World Premiere of
“FREE CHINA: The Courage to Believe”
A Film by Michael Perlman (53 min), co-produced with New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD).
2012 Palm Beach International Film Festival Screening April 14th & 16th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (NEW YORK, NY – April 10th, 2012) The 17th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival will play host to the World Premiere of the film “Free China: The Courage To Believe,” by Michael Perlman, the award winning director of “Tibet: Beyond Fear.” The film examines widespread human rights violations in China through the remarkable stories of Jennifer Zeng, a mother and former Communist Party member and Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese American businessman, who along with hundreds of thousands of peaceful citizens are tortured and subjected to slave labor for their spiritual beliefs in the Falun Gong meditation practice.
On the heels of the recent power struggle in China, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s push to end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and other dissidents is at a critical juncture. As tens of millions of Chinese citizens quit the Communist Party and its related organizations and more than one hundred thousand protests occur each year inside China, this timely documentary film provides new information that connects China’s widespread human rights violations with systemic unfair trade practices and state-sanctioned organ harvesting for profit.
The film documents specific US companies that profit from enabling the Chinese leadership to suppress dissidents and sheds light on the recent lawsuit filed by the Human Rights Law Foundation against Cisco System for allegedly implementing an elaborate surveillance apparatus that has led to the detention and torture of many Chinese prisoners of conscience. The film also explores how Internet technologies are aiding human rights activists in China and around the world by allowing uncensored information into closed societies. In addition, the film highlights how a re-emergence of traditional Chinese culture and spirituality are helping bring about a new China.
Interviewees in the film Include:
Dr. Charles Lee, Chinese American Businessman
Jennifer Zeng, Former Chinese Communist Party Member, best selling author of “Witnessing History: One Chinese Woman’s Fight for Freedom”
Hon. David Kilgour, Former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
Rep. Chris Smith, US Congressman, Senior Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (Chairman of its Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee)
Ethan Gutmann, Author of “Losing The New China” and Contributor for The Asian Wall Street Journal
Screening Times
Mizner Park Cultural Arts Centre, Boca Raton, 2:30 PM Sat, Apr 14
201 Plaza Real,Boca Raton,FL33432 Tel: 561.362.0003
&
Muvico Parisian 20 at CityPlace 1, 2:45 PM Mon, Apr 16
545 Hibiscus Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Tel: 561.833.0400
Both screenings will be followed by discussions with the film maker – Michael Perlman (Director/Producer), Kean Wong (Producer/Executive Producer) and Jennifer Zeng.
For more information, please visit: www.FreeChinaMovie.com & www.pbifilmfest.org
Press Contacts:
Michael Perlman (Director/Producer) Kean Wong (Producer/Executive Producer)
World2Be Productions NTD Television
Tel: (201) 926-3092 Tel: (347)-681-3987
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