HBO and Comcast to Host Atlanta Premiere of HBO Films' 'WALKOUT' on March 15th

HBO and Comcast to Host Atlanta Premiere of HBO Films' 'WALKOUT' on March 15th

Directed by Oscar(R) Nominee Edward James Olmos 'WALKOUT' Tells True Story of Seminal Moment in Hispanic Civil Rights History in the U.S.

Mexican Consul General Remedios Gomez-Arnau is Event's Honorary Host

ATLANTA, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- HBO and Comcast, in partnership with the Latin American Association and the Woodruff Arts Center's Celebrate Diversity Through the Arts Initiative, will host the Atlanta Premiere of HBO Films' WALKOUT. Mexican Consul General Remedios Gomez-Arnau, Dean of the Consular Corps, will serve as the Honorary Host. The invitation-only event will take place on Wednesday evening, March 15 at 7:30 p.m., at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Atlanta.

HBO Films' WALKOUT is the true story of the Chicano student uprising in East Los Angeles in 1968 where several dramatic, non-violent walkouts were staged at local high schools to protest academic prejudices and dire school conditions. The film debuts on HBO and HBO Latino on Saturday, March 18 at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

Directed by Edward James Olmos (Oscar(R) nominee for "Stand and Deliver") and set against the background of the '60s civil rights movement and worldwide youth protest, WALKOUT stars Alexa Vega (the "Spy Kids" trilogy) and Michael Pena ("Crash"). Other cast members include Efren Ramirez, Bodie Olmos, Veronica Diaz, Tonantzin Esparza, Yancey Arias and Laura Harring.

In 1967, Latino students at East LA high schools were being denied such privileges as using the bathroom facility during lunchtime or speaking Spanish in the classroom. Tired of being mistreated as second-class citizens in their own schools, the high school students, along with a group of politicized college students, decide to take their future into their own hands.

Shot in various Los Angeles locations, WALKOUT is based on the real-life experiences of executive producer Moctesuma Esparza. Growing up in East Los Angeles as one of the few Chicanos who would attend college, Esparza forged a friendship with high school student Paula Crisostomo (Alexa Vega) and young Hispanic teacher, Sal Castro (Michael Pena) which would change their lives, their community and, ultimately, Latino history. Esparza went on to become a leader in the famous Chicano Student Walkouts of 1968, for which he and 12 others were arrested, jailed and later acquitted.

The 1968 high school walkouts are widely considered to be the birth of the urban Chicano civil rights movement, which spawned a generation of activists who have gone on to make their marks in Los Angeles politics and beyond. WALKOUT is a vivid reminder that ordinary people can change the world.

Edward James Olmos (director), who was born and raised in East Los Angeles, received a Best Actor Oscar(R) nomination for "Stand and Deliver." He has also appeared in such movies as "American Me," which he also directed, "Selena," "Mi Familia," "Zoot Suit," "Wolfen," "Blade Runner," "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca" and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez." Olmos' TV credits include the HBO original movie "The Burning Season," as well as "In the Time of Butterflies," "American Family" and the current series "Battlestar Galactica." He was an executive producer of the 1997 Cinemax Reel Life documentary "It Ain't Love."

Moctesuma Esparza (executive producer) was a key participant in the real- life events that inspired WALKOUT, and is portrayed in the film by Bodie Olmos, director Edward James Olmos' son. He remains active in Los Angeles politics today. His credits include "Selena," HBO's "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," "Gettysburg," "The Cisco Kid," "The Price of Glory," "Selma, Lord Selma," "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez," "The Milagro Beanfield War," the Emmy(R)-winning "Cinco Vidas" and the Academy Award(R)-nominated "Agueda Martinez -- Our People, Our Country."

Ernie Contreras ("Fairy Tale: A True Story") and Tim Sexton (HBO's "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story") wrote the script; executive producers are Moctesuma Esparza ("Selena") and Bob Katz ("Gods and Generals"); producer is Lisa Bruce; co-producer is Marty Schwartz.

Source: HBO

CONTACT: Kathleen Neal for HBO, +1-404-471-1827, or cell,
+1-404-694-3604

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