Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 7 PM
Panel Discussion Hosted by Academy Award-Nominated Actor Edward James Olmos
Los Angeles, CA -Sundance Institute today announced it will present a Work-In-Progress Screening of Cesar’s Last Fast on October 6 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The documentary film by Richard Ray Perez and Molly O’Brien is about the spiritual sacrifice behind Cesar E. Chavez’s struggle for the humane treatment of farm workers, and the impact his inspirational legacy has had on a new generation of activists, organizers and community leaders, and is supported with funding and resources by the Institute’s Documentary Film Program. Following the screening, Academy Award-nominated actor Edward James Olmos will host a discussion featuring Paul Chavez (Cesar Chavez’s son), the director Richard Ray Perez, and Dr. Mario Garcia, author of The Gospel of Cesar Chavez.
Cesar’s Last Fast is a multi-platform, cross-media documentary film currently in production that is structured around powerful, never-before-seen footage of Cesar Chavez’s 1988 “Fast for Life,” an act of penance for not having done enough to stop growers from spraying pesticides on farm workers. The story of this 36-day, water-only fast is the film’s dramatic arc into which the filmmakers interweave the historic events that defined the life mission of one of America’s most inspiring Latino leaders. The screening will be approximately one hour long.
The screening is a part of the Sundance Documentary Film Program’s ‘Works-in-Progress’ series, created by Cara Mertes, the DFP’s Director, to provide a vibrant showcase for DFP grantees, and build audience and awareness for upcoming films. The DFP has presented Work-In-Progress Screenings at the MoMA, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), the Hammer Museum, and at film festivals worldwide. “Cesar Chavez is part of the fabric of Los Angeles, so we felt, what better place to hold one of our Work-in-Progress screenings about his life’s work and legacy?” said Mertes.
“Sundance Institute’s Work-in-Progress screenings provide audiences the unique opportunity to meet the extraordinary people involved with a documentary like Cesar’s Last Fast, and to engage them in conversation on the ideas and issues the film addresses,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director, Sundance Institute. “We’re thrilled to have the directors Richard Ray Perez and Molly O’Brien present a glimpse into their creative process making the film, and we’re honored to have Edward James Olmos host a discussion on the film’s important topics with them, Paul Chavez and Dr. Garcia.”
“I’m thrilled and inspired that the Sundance Institute is nurturing and supporting Latino stories. Latino stories are increasingly a vital part of our nation’s narrative and Cesar Chavez’s story is an inextricable part of American History,” said director Richard Ray Perez.
Sundance Institute Work-In-Progress Screening of Cesar’s Last Fast
Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd at Westwood, Los Angeles, CA 90024; Phone: 310.443.7000
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 7 PM
Free
All Hammer Programs are free and open to the public. Tickets are required, and are available at the Billy Wilder Theater Box Office one hour prior to start time. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6:00 p.m. Visit http://hammer.ucla.edu. Press should RSVP to amy_mcgee@sundance.org for limited reserved seating.
The Sundance Documentary Film Program, a core program of Sundance Institute, supports U.S. and international feature documentary films that focus on pressing contemporary social issues of global relevance. Films supported by the DFP have included My Country, My Country; Iraq in Fragments; Why We Fight; The Inner Tour; The Betrayal (Nerakhoun); Traces of the Trade and Trouble the Water.
Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, An Inconvenient Truth and Angels in America. www.sundance.org.
For more information contact:
Amy McGee
amy_mcgee@sundance.org
310.492.2333
Lizette Becerra lizettebecerra@gmail.com
818.913.4618
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