FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AFI-DISCOVERY CHANNEL SILVERDOCS DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
BOOKENDS 10TH EDITION WITH INSPIRING MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY Opens Festival
BIG EASY EXPRESS Closes Festival
Silver Spring, MD, May 23, 2012 – AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival, created through a unique alliance between the American Film Institute and Discovery Communications to recognize excellence in documentary film, announced that it will open and close with two highly anticipated music documentaries: Ramona Diaz’s DON ’T STOP BELIEVIN ’: EVERYMAN ’S JOURN EY (2011) will open the festival on Monday,
June 18, 2012 and Emmett Malloy’s BIG EASY EXPRESS (2012) will close the seven-day event on June 23, 2012. The screenings mark the Washington, DC premieres of both films. The annual festival, celebrating its 10th edition this year, takes place June 18-24, 2012 at the historic AFI Silver Theatre.
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY is the inspiring rags-to-riches story of Filipino singer Arnel Pineda as he is plucked from obscurity via Youtube to become the new lead singer of the iconic American pop band Journey.
BIG EASY EXPRESS is a jubilant celebration of music when filmmaker Emmett Malloy follows bands Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show as they travel from California by train and embark on a six-stop tour that takes them ultimately to New Orleans. Whether playing before adoring crowds or jamming spontaneously against the scenic backdrop of rural American landscapes, these three bands showcase their remarkable talents, which are sumptuously captured with celebratory fervor.
“We are thrilled to bookend the 10th edition of the AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival with two spirited films that harness the passion and creativity of these musicians,” said Sky Sitney, Festival Director. “In the opening selection, we see a miraculous relationship between frustrated dreams and their uncanny fulfilment years later. In the closing film, we get a front row seat to the personalities and the power of the creative process that go into making this magical art called ‘music.’”
American Airlines, the official airline of AFI, is a proud sponsor of AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs.
About AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs
AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival is a seven-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. Celebrating its tenth edition this year, the 2012 festival runs June 18-24 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, DC area, attracting over 27,000 documentary enthusiasts and motion picture arts professionals from around the world. AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs’ 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. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is 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 for future generations through the AFI Archive, comprised of rare footage from across the history of the moving image and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present.
AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of annual programs and special events, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. Celebrating its 40th year in 2012, 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 television events and movie reference lists 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 Institute’s annual celebration of excellence in global cinema; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the U.S., celebrating its 10th edition this year; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, DC area.
AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its world-renowned AFI Conservatory, named the #1 film school in the world by The Hollywood Reporter for the quality of its instructors and speakers, and its “glittering parade of alumni.” AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and
Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling.
For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/ AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 200 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through more than 140 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery
Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as US joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit discoverycommunications.com.
