Go see Orgasm Inc. opening in New York City and Chicago on February 11th!

Liz Canner's Feature Documentary
ORGASM INC.

Opens at the Quad Cinema in New York on February 11, 2011

also opens in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center on February 11

Liz Canner's shocking yet entertaining documentary ORGASM INC. explores the strange science of female pleasure, and in the process reveals the often warped mentality of our pharmaceutical and medical industries.

ORGASM INC. begins when filmmaker Liz Canner is hired to edit erotic videos to be used in a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first FDA approved "Viagra" drug for women that will treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Intrigued, Liz decides to make a movie about the science of female pleasure. But she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with other medical and pharmaceutical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of profit.

With unique access and a deft style of interviewing, Liz embarks on a nine year odyssey as she follows pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers who are racing to be the first to win FDA approval for their product - be it pill, patch, nose spray, or some other delivery device. The promised cure: "normal" sexual function and orgasm. The prize: billions of dollars in profits.

Despite its serious agenda, Canner brings wry humor to her film. Featuring illuminating footage and interviews with activists, doctors and medical experts (including Chicago-based sex therapist Dr. Laura Berman, whose new show will debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network), ORGASM INC. is a powerful, timely and, yes, entertaining look inside Big Pharma and other medical companies with their often misleading marketing campaigns that literally and figuratively reshape our everyday lives. Upbeat, engaging, enlightening, and provocative, ORGASM INC. will change the way you think about sex.

"An extraordinary and revelatory documentary about female desire and the pharmaceutical industry."
-London Times

"A serious, but sometimes comical look at the medicalization of women's sexuality."
-ABC News

"A desperately needed antidote to all the hype generated by pharmaceutical companies
pursuing their holy grail: a female Viagra."
-Newsweek

"A shocking but hilarious film which is causing a storm in America as it sets out to expose the drug companies and doctors who are now locked in a race to produce a 'female Viagra'."
-London Daily Mail

"A sexy indictment of big pharma that gives a lot of great laughs."
-The Toronto Star

ORGASM INC. is award-winning director Liz Canner's first feature documentary. Canner was recently named one of the top ten independent filmmakers to watch in 2009 by The Independent Magazine and honored with a Visionary Award from Dartmouth College for the movie. Since earning her BA with Honors from Brown University in 1991, she has received more than 45 awards, honors and grants for her innovative documentary projects on human rights issues. Canner's documentaries have been broadcast on PBS, cable stations and internationally in many countries. They have screened at festivals like The New York Film Festival and the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. For her contribution to the field, Canner has been honored with a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (Bunting) Fellowship from Harvard University and a Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellowship.

First Run Features has been a leading indie film distributor since 1979. Last year the company celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Recent releases include Joe Berlinger's CRUDE, the Academy Award-nominated documentary THE MOST
DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS, and
KINGS OF PASTRY, from the legendary filmmaking team of DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

ORGASM INC.
A film by Liz Canner
78 minutes, English, 2010
Digibeta, Stereo, 1.33 Aspect Ratio, Color, 2010
Director, Producer, Editor and Cinematographer Liz Canner
Executive Producers: Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, Judith Helfand from Chicken and Egg Pictures, Marc Weiss

Edited by Sandra Christie, Jeremiah Zagar
Original Score by Stephanie Olmanni, Alex Barnett, Don Glasgo

Opens Friday, February 11 in New York

Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street, NYC | 212-255-2243
Showtimes: 1:00, 2:40, 4:20, 6:15, 8:10, 10:05pm
Buy tickets

*Filmmaker Liz Canner will be present for Q & A sessions
following the 4:20PM, 6:15PM and 8:10PM shows FRIDAY 02/11 - SUNDAY 02/13
and following the 6:15PM show MONDAY 02/14 - THURSDAY 02/17.

ORGASM INC. also opens in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center on February 11
and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Theatres and The Roxie Theater in San Francisco on April 1.

firstrunfeatures.com/orgasminc

Please come! Check the First Run Features website for more theater listings: http://firstrunfeatures.com/orgasminc_playdates.html

Newsweek article:

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/23/the-selling-of-the-female-orgasm.html

Congratulations to Sun Come Up's Oscar Nomination!

SUN COME UP, by Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger, follows the relocation of some of the world’s first climate change refugees, the Carteret Islanders – a community living on a remote island chain in the South Pacific Ocean. When rising seas threaten their survival, the islanders face a painful decision: they must leave their beloved land in search of a new place to call home.

After the screening, director/producer Jennifer Redfearn will be joined by a panel, bringing together scientists, students, educators, and activists for a discussion surrounding our rising seas and shifting coastlines.

For more info on Sun Come Up, visit the film’s website and watch the trailer: www.SunComeUp.com

Here is the list of all the Nominees:

Best Documentary (Short Subject)

'Killing in the Name'
'Poster Girl'
'Strangers No More'
'Sun Comes Up'
'The Warriors of Qiugang'

Come see SUN COME UP at Story Leads to Action on February 10th, 7:30pm at 92Y Tribeca!
Purchase Tickets here

February is around the corner! Story Leads to Action presents SUN COME UP

CHICKEN & EGG PICTURES and WORKING FILMS presents STORY LEADS TO ACTION * On Thursday, February 10th at 7:30 PM, see the award-winning documentary SUN COME UP by Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger at 92Y Tribeca* * scroll to bottom of email for full Spring 2011 program and NEW season pass offer!

SUN COME UP follows the relocation of some of the world’s first climate change refugees, the Carteret Islanders – a community living on a remote island chain in the South Pacific Ocean. When rising seas threaten their survival, the islanders face a painful decision: they must leave their beloved land in search of a new place to call home. After the screening, director/producer Jennifer Redfearn will be joined by a panel, bringing together scientists, students, educators, and activists for a discussion surrounding our rising seas and shifting coastlines. Goal: This interactive discussion will address how can education connect the local to the global, and turn the energy of knowledge into action. For more info on Sun Come Up, visit the film’s website and watch the trailer: www.SunComeUp.com The evening will be moderated by filmmaker, environmentalist and Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films founder Judith Helfand. Scheduled guests so far include: Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, Senior Research Scientist at NASA and co-chair of the New York City Panel on Climate Change. 92Y Tribeca 200 Hudson Street New York, NY 10013 Tickets are $12 Click here to purchase tickets * STORY LEADS TO ACTION is a monthly series featuring Chicken & Egg/Working Films' filmmakers coming together with strategic advocates and educators to brainstorm and "design" on-the-spot community/audience engagement strategies for their films. SUN COME UP is part of the REEL ENERGY: FILMS FUELING THE ENERGY REVOLUTION. You can read more about how to take part in this initiative here. NEW to STORY LEADS TO ACTION: You can now buy a season pass for the whole Spring 2011 season! We are excited to announce the full program and hope that you'll join us for more great discussions this season. Click here for more details. In brief: March 17th - BUDRUS, April 21st - BAG IT, May 19th - MONICA & DAVID.

Working Films advances social, economic, environmental and racial justice by linking non-fiction filmmaking to cutting-edge activism. www.workingfilms.org

Calling all you social issue filmmakers to New Day Films!

NEW DAY FILMS ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR SOCIAL ISSUE FILMS: DEADLINE JAN. 21st.

New Day Films is currently accepting submissions from filmmakers with social issue documentary and fiction titles for non-theatrical distribution. We invite you to submit an application by the upcoming submission deadline (January 21st, 2011) to join our vibrant and creative film collective.

WHO WE ARE...

New Day Films is a filmmaker-run distribution company providing award-winning films to educators since 1971. Democratically run by more than 100 filmmaker members, New Day delivers over 150 titles that illuminate, challenge and inspire. Collectively, New Day titles have won an Academy Award, 9 Academy Award nominations, 4 Emmys, and hundreds of awards at prestigious film festivals. Our films have been broadcast on PBS, HBO and other media outlets.

New Day brings together talented and accomplished filmmakers dedicated to both finding educational audiences for our films and earning revenue to support the independent filmmaking process. A vibrant, creative organization, New Day is a strong brand, which buyers have relied on for decades.

DISTRIBUTE WITH NEW DAY

Distributing independent social issue films since 1971, New Day has developed a strong brand within the educational community, built a huge knowledge base on effective distribution and marketing, and grown revenues to over $1 million annually. When you join New Day you become part of a dynamic, democratically run collective of filmmakers.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR...

We actively seek a diversity of voices among our members as well as in our film collection. Short and long-format documentary, fiction and experimental works are welcome. Your film must address a social issue. Those applying should be comfortable joining a collective, where members market their own films, work as a team and volunteer for tasks.

Please visit our website to learn more about joining New Day Films: http://www.newday.com/join.html

APPLICATION PROCESS...

The upcoming submission deadline is RECEIPT by January 21st, 2011. Please contact Alice Elliott to request an application today.

If you have any questions, please contact Alice Elliott or call 212 -924-7151.

BAVC Producers Institute for New Media Technologies Public Conference Day!

Those of you who are familiar with the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) know that BAVC inspires social change by enabling the sharing of diverse stories through art, education and technology. One of the many ways BAVC helps filmmakers explore their ideas through new medium is the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, which will bring six selected documentary teams to develop interactive web, mobile, multimedia, and game projects.

This is the first East coast version of this conference. If you are a content producer in NYC, don't miss this exciting one-day conference at Tribeca Cinemas this Saturday, January 8th. This is an amazing opportunity for networking, there will be fantastic international speakers, and lots of innovative new ideas for storytelling, journalism, technology and social action.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Cocktail party included!!

Time and Location:

January 8, 2011
9:30AM – 5PM, cocktail reception following

Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
(at Laight Street, one block below Canal Street)

Cooked, by Judith Helfand, is one of the six projects selected for the 2011 New York Institute, which includes stories from NYC-based producers on a wide range of topics including HIV/AIDS, the global housing crisis, disability rights and access, environmental crisis management, racial equity in education and LGBT rights in communities of faith. Platforms being developed include games, interactive maps, augmented reality & locative media tools, mobile applications, interactive story archives, and more.

To read more click here or buy Tickets!