ITVS Announces Lineup For upcoming 2006 Sundance Film Festival

CONTACT: Randall Cole, ITVS, 415.356.8383, ext. 254 or randall_cole@itvs.org Tiffany Woolf, ITVS, 415.356.8383, ext. 250 or tiffany_woolf@itvs.org Cara White, 843.881.1480 or carapub@aol.com 

(San Francisco) — The Independent Television Service (ITVS) announced today that A LION IN THE HOUSE and BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs In On Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture, and the online project OFF THE MAP have been accepted for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival 2006 in Park City Utah, from January 19-29, 2006. ITVS has had a presence at the festival with its funded films since 1994. This year brings the grand total of ITVS films at Sundance to 55, along with several online projects. 

In addition to honoring the films at this year's festival, ITVS will begin a year-long celebration of its 15th anniversary with a kick off party at Sundance on January 23rd. The first of several events to be held around the country, ITVS's 15th Anniversary celebration at Sundance will highlight its remarkable history of more than 600 productions since its inception. More details on future anniversary events will be announced soon. 

ITVS FILMS IN SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION 

A LION IN THE HOUSE, A film by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar World Premiere 

A LION IN THE HOUSE follows five children as they fight cancer with the help of their families, nurses and doctors. This inspiring, harrowing and intimate four-hour, two part series spans six years, chronicling how families respond to crises, how courage is found in unlikely places, and how the humor and energy of youth can be powerful medicine. A LION IN THE HOUSE is slated to air on the PBS acclaimed series Independent Lens June 21 and 22, 2006 at 9 PM. 

The broadcast of A LION IN THE HOUSE will be accompanied by an extensive national community engagement campaign. Partnering with preeminent organizations, such as the Center for Disease Control, American Cancer Society and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, among others, the outreach campaign will seek to transform viewer responses into actions that improve care and strengthen support systems for youth and families fighting childhood cancer, especially those who face socio-economic challenges. 

“We are floored and honored to have A LION IN THE HOUSE accepted at Sundance, especially given its epic length, “ says filmmaker Steven Bognar. “ It is a testament to the families and the caregivers in the film who have let us into their lives with such open hearts. We are also thrilled to be working with ITVS as they have helped us to create a strong community engagement campaign for this film.” 

ITVS FILMS IN SUNDANCE SPECTRUM PROGRAM 

The Sundance Spectrum Program presents 24 out of competition dramatic and documentary works by some of the most promising new independent filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad. Spectrum films are eligible for the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. 

BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs In On Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture World Premiere. 

Filmmaker Byron Hurt takes an in-depth look at machismo in rap music and hip-hop culture- where creative genius, poetic beauty and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence and homophobia. 

ITVS Interactive ELECTRIC SHADOWS Project OFF THE MAP To Be Featured In The Sundance Online Film Festival's "Web Cool" SPLINKS section 

OFF THE MAP 

Using multimedia tours to look into backyard paradises created by visionary artists around the world, Interactive Knowledge and the American Visionary Art Museum's OFF THE MAP uses the Web to explore an astounding phenomenon-the drive for untrained artists to permanently transform their environment by creating monumental art. OFF THE MAP is an ELECTRIC SHADOWS project, which presents “unflinching visions of independent producers” by exploring arts and culture via the Web, exclusively. Presented by Independent Lens and ITVS Interactive and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, these award-winning sites bring the power of nonlinear storytelling online. To explore OFF THE MAP, please visit www.pbs.org/offthemap. 

About ITVS 

Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy Award–winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since ITVS's inception in 1991, its programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing television audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting itvs.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people. 

About Independent Lens 

 film festival in your living room, Independent Lens is an Emmy Award–winning weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. Hosted by Edie Falco, the acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of independent producers, which has prompted Television Week to call it “entertaining as hell and better than any other documentary series around.” 

Presented by Independent Television Service (ITVS), the series is supported by interactive companion websites and community engagement campaigns. Further information about the series is available at www.pbs.org/independentlens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.