Two New Day Members' Films Nominated for Oscars®

Los Angeles, CA, February 07, 2010 --(PR.com)-- New Day Films (http://newday.com), a leading distributor of documentary and fiction social issues films to the educational market, announced today that two of its filmmaker members have films nominated for Academy Awards®. The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers has been nominated for an Oscar® by The Academy of Motion Pictures in the feature documentary category. The Last Truck: Closing Of A GM Plant has been nominated in the short documentary category.

One of the largest media cooperatives, New Day Films was founded in 1971 by a group of feminist filmmakers rebuffed by conservative distribution companies. Today, New Day Films is run by its 150 filmmaker members offering more than 230 social issue films to educational institutions. In this digital era, New Day offers films both as DVDs and digital streams over the Internet and to institutional intranets.

"While the independent film business is struggling to find a new paradigm for distribution, we already have -- and it's 40 years old," said New Day Steering Committee co-chairperson Johnny Symons. "Our cooperative continues to set revenue growth records, while at the same time drawing in Oscar-caliber documentarians who work shoulder-to-shoulder with other filmmakers."

"Our films highlight social justice, a theme that resonated in the 1970s and still resonates powerfully today with our educational buyers,” stated New Day Steering Committee co-chairperson Marlene Booth.

The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers explores Vietnam War planner Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked a top secret Pentagon report to The New York Times to try to stop the war. Co-Director Rick Goldsmith (with Judith Ehrlich) has been a member of New Day since 1996 when he joined with his film Tell The Truth and Run: George Seldes And The American Press, which was nominated for an Academy Award® and is available through New Day Films. “New Day supports me in my mission as a filmmaker which is to tell stories that encourage social engagement and active participation in community life and the democratic process,” stated Goldsmith.

Julia Reichert, a founding member of New Day, is the director (with Steven Bognar) of the nominated short documentary film The Last Truck: Closing Of A GM Plant which tracks the final months of the plant through the workers' eyes. The Last Truck is currently airing on HBO. Julia has been twice nominated for Academy Awards® for the feature length documentaries Union Maids and Seeing Red, both available through New Day films.

"We started out almost 40 years ago as a group of feminist filmmakers challenging the patriarchy. Getting our films out and promoting social change was a political act then, and it still is today," said Julia Reichert. "The rallying cry for New Day has always been 'empower yourself.'"

Contact:

New Day Public Relations:
Gina Levy, news@ginalevy.com
Lisa Sleeth, l.sleeth@yahoo.com

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