Thursday, January 24 at 9 p.m.
Sunday, January 27 at 12:30 p.m.
KOCE-TV TO AIR “FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR”
Your Participation is Neccessary on January 24 and 27
Filmmaker Brenda Brkusic will be on TV before and after the film asking viewers to please call KOCE-TV to pledge their support for Freedom from Despair. A phone number will be listed for viewers to call. Your phone calls will have a direct impact on the distribution of this film to other PBS stations in the country. KOCE-TV will calculate the number of viewers that have pledged their support for Freedom from Despair and this will determine how many other PBS stations in the US the film will be distributed to. KOCE-TV is doing everything to make it possible for Southern California Croatians to show their support for this film - if viewers support it, it sends a message to PBS that this story needs to be seen across America. If viewers don't make the effort to pledge for the film, it will send a message that it is not important to the Croatian American community that the truth about their history be revealed to millions of people. This is the first and probably only time in history this opportunity will ever be available to Croatians as Brenda Brkusic has done the work to make it possible. This is a powerful opportunity to show America that you are proud of this film and proud to be Croatian. And you don't have to be in Southern California to pledge! You can pledge online at www.koce.org or call 1-800-278-5050.
From Chapman University, to the Halls of Congress, to the European Union, and back to KOCE-TV, 26-year-old Brenda Brkusic's student film makes headlines around the world. Freedom from Despair has its public television debut on KOCE-TV Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. with an encore presentation Sunday, Jan. 27 at 12:30 p.m. The 90-minute film uncovers the long history of suppression and abuse of the Croatian people and their struggle for independence from Tito’s Yugoslavia, using as its focus the dramatized true story of Kruno Brkusic, Brenda’s father, who risked his life to escape the regime. The film is narrated by celebrated actors Michael York (Cabaret, Austin Powers), John Savage (The Deer Hunter, The Thin Red Line), and Beata Pozniak (JFK) and includes interviews with U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich.
Brkusic’s work to promote human rights has been recognized and honored by the U.S. Congress at the House of Representatives. The film screened in October for members of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium; has been featured in 15 national and international festivals; and has garnered a dozen notable awards including the CINE Golden Eagle Award (previously awarded to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas), Best Documentary: New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, and Nominee: International Documentary Association (IDA) David L. Wolper Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award.
Freedom from Despair follows the journey of Kruno Brkusic, a Croatian Catholic who was repeatedly jailed by communists and managed to escape the country on foot at age 17. As Kruno’s homeland becomes scarred by war during the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, he becomes a voice in the American media, working to correct untrue propaganda and challenging the journalistic community to take a stand on human rights in that part of the world. We watch as Kruno and thousands of Croatian-Americans demonstrate on Capitol Hill during the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, pushing George H.W. Bush to recognize Croatia while the nation watched the carnage on television. This film reveals the atrocities committed and hidden by the communist government of Yugoslavia and its allies — piecing together a shocking truth that lay silenced for 60 years.
Did We Mention Your Participation is Neccessary on January 24 and 27?
Filmmaker Brenda Brkusic will be on TV before and after the film asking viewers to please call KOCE-TV to pledge their support for Freedom from Despair. A phone number will be listed for viewers to call. Your phone calls will have a direct impact on the distribution of this film to other PBS stations in the country. KOCE-TV will calculate the number of viewers that have pledged their support for Freedom from Despair and this will determine how many other PBS stations in the US the film will be distributed to. KOCE-TV is doing everything to make it possible for Southern California Croatians to show their support for this film - if viewers support it, it sends a message to PBS that this story needs to be seen across America. If viewers don't make the effort to pledge for the film, it will send a message that it is not important to the Croatian American community that the truth about their history be revealed to millions of people. This is the first and probably only time in history this opportunity will ever be available to Croatians as Brenda Brkusic has done the work to make it possible. This is a powerful opportunity to show America that you are proud of this film and proud to be Croatian. And you don't have to be in Southern California to pledge! You can pledge online at www.koce.org
For Cable Channel listings:
http://www.koce.org/cable_list.htm
For Satellite Channel listings:
http://www.koce.org/satellite.htm
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