global film event

7/23/2019 GLOBAL FILM EVENT

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www.live58.org/thefilm


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THE FILM

DIRECTED BY

Tim and Tony Neeves

RELEASE DATEComing to screens everywhere the weekend of October 14-16, 2011

DISTRIBUTIONAvailable on broadcast, online, DVD, and group screening events

TRAILER/FILM SITEwww.live58.org/thefilm

SYNOPSISPremiering this October, 58: THE FILMis the inspiring true story of the global Church in action.

Witness bravery and determined faith in a journey from the slums of Kenya to the streets of

New York. Confront the brutality of extreme poverty and meet those who live out the True Fast of

Isaiah 58 and create stunning new possibilities for the future.

Travel from the sun-scorched plains of rural Ethiopia to British shopping centers, from Brazilian

ganglands and the enslaving quarries of India to western churches, businesses and conferences.

58:invites audiences to discover the incredible work of God through His people in our hurtingworld. Meet ordinary people, hear their stories, and see their struggles and their victories as 58:

shows the relentlessly loving God at work through His Church bringing hope to the darkest

challenges of our day. Experience eye-opening reasons to lift our expectations of the future.

Woven with Biblical truth, this film draws audiences into life-changing examples of the True Fast

of Isaiah 58 - a young British woman prevailing over the pressures of consumer society, Ethiopian

Christians working to restore their environment, an American business owner promoting Fair

Trade coffee and connecting his local community with the work of ending poverty, a local pastor

in India working to be a Good Samaritan to those enslaved by bonded labor, and the sacrificial

generosity of New York youth giving up their own food for the sake of those with even less.

These impatient revolutionaries and ordinary prophets present viewers with an empowering vision

of the Church rising up to its remarkable potential to end extreme poverty, by bringing God's

words through Isaiah to life in our time, in our day.

Experience 58:this October on television, online, on DVD, and at screening events throughout the

U.S. Go to www.live58.org/thefilmto see the trailer and download the EPK.

PRESSContact Ben Laurro 818.753.4056 ; [email protected]

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CREWTony Neeves Director

Tony Neeves came of age in Londons advertising world. But a dramatic

conversion in 1969 led him to redirect his heart and his ambitions.

Tony vowed to transform the way Christians communicate in the media.He helped found Tearfund, a Christian relief and development organization.

He also set up his own ad agency, Greenleaf. And convicted of the

biblical mandate to fight poverty and injustice, Tony has worked as a

Vice President of Compassion International. For 35 years, Tonys primary

passion has been to challenge and educate Gods people by producing

and directing award-winning documentary films for nonprofit organizations.

58:was born out of this passion to, as he says, Comfort the afflicted,

and afflict the comfortable.

Tim Neeves DirectorTim Neeves was set for a career in classical composition, having studied

under British greats Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir George Benjamin.

Then, on a life-changing trip to Uganda with his director dad, Tony,

an encounter with a young AIDS victim changed everything. Within a

week of submitting his final Masters portfolio, Tim was on a plane to

Haiti armed with a camera, and Prospect Arts was born. Tim now has 70

overseas shoots under his belt, in such hotspots as Indonesia, Palestine

and Rwanda. He frequently incorporates composition and performance

into his productions. Tim describes 58:as a fantastic opportunity to

meet people living in the worlds toughest circumstances and help themtell their stories.

CHARACTERSWorkitu Ethiopia

Workitu is the mother of four. Like her neighbors, she has raised her

family in a tiny hut built of mud and sticks. Her region of Ethiopia has

suffered a five-year drought and her farm is barren. So Workitu gathers

firewood to sell for pennies in a market thats two hours away on foot.

But even firewood is scarce because of the degradation of the localenvironment. So Workitus husband works far from home to bring back

20 to 30 birr (less than $1.70) every few months. Their income barely

covers the cost of food and water for the children, who help gather wood.

The nearby school, with its 30 birr entrance fee, is an unaffordable

luxury. Workitus fifth child with whom she was visibly pregnant

during filming died a few days after birth. Yet she radiates dignity and

deep faith. Her facial tattoos are a traditional emblem of beauty in her

poor but close-knit community.

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B I O S


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Alice Njoki Kenya

Alice Njoki and her husband, James, moved to Mathare in search of a

better life. But their rural upbringing didnt prepare them for the jungle

that is Kenyas second-largest slum. Their scrap metal shack sits atop an

open sewer. Disease, fire and violent crime plague the approximately700,000 slum-dwellers. While Alice scavenges vegetables to resell in

the street, violent gangs hustle drugs and alcohol. James works pushing

a handcart when he isnt laid low by alcohol and mental health

problems. Alice fights her discouragement with a determination to return

to her hometown for her familys sake. After filming, James gave his life

to the Lord and began the journey toward a healthier life. And the

family returned to their hometown to work as farmers.

Bo Mann USA

People like coffee, and people like to do good. So Bo Mann opened

Wake Up Coffee on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The shops mission is to

provide great coffee while informing customers on issues of poverty

and development. But Bos mission and that of his baristas, who all

served in the mission field is to create an inviting space where he can

share his faith as well as his passion for justice. The shop has become a

community hub, modeled after Bos experience in the coffee shops of

North Africa, where people gather to discuss the days issues.

He pledges a percentage of profits to charitable causes. And the shop

organizes disaster relief efforts. As part of a new generation of socially

and politically active young Christians, Bo takes inspiration from

Micah 6:8 to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

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B I O S


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Chris Durso USA

Some of the roughest neighborhoods anywhere are found around Christ

Tabernacle in Queens, New York. Drugs, gangs and violence are

epidemic. A high percentage of families rely on state welfare support.

Around 70 percent of the youth group comes from unchurched homes.But Chris Durso, director of the churchs Youth Explosion ministry,

believes these young people can do remarkable things, despite

their hardships. His mission is to make young people see that God is

freedom and not religion or law. Hundreds of kids line up to join each

weeks meeting. A primary effort is a hunger and fasting campaign

inspired by Isaiah 58. Chris wants to show his young people that when

you give up something for another, God will always fill your needs

and theres always someone worse off whom you can help.

Sanjiv and Shivamma IndiaSanjiv and Shivamma are wage slaves. The couple, along with two of

their five children, break stones in an illegal quarry, from sunrise to

sunset, in the searing Bangalore heat. Their bondage is the result of

debt incurred over the years roughly $700. Though seemingly

conquerable, its an exorbitant sum for migrants from the Tamil Nadu

region of India. In order to pay their daughters wedding dowry

an inescapable cultural tradition they took a loan from the quarry

owner, indenturing the family. They also borrowed to buy the equipment

needed to work the quarry. The high-interest debt surpasses their

income and will be passed on to their children when they die. Since aneducation would cost 5,000 rupees ($112) a year each, the children are

caught in the cycle of brutal, dangerous work. Although their love for

their children is clear, Sanjiv and Shivamma have lost hope for them.

And when the film crew returned for a second interview in July 2009,

the family had vanished most likely to another quarry, with their debt

still in place.

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B I O S


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Soundarya India

Beloved daughter and only hope of her proud parents, Soundarya is

a young teen with high hopes and a contagious zeal for life. She is

breaking the cycle of poverty and hard manual labor that has plagued

her family for generations. While her indentured father toils each day inthe stone quarry, through sponsorship, Soundarya is able to attend a

local school. The child development center provides Soundarya with

additional tuition in all the major fields of study as well as dance, music

and Bible studies. Her mother has been able to attend tailoring classes

at the church and pursue an income for the family away from the chains

of the quarry. Soundarya dreams of becoming a software engineer.

Her determination is forged from the knowledge that she is one of the

fortunate ones in her community. Her compassion for the needy

around her girls already sold into marriage, children breaking stones

while she is at school reflects a heart that knows things can andshould be different.

Auri Brazil

As a young man, Auris dream had been to join the Army. After the

death of his beloved father, young Auri slipped into alcohol and drug

use. Soon his dream of military service was replaced by the harsh reality

of membership in one of Brazils deadliest gangs. A law unto themselves,

the gangs administer street justice. Murder is a daily reality. For Auri,

it was a case of kill or be killed. By 2002, drugs and drink had robbed

Auri of his physical strength and most of his teeth. As his gang lostpower and influence, he was reduced to begging on the street. His

girlfriend and the mother of his daughter left him. At rock bottom,

Auri brought his big questions to God. Although many churches rejected

this shell of a man, an accepting community helped Auri kick his

addictions and earn his high school diploma. He is now married and

studying for a bachelors degree in theology in hopes of spreading grace

among others who struggle with addiction.

Kirsty Munro UK

Kirsty Munro was a London fashion college graduate alert to every trend.

Money was no object where style was concerned. Her credit card bills

were proof of that. But as a Christian, she began to feel convicted about

the nature of her spending. This led her to cut up her credit cards in

front of her church congregation and tackle the self-esteem issues at

the root of her image consciousness. When Kirsty traveled to Kenyas

Mathare slum, she encountered women who, despite incredible poverty,

lived lives of beauty in Gods love. Now, her changed spending habits

enable her to invest financially in the lives of her friends in Mathare.

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B I O S


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B I O S

Pastor Joel Gitahi Kenya

Joel Gitahi was raised in the hard-knock life of a Mathare slum-dweller.

His father abandoned the family early on. His mother and 15 siblings

bootlegged liquor from their two-room shack. Violence and drugs took

the place of health care and education. But one evening at age 18,

as Joel passed a rowdy church revival meeting, he felt compelled to join

in. Now age 50, he is known as Pastor Joel, and that very congregation,

Redeemed Gospel Church, is his flock. After his conversion, Joel studied

to become a construction engineer and eventually ran his ownconstruction company. As a professional, he easily could have escaped

the Mathare slum. Instead, Joel works to clothe and feed physically

and spiritually those in need. His community helps provide fellow

slum-dwellers the health care and education that Joel once lacked.

Since filming, a partnership with Christ Church of Tunbridge Wells, UK,

has helped Pastor Joel purchase land to expand his churchs facilities.


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MISSION OF 58:58:is an unprecedented, action-based, global alliance of Christians,

churches and world class poverty-fighting organizations working together

to end extreme poverty in our lifetime by living the True Fast of Isaiah.

To achieve this ambitious goal, 58:aspires to become the largest,most unified effort ever by the global church to help the 1.4 billion

people living in extreme poverty. 58:answers Isaiah's call to 'shout it

aloud and do not hold back' through astonishing communications

and honors the True Fast by providing engagement in strategic,

poverty-eradicating action.

ORGANIZATIONS IN ALLIANCE WITH 58:

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W HAT IS 58 : ?

ECHOReducing Hunger, Improving Lives

Worldwide


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F U L L C R E D I T S

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERSWess Stafford, David Dahlin & Scott Todd

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERAngelina Dieleman

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHYTim Neeves

PRINCIPAL CAMERAAnthony Jarman

SECOND CAMERACody McCarthy

EDITED BYRob Wilson & Anthony Jarman

ORIGINAL SCORE BYTim Neeves

ASSISTANT DIRECTORMairi Neeves

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BYTim Neeves & Tony Neeves

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