Global Voices Announces the Broadcast Premiere of The Team on the WORLD Channel, Sunday, September 4
In the Wake of Kenya’s 2007 Election Violence, Kenyans Produce a Dramatic TV Soap Opera Series about a Fictional Soccer Team, Hoping Taboo Storylines Can Bridge Deep Ethnic Divisions
(San Francisco, CA, August 2, 2011)— On Sunday, September 4, at 10pm (check local listings), Global Voices and the WORLD Channel present the broadcast premiere of Patrick Reed's The Team. Kenya has long been considered Africa’s success story — relatively stable and ethnically harmonious. But following their December 2007 presidential election, everything changed. Voting controversy split the country along ethnic lines, pushing Kenya to civil war. The international community intervened, and a fragile peace was brokered, but as ethnic suspicion and violence continued to paralyze the country, many dismissed these actions as hollow political theatre. In an effort to create a local, alternative response, a taboo-breaking TV soap opera, The Team, is created and follows the struggles of a co-ed multiethnic soccer squad overcoming their differences, both on and off the pitch. The Team is an intense, character-driven documentary offering a unique look at youth culture and popular media, following characters on and off the set, and surveying life as reflected in the soap, and vice-versa. Reed's documentary explores whether the lowliest of art forms can achieve the loftiest of ideals: transformative social change.
Also airing on Global Voices in September:
Sunday, September 11 – A Dream in Doubt
One of America’s first post 9/11 hate crime murders punctuated a growing wave of violence in retaliation for the terror attacks. Told from the perspective of the victim’s brother, A Dream in Doubt travels to Mesa, Arizona to reveal a story of national tragedy, murder, community and the American dream.
Sunday, September 18 – The Judge and the General
The Judge and the General reveals the transformation of Judge Juan Guzmán in Chile as he is assigned by judicial lottery to investigate the first criminal cases filed against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. An international detective story, the film follows the judge as he uncovers the truth about the regime he had supported.
Sunday, September 25 – A Son's Sacrifice
Imran, a young Muslim American, struggles to take over his father's neighborhood halal slaughterhouse in New York City. The son of an immigrant, Imran must confront his mixed heritage and gain acceptance from his father's conservative community. On one of Islam's holiest days, Imran must lead a sacrifice that will define him as a Muslim, as an American, and as a son.
A comprehensive overview of the 2011 series and a calendar of online events may be found on the WORLD Channel’s website: WORLDcompass.org.
ABOUT GLOBAL VOICES
Produced by ITVS International, Global Voices is a 26-week series bringing internationally themed documentaries made by both U.S.-based and international filmmakers to a national audience. This season, the series will feature the U.S. premieres of four documentaries funded by ITVS International, as well as encore broadcasts of other acclaimed ITVS programs. In addition to the WORLD broadcast, select episodes will be available online post-broadcast, via iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, and on PBS Video at video.pbs.org. For the complete lineup and schedule, visit WORLDcompass.org.
ABOUT WORLD
The WORLD public media service includes the WORLD Channel, a 24/7 public television channel dedicated to delivering the best of public television’s nonfiction, news, and documentary programming, and a growing schedule of content from independent producers. The WORLD Channel’s website, WORLDcompass.org, expands on broadcast themes and fuels content across social media, providing opportunities for broad and diverse audience interaction. WORLD is produced and distributed by WGBH Boston, WNET New York Public Media, and American Public Television (APT) in association with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA). The WORLD Channel is available in markets representing more than 44 percent of U.S. TV households. Funding for WORLD is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
CONTACT: Krissy Bailey, ITVS, 415-356-8383, ext. 254, krissy_bailey@itvs.org
For more information about the series, visit http://itvs.org/series