer John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man, The Tillman Story), Emmy(R) winner R.J. Cutler (THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DICK CHENEY, The September Issue) and Emmy Award nominee George Chignell (Ali). Academy Award-winner Andrew Ruhemann serves as the executive producer. LISTEN TO ME MARLON is a Passion Pictures production.
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Watch Video Clip from I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ to Premiere on Showtime October 30

I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ, a feature-length film chronicling the New York Giants wide receiver’s rise to football stardom, demoralizing injury, and his dramatic attempt at a comeback, will premiere on Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. In the video tease, Cruz details his mindset as he prepares to make his anticipated return to the field. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKsmS-dAPmA The unscripted film debuts in the midst of the NFL season as the former Super Bowl Champion aims to return as one of the league’s elite wide receivers. A former undrafted free agent, Cruz tore his patellar tendon in 2014 in just his second season after signing a multi-million dollar contract. The debilitating injury forced Cruz to miss the remainder of the 2014 season and undergo rehab with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ chronicles that comeback and introduces viewers to a humble giant battling the most challenging obstacle of his life. The film is directed by Gotham Chopra (KOBE BRYANT’S MUSE) who serves as executive producer alongside producing partners Chris Uettwiller and Martin Desmond Roe. Elaina Watley also serves as executive producer under the Kennedy Blvd. banner, as will NBA star LeBron James and Maverick Carter, CEO of SpringHill Entertainment.
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Feature Documentary TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL to Open on October 16 | TRAILER

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, a new feature documentary exploring the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most iconic classic movie stars, will open in New York City on October 16, before expanding to Los Angeles and additional markets across the country. Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Vito, I Am Divine), TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL features unfiltered interviews with Tab Hunter himself, as well as friends and co-stars including George Takei, Clint Eastwood, John Waters, Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner.
Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. In dozens of films – and in the pages of countless movie magazines – Tab’s astonishing looks and golden-boy sex appeal drove his fans to screaming, delirious frenzy, making him the prototype for all young matinee idols to come. Bristling against being just another pretty face and wanting to be taken seriously, Tab was one of the few to be able to transcend pin-up boy status. He earned his stripes as an actor to become a major movie star and recording artist. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Now, Tab’s dramatic, turbulent and ultimately inspiring life story has become an explosive documentary feature directed by Emmy award winning filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz. The film has the unique advantage of exclusive, unprecedented access to Tab Hunter himself who shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image. We will trace Tab’s dizzying rise to Hollywood super-stardom, his secret life in an era when being openly gay was unthinkable, and his ultimate triumph when the limelight finally passed him by. Punctuating Tab’s on screen presence will be rare film clips and provocative interviews with friends and co-stars including John Waters, Clint Eastwood, George Takei, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Portia de Rossi, Noah Wyle, Connie Stevens, Robert Osborne, and dozens more. TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL is an important piece of Hollywood’s hidden history that is more relevant than ever in today’s obsessive, star-driven, sexuality speculating media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTiAAHYhyw
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Jon Whelan’s Documentary STINK! to Open on Black Friday | TRAILER

STINK! is a new feature documentary that presents consumers with crucial information on how seemingly safe, everyday products can contain undisclosed chemicals linked to cancer and fertility issues. After purchasing brand new pajamas for his young daughters as a Christmas gift, single father Jon Whelan is troubled when opening the packaging releases a foul odor. Determined to uncover the source of this mysterious stench and whether it poses a health risk to his daughters, Whelan quickly discovers that manufacturers and retailers in the U.S. have no obligation to reveal chemicals used in their products, even if those chemicals can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive damage. Journeying from retailers and manufacturers to corporate boardrooms and the halls of Congress, Whelan clashes with political and corporate operatives all trying to protect the darkest secrets of the chemical industry. Directed by Jon Whelan, STINK! opens in New York on Black Friday, November 27 and Los Angeles of December 4, before expanding to additional markets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICN52Uzoo0I
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Activist Malala Yousafzai, HE NAMED ME MALALA, at 2015 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park NYC

Activist Malala Yousafzai (C) speaks on stage at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival to end extreme poverty by 2030 in Central Park on September 26, 2015 in New York City. Malala is the subject of the documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). HE NAMED ME MALALA opens in select theaters on Friday, October 2nd 2015.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghiYve6k68
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