'SHOOT DOWN' Premier January 18 in Miami

'SHOOT DOWN' Premier January 18 in Miami

Comcast, Miami Dade College, Univision Radio Stations in Miami Partner with Rogues Harbor Studios to Sponsor Premier Screening

NEW YORK, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rogues Harbor Studios' inaugural release, the award-winning documentary "SHOOT DOWN", will premier in Miami January 18 at a screening to feature elected officials and a question and answer session with the filmmakers.

The film, by first-time director and Rogues Harbor co-founder Cristina Khuly, a Miami native, is the first feature-length film to take on the true and gripping story of the 1996 shoot down of two unarmed U.S. civilian planes by Cuban fighter jets.

Sponsors of the screening are Comcast, Miami Dade College and Univision Radio stations AMOR, WQBA, WAQI and LaKalle, as well as Florida Power and Light, Communications Solutions and ABAD Productions.

The film opens in Miami and other select cities January 25.

"We are honored to present this film in Miami - the home of this story," said CEO and Co-Founder Douglas Eger, who produced the film. "We are so grateful for our partnership with Comcast, Miami Dade College and Univision Radio and the support from the Cuban-American community. We are very hopeful this film will spur discussion and provide insight not only about the shoot down itself, but the broader complexities of our country's relationship with Cuba."

MEDIA INTERESTED IN COVERING THE EVENT

Friday, January 18
7:30 p.m.
Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts
RSVP: Gayle Osterberg, 202/669-0689

CONTEST FOR STUDENTS

The screening also marks the kick-off a one-week competition for art students in the Visual Arts Program of the New World School of the Arts College to design promotional standees for area theaters.

The contest is open only to students of the New World School. Deadline for entries is Thursday, January 24. Five winners will be selected for display at Miami area theaters.

Khuly, who received her BFA in Sculpture from the Florida International University in Miami, said the contest was an effort to involve area students in the story.

"This was an event that touched the Miami community and my family in a very personal way," Khuly said. "We wanted to give emerging artists the opportunity not only to learn about this pivotal event but also express their interpretation of it."

"SHOOT DOWN" SYNOPSIS

In the mid-to-late 90s, thousands of Cuban refugees attempted to cross the Florida Straits by whatever means available - small boats, homemade rafts and inner tubes. Only one in four rafters made it to U.S. shores, with tens of thousands perishing at sea. A volunteer group based in Miami called "Brothers to the Rescue" was formed to patrol the Straits in small civilian aircraft, offering aid to rafters.

On February 24th, 1996, in the midst of heightening political unrest in Cuba and in the wake of a revised U.S. policy toward Cuban refugees, the Cuban government authorized two military fighter jets to attack and destroy two of the volunteer planes.

Khuly, a first-generation Cuban-American whose uncle was among the four victims, mined 10 years of research, government documents, transcripts and never-before seen news footage of Fidel Castro to supplement hundreds of hours of original interviews in recounting the events leading up to and following the shoot down.

Among the film's most extraordinary moments are the use of actual voice recordings from the MiG pilots and their controllers in Havana, and the cockpit recordings from the doomed Cessna planes, edited to re-enact the shoot down itself.

The result is an unprecedented and compelling re-telling of a tragedy that is as relevant and provocative today as it was more than a decade ago.

More information about "SHOOT DOWN", theaters, show times and other release cities as available can be found at www.theshootdown.com.

ABOUT ROGUES HARBOR STUDIOS:

Rogues Harbor Studios believes in the unparalleled power of film to not only entertain, but educate and empower audiences. Rogues Harbor Studios creates content that is challenging and purposeful, uniting engaged consumers with entertaining ideas. Find out more at www.therhs.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Rogues Harbor Studios

CONTACT: Gayle Osterberg, +1-202-669-0689, for Rogues Harbor Studios

Web Site:

http://www.therhs.com/
http://www.theshootdown.com/

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