| behind the scenes > Media releasesWMM acquires THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE (12 May 2004)Women Make Movies is pleased to announce that it has picked up North American distribution rights for Cathy Henkel's acclaimed documentary, THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE, which tied for the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Called one of the "25 best" at Tribeca by the Village Voice, this powerful film explores the unsolved case of the rape of the director's own mother. Actress Glenn Close, a festival judge, describes her reaction to the film: "I was profoundly moved by it. It starts in a terrible event that really changes the landscape of a family, but also [offers] the wider picture of what is going on with this issue in South Africa and across the world. I think it's a tremendously important movie." Director Cathy Henkel, from South Africa but now living in Australia, has worked as a documentary producer, writer and director since 1988, following a 10-year career as a theater director. She recently directed a stage production of the Vagina Monologues in Australia. THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE was an Official Selection at Hot Docs, a Finalist in the Documentary Competition at the Cape Town World Cinema Festival, and a Finalist for the Independent Spirit Award at the Lexus IF Awards in Australia. Worldwide sales for the film are being handled by Films Transit, and the film is slated for broadcast on the Sundance Channel in 2005. WMM is also pleased to announce big Tribeca wins for filmmakers in our Production Assistance Program. THE TIME WE KILLED, by Jennifer Todd Reeves, won Best NY, NY Narrative Feature, EVERY MOTHER'S SON by Tami Gold and Kelly Anderson, won the $25,000 Audience Award, and Melissa Hacker was editor for SISTER ROSE'S PASSION, which won for Best Documentary Short. We are extremely gratified at the success of our filmmakers and of women filmmakers in general. Four of the six filmmakers we are involved with at Tribeca won festival awards. And it's coming off the heels of a great showing at Hot Docs, where our new release LA CUECA SOLA, by Marilu Mallet, brought home prizes in two categories," says Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director of Women Make Movies. For more information about Women Make Movies films and programs, contact Cindy Kridle at 1-212-925-0606 X 306, email ckridle@wmm.com or visit our web site at www.wmm.com. Australian documentary THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER’S FACE co-won Best Documentary Film at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival which was held in New York from 1 to 9 May.
Australian film THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE wins Best Documentary Feature at Tribeca Film Festival (11 May 2004)Writer/director Cathy Henkel was in New York to receive the award at the Tribeca Performing Arts Centre on Sunday 9 May. Jurors on the documentary feature panel included Jeffrey Wright, Oliver Platt, Whoopi Goldberg and Glenn Close. Two days before Christmas in 1988, Cathy Henkel’s 59 year-old mother was sexually assaulted and brutally bashed in her home in Johannesburg, South Africa by a local white teenager. Because of police bungling, the crime was never solved. For fourteen years, she was not able to recover and rejected contact with the outside world. In an attempt to help her mother heal, Cathy returned to Johannesburg to get the case reopened and began making THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER’S FACE. What begins as a daughter's quest for justice becomes a revelation about the healing process. Writer/director Cathy Henkel said from New York today, "We are delighted to win this award as it will help focus more attention on the issue of sexual violence. The film highlights the importance of bringing this crime into the open to help rape survivor’s and their families deal with what has happened, and to encourage the justice system to improve the way they handle these cases". Actress Glenn Close, one of the judges of the Documentary Film Section at the Tribeca Film Festival, spoke glowingly of the film and said “I was profoundly moved by it... and hope that everyone will have a chance to see it and be strengthened by it and inspired by it and healed by it. "I think it’s a tremendously important movie for anyone who cares about violence against women and anyone who cares about the viability of a family, and healing as opposed to hopeless destruction." THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER’S FACE also screened at the hot docs Canadian International Documentary Festival In April/May 2004 to great critical acclaim and was a finalist at the Cape Town World Cinema Festival in 2003. ABC TV will screen the documentary in August 2004 (date tbc). Media information: Fiona Nix at NIX Co. T 02 9380 4933 F 02 9380 4944 E nixco@bigpond.net.au Australian documentary selected for Tribeca and Hot Docs (1 April 2004)An intensely personal documentary film about one woman's search for justice following a sexual assault is the only Australian film selected amongst an impressive international line-up for the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in May. THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE, written and directed by Cathy Henkel and produced by Hatchling Productions, was selected as one of 65 films in competition from a record 3,300 entries from around the globe. The film will have three screenings over four days at the United Artists Battery Park Theater in New York City and is in competition in the international Documentary Features section. The festival, founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, will feature a program of 150 features and documentaries and 100 shorts alongside gala premiers of major studio releases. Cathy Henkel will attend the festival with her co-producer and partner Jeff Canin and their international distributor, Jan Rofekamp of Films Transit International, who will use this opportunity to launch the film in the USA. The film's profile in North America has received a further boost by the film's selection for screening at Hot Docs, the Canadian International Documentary Festival held from April 23 - May 2nd. "The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face", which is set in Johannesburg, South Africa, will screen in the "Made in....South Africa" programme being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of democracy in South Africa. Cathy will attend Hot Docs to introduce the film and take part in industry panels to talk about the challenges involved in bringing this story to the screen. She will also be involved in promoting the film for its broadcast on CBC the following week. The film will air on The Passionate Eye on CBC Newsworld on Monday May 3 at 10 pm ET and then be repeated at 1am ET so that it gets a prime time play in the west. THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE is the story of Laura Henkel, mother of filmmaker Cathy Henkel, who was sexually assaulted and brutally bashed in her home in Johannesburg in 1988 by a local teenager. Although Laura identified her attacker from a school photograph, the man was never charged, and remained free. Fourteen years later, Laura was still unable to recover and had locked herself away from the world. Cathy returned to Johannesburg, the city of her birth, in search of some form of justice for her mother. She managed to get the case re-opened, but when the police investigation bogged down, she took matters into her own hands, and found and confronted the man her mother had identified as her attacker. What began as a quest for justice became a revelation about the process of healing. The film was produced in conjunction with the Film Finance Corporation, the ABC, NSW Film and TV Office, Australian Film Commission, ABC Sales and Films Transit International. It has been sold to broadcasters in The Netherlands, Canada, South Africa and the ABC in Australia and recently received a generous offer from The Sundance Channel for broadcast in the USA. The producers are currently developing an expanded web site to extend the themes of the film, and a DVD with additional features such as updates on all the major characters in the story and information about sexual assault around the globe. The film will receive its Australian premier in the coming months and will be broadcast on ABC later in the year. Cathy's mother's transformation during the film and in the subsequent months has been dramatic. Laura has emerged from her isolation and is taking part in life once again. This includes attending university classes three days a week and being active socially. She recently had her first poem accepted by an American publication and is playing netball. This whole process has had quite a miraculous effect on her, Cathy Henkel said. For further information: Ph: + 61 2 6629 1449 Find out more... |
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