FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: November 232323,23 , 2007 Irene Cho, [email protected] 435.658.3456

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES PRESENTS A FREE SCREENING OFOFOF NANKING Powerful documentary tells the tale of warwar----timetime hohohorrorho rror while affirming the extraordinary impact individuals can make

Park City, Utah ——— The 2007-2008 Sundance Institute Documentary Film Series continues on Wednesday, December 5th with a free screening of NANKING , which premiered at the 2007 and received a Documentary Editing Award. Directed by Academy Award-winning team of Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, NANKING tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China in the early days of World War II, and how a small group of unarmed Westerners established a "safety" zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. Presented in association with the Park City Film Series, the screening starts at 7 p.m. at the Jim Santy Auditorium in the Park City Library, 1255 Park Avenue. The film was also most recently on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' shortlist of 15 films that will compete for the five nominee spots in the Oscars' feature-length documentary category.The producer of the film, Katie Strand will be in attendance and will be available for Q&A after the screening.

Guttentag and Sturman tell the story of Nanking through profound interviews with Chinese survivors, chilling testimonies of Japanese soldiers and stunning newsreel archival footage. At the center of the film are staged readings of journal entries and letters from the small group of missionaries, professors, doctors, businessmen, who bear witness and illustrate how an un-armed group banded together to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians from massacre. Each voice is brought to life by a group of acclaimed actors including , , Jurgen Prochnow, and . Through the searing testimonies of victims, perpetrators, and heroes, Guttentag and Sturman bring to life the victims of Nanking so that the atrocities of war will be remembered alongside the stories of extraordinary heroism.

Directors Guttentag and Sturman have a history of making films about people who commit extraordinary acts of bravery in the worst of times. Guttentag and Sturman directed and Sturman produced TWIN TOWERS, the story of two brothers on September 11, which was shown at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival to engaged and enthusiastic audiences and later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Guttentag first came to the Sundance Film Festival in 1996 with BLUES HIGHWAY, a moving blend of blues music and images following the journey of African Americans who made their way North from the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Series is a free monthly screening series that presents some of the most compelling nonfiction films to come out of the previous year’s Sundance Film Festival, and is a part of Sundance Institute’s community programming presented in association with the Park City Film Series. The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Series is supported by Principal Sponsor Zions Bank, Major Sponsor Summit County Recreation, Arts, and Parks Tax Program, and In Kind Supporters City Weekly , Park City Film Series, Park City Marriott, Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky Program and Salt Lake magazine.

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Upcoming Films in the Sundance Institute DocumentaryDocumentary Film Series:

March 5, 2008 7:00 p.m. HEAR AND NOW, Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky April 2, 2008 7:00 p.m. PREVIEW: WORK IN PROGRESS May 7, 2008 7:00 p.m. MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, Directed by Jennifer Baichwal June 4, 2008 7:00 p.m. MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, Directed by Amir Bar ---Lev-LevLevLev

Visit www.sundance.org for the entire series lineup.

Sundance Institute Dedicated to the year-round development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrated its 25 th anniversary in 2006. Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Sundance Film Festival and artistic development programs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with US artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world.

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