Comcast, Miami Dade College, Univision Radio Stations in Miami Partner with
Rogues Harbor Studios to Sponsor Premier Screening
NEW YORK, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rogues Harbor Studios' inaugural
release, the award-winning documentary "SHOOT DOWN", will premier in
MiamiJanuary 18 at a screening to feature elected officials and a question and
answer session with the filmmakers.
The film, by first-time director and Rogues Harbor co-founder Cristina Khuly,
a Miami native, is the first feature-length film to take on the true and
gripping story of the 1996 shoot down of two unarmed U.S. civilian planes by
Cuban fighter jets.
Sponsors of the screening are Comcast, Miami Dade College and Univision Radio
stations AMOR, WQBA, WAQI and LaKalle, as well as Florida Power and Light,
Communications Solutions and ABAD Productions.
The film opens in Miami and other select cities January 25.
"We are honored to present this film in Miami - the home of this story," said
CEO and Co-Founder Douglas Eger, who produced the film. "We are so grateful
for our partnership with Comcast, Miami Dade College and Univision Radio and
the support from the Cuban-American community. We are very hopeful this film
will spur discussion and provide insight not only about the shoot down itself,
but the broader complexities of our country's relationship with Cuba."
MEDIA INTERESTED IN COVERING THE EVENT
Friday, January 18
7:30 p.m.
Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts
RSVP: Gayle Osterberg, 202/669-0689
CONTEST FOR STUDENTS
The screening also marks the kick-off a one-week competition for art students
in the Visual Arts Program of the New World School of the Arts College to
design promotional standees for area theaters.
The contest is open only to students of the New World School. Deadline for
entries is Thursday, January 24. Five winners will be selected for display at
Miami area theaters.
Khuly, who received her BFA in Sculpture from the Florida International
University in Miami, said the contest was an effort to involve area students
in the story.
"This was an event that touched the Miami community and my family in a very
personal way," Khuly said. "We wanted to give emerging artists the opportunity
not only to learn about this pivotal event but also express their
interpretation of it."
"SHOOT DOWN" SYNOPSIS
In the mid-to-late 90s, thousands of Cuban refugees attempted to cross the
Florida Straits by whatever means available - small boats, homemade rafts and
inner tubes. Only one in four rafters made it to U.S. shores, with tens of
thousands perishing at sea. A volunteer group based in Miami called "Brothers
to the Rescue" was formed to patrol the Straits in small civilian aircraft,
offering aid to rafters.
On February 24th, 1996, in the midst of heightening political unrest in Cuba
and in the wake of a revised U.S. policy toward Cuban refugees, the Cuban
government authorized two military fighter jets to attack and destroy two of
the volunteer planes.
Khuly, a first-generation Cuban-American whose uncle was among the four
victims, mined 10 years of research, government documents, transcripts and
never-before seen news footage of Fidel Castro to supplement hundreds of hours
of original interviews in recounting the events leading up to and following
the shoot down.
Among the film's most extraordinary moments are the use of actual voice
recordings from the MiG pilots and their controllers in Havana, and the
cockpit recordings from the doomed Cessna planes, edited to re-enact the shoot
down itself.
The result is an unprecedented and compelling re-telling of a tragedy that is
as relevant and provocative today as it was more than a decade ago.
More information about "SHOOT DOWN", theaters, show times and other release
cities as available can be found at www.theshootdown.com.
ABOUT ROGUES HARBOR STUDIOS:
Rogues Harbor Studios believes in the unparalleled power of film to not only
entertain, but educate and empower audiences. Rogues Harbor Studios creates
content that is challenging and purposeful, uniting engaged consumers with
entertaining ideas. Find out more at www.therhs.com.
SOURCE Rogues Harbor Studios
Gayle Osterberg, +1-202-669-0689, for Rogues Harbor Studios
