SHOWTIME Tackles Serious Issues for AFRICAN-AMERICAN AIDS AWARENESS DAY With 'Shouting Silent' on February 7

SHOWTIME Tackles Serious Issues for AFRICAN-AMERICAN AIDS AWARENESS DAY With 'Shouting Silent' on February 7

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 7th, AFRICAN-AMERICAN AIDS AWARENESS DAY, SHOWTIME will recognize the urgency of the HIV/AIDS issue in the African-American community by airing "Shouting Silent." This film, which explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996, will premiere at 10:00 PM (ET/PT). It is being aired as part of Showtime Networks' commitment to supporting Viacom's KNOW HIV/AIDS program, currently in its third year.

"Shouting Silent" has received numerous kudos, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival and the 2nd Prize at the San Francisco Black Film Festival. It follows Xoliswa Sithole, who journeys back home in search of other young women, like her, who have also lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS and are now struggling to raise themselves and, in many cases, their siblings, on their own.

Sithole lyrically interweaves their unsettling stories with highly stylized imagery to help convey her own painful memories, and to document the grim statistics of HIV infection in Africa. These testimonials powerfully demonstrate how entire generations of young people are growing up without their parents and chronicle the devastating impact the AIDS pandemic is having on orphaned children in South Africa. An arresting and timely piece, "Shouting Silent" artistically and meditatively captures how these young women are quickly slipping through the cracks of society. Sithole and Renee Rosen serve as directors of the film.

KNOW HIV/AIDS combines the power of Viacom's media brands and unmatched audience relationships with the public health expertise of the Kaiser Family Foundation to foster awareness of the disease and its prevention. Every Viacom division is involved in the campaign, and 100 messages have aired to date, totaling $600 million in media value. The PSAs are offered rights-free and cost-free to any television or radio network. Additionally, Viacom has produced 40 television shows on the topic seen by millions worldwide. The campaign targets areas of the world where Viacom has a concentration of assets, especially the United States and Europe, and it partners with other companies to focus on regions most affected by the disease. Outside of the United States, KNOW HIV/AIDS is branded Staying Alive, building on MTV International's award-winning campaign of the same name, and encompasses the full range of Viacom's international properties.

Through a joint effort of KNOW HIV/AIDS and the BBC World Service Trust, messages in seven languages are broadcast to 60 million people in Africa and the Caribbean. In Russia, the campaign has teamed up with Gazprom-Media, Russia's largest private media holding, to help implement a cross-platform initiative on HIV/AIDS. KNOW HIV/AIDS is working in China with MTV and CCTV for a branded AIDS awareness campaign in the world's largest country.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOO(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC xtra. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD(R), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL(R), which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME(R) PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.


Source: Showtime Networks

CONTACT: Joan Ziff, +1-212-708-1590, joan.ziff@showtime.net, or Brooks
Jewell, +1-212-708-1380, brooks.jewell@showtime.net, both of Showtime
Networks

Web site: http://www.sho.com/


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