Veiled Voices will premiere as a national broadcast on Link TV on September 13th, at 8pm EST and continue to screen throughout the month. The documentary will be part of special programming on Link TV for Ramadan—the Holy Month of Fasting for Muslims.

About the Film:

Veiled Voices seeks to introduce American audiences to the little-known world of Muslim women religious leaders, exposing the fallacy of assuming veiled women to be victims of Islam. The film reveals the challenges these women face in receiving recognition of their leadership roles, and highlights the gaps between the rights that Islam has given to women and the challenges they face in claiming those rights.

About the Filmmaker:

Producer and director Brigid Maher is a filmmaker, video producer and an assistant professor in the Film and Media Arts Division at American University in Washington D.C.  The primary focus of her work is on issues of cultural identity and discrimination.  Maher has directed film and live theater productions around the world and recently completed a film short, AWOL, shot on location in Lebanon. The film has recently toured the festival circuit.  Maher also wrote, directed and produced the feature film Adrift in the Heartland, which was filmed in the West Bank and in Chicago.  Her films have been screened at numerous film festivals in the USA and abroad.

About Link TV:

Link TV broadcasts programs that engage, educate and activate viewers to become involved in the world. These programs provide a unique perspective on international news, current events and diverse cultures, presenting issues not often covered in the U.S. media. Link TV is available on Channel 375 on DIRECTV satellite service and on Channel 9410 on the DISH® NETWORK.

Veiled Voices is distributed exclusively by Typecast Releasing.
Phone: (206) 322-0882
Fax: (206) 322-4586
Email: info@typecastfilms.com

Visit the Veiled Voices website at veiledvoices.com.

Typecast Releasing to Distribute Brigid Maher’s
New Documentary, Veiled Voices

Washington, DC – July 13, 2009:

Filmmaker Brigid Maher [AWOL, Adrift in the Heartland] has signed an exclusive deal with Typecast Releasing for U.S. distribution of her latest film, Veiled Voices.

Women across the Arab world are redefining their role as leaders in Islam. Veiled Voices investigates the world of Muslim women religious leaders through the eyes of three women in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. Filmed over the course of two years, Veiled Voices reveals a world rarely documented, exploring both the public and private worlds of these women. The stories featured in the film give insight into how Muslim women are now increasingly willing to challenge the status quo from within their religion, promoting Islam as a powerful force for positive transformation in the world. Each triumphs over difficult challenges as they carve out a space to lead—both in Islam and in their communities.

Producer and Director Brigid Maher is a filmmaker, multimedia designer and an assistant professor in the Film and Media Arts Division at American University in Washington, DC. Her work focuses on issues of cultural identity and discrimination. She has directed film and theater productions all around the world and recently completed the short film AWOL, which was filmed on location in Lebanon and is now touring the festival circuit. Maher wrote, directed and produced the feature film Adrift In the Heartland, which was filmed in the West Bank and in Chicago. Maher’s films have been screened at international film festivals both in the USA and abroad.

“John Sinno and Typecast Releasing are nationally renowned for cutting edge work having to do with the Middle East. It’s an honor and an exciting opportunity.” –Brigid Maher

“Through its genuine portraits, Veiled Voices vividly illustrates the important role that Muslim women can play in shaping the future of the religion.” –John Sinno

Typecast Releasing currently has Veiled Voices available on DVD for institutional purchase and on other formats for broadcast and festival screenings in the USA.

You can view clips and find more information at veiledvoices.com. To purchase an institutional DVD copy, click here. Please contact Alex at (206) 322-0882 ext. 202 or by email at alex-at-typecastfilms.com if you have any questions.

Sheikha Stories:

Also directed by Brigid Maher, Sheikha Stories is now available for institutional purchase on DVD, with a discount applied if purchased together with institutional DVD copy of Veiled Voices. This collection of five documentary shorts profiles women of the Middle East and the institutions that support their role in Islam. For information on each of the individual short films, click here. Sheikha Stories is also available for broadcast and festival screenings in the USA.

Ars Magna, a short documentary released by Typecast Releasing as part of the International Documentary Challenge, has received a nomination in the 30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. The announcement was made July 14 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).

The film, directed by Cory Kelley and produced by Sean Roach, qualified for the Emmy’s by receiving a national broadcast on PBS’ POV series, public television’s premier showcase for independent documentaries. POV is the second most-nominated program after CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

Now in its 5^th year, the International Documentary Challenge is a timed filmmaking competition in which filmmakers from around the world have five days to make a short documentary film (4-7 min.) In 2009, 147 filmmakers from 15 countries participated, making it the largest Doc Challenge to date. Presenting Partners include the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto (where the winning films premiere), POV/American Documentary, Documentary Educational Resources and KDHX.The News & Documentary

Emmy Awards will be presented on Monday, Sept. 21 at a ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City.

To learn more about the international documentary challenge, visit http://documentarychallenge.org/.

Write, shoot and edit a short non-fiction film in just 5 days. You must use an all-volunteer crew, none of whom will be getting much sleep in order to submit the film before the judges’ deadline.

This DVD collection features a variety of short non-fiction works from around the globe – from China to New York City; from Seattle to Amsterdam; from Montana to Japan – representing the very best from filmmakers who participated in the first three years of the International Documentary Challenge.

Available on DVD March 17, 2009.  For more information click here.

Typecast Releasing is proud to announce the home video availability of Tunisian director Nacer Khemir’s critically acclaimed 2006 film, Bab’Aziz – The Prince Who Contemplated his Soul. The final film in Khemir’s Desert Trilogy was a New York Times Critic’s Pick, while Sheri Linden of the L.A. Times stated, “there’s nothing forced about Bab’Aziz; its ideas resonate quietly, building to a breathtaking climax.”

The DVD also includes the new 20-minute featurette called Nacer Khemir’s Desert Trilogy, an insightful look into the director’s films and fascinating expositions on the connections between Bab’Aziz, The Dove’s Lost Necklace and Wanderers of the Desert.

“The breathtaking desert landscapes that dominate Nacer Khemir’s beautiful, elliptical Middle East drama deserve the big screen. . . you’ll remember the dreamlike state the film induces long after the credits roll.”
– New York Magazine

(2006, 96 minutes, In Arabic & Farsi with English subtitles, Directed by Nacer Khemir)

DVD Special Features

• Nacer Khemirs Desert Trilogy (20 minute featurette)
• New digital transfer from original film elements
• Trailers
• 5.1 Audio

The Special Edition DVD of The Corporal’s Diary is now available in stores nationwide and with online retailers including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.  Recently featured on an episode of ABC’s Good Morning America, this insightful and moving film is an affecting document of a mother’s journey through the pain and reconciliation of the death of her son, while also serving as an expository glimpse into the life of a US soldier in Iraq. The Corporal’s Diary was greeted with overwhelmingly positive press and acclaim throughout its 2008 theatrical run.

The Corporal’s Diary Special Edition DVD includes a 20-page booklet with Corporal Jonathan Santos’ complete diary entries from Iraq.  Additional special features include The Corporal’s Boots documentary short, additional interviews and featurettes, classroom guides for teachers and more.

Typecast Releasing is pleased to announce a North American retrospective tour of works by world-renowned Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 82. The jewel of this commemorative series is a restored 35mm film print of Chahine’s 1958 classic, Cairo Station, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. A steamy film noir masterpiece of repressed sexuality, madness and violence set in the city’s central train depot, Cairo Station earned Chahine international recognition and acclaim when it screened at the Berlin Film Festival.

Other 35mm film prints available for the series include The Land, Chahine’s sprawling epic from 1969 which was hailed by critics as the “best Egyptian film of all time” and The Sparrow, which was considered one of Chahine’s most complex and controversial films when it was released in 1972. A pristine new 35mm print of the insightful and lovingly-crafted short documentary, Cairo As Seen By Chahine, is also available for the series. Several of the director’s more popular films will be available in non-35mm formats, such as the riveting musical tragedy The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976) and An Egyptian Story (1982), the wonderfully bizarre centerpiece in Chahine’s autobiographical Alexandria Trilogy.

A prolific, creative and hard-working director, Youssef Chahine will be remembered not only for his imaginative, music-filled works that entertain audiences even as they examine the social and political issues of Egypt, but also for his role in bringing Egyptian cinema to the attention of appreciative movie-goers all around the world.

The Youssef Chahine Retrospective Tour:

* Cleveland, OH . Cairo Station at the Cleveland Cinematheque . Oct. 4, 2008
* New York, NY . Cairo Station at the Museum of Modern Art . Nov. 12 & 15, 2008
* Dearborn, MI . Cairo Station at the Arab American National Museum . Nov. 16, 2008
* Chicago, IL . Chahine Retrospective at the Gene Siskel Film Center . Jan. 2-Feb. 9, 2009
* Boston, MA . Chahine Retrospective at the Harvard Film Archive . Jan. 16-19, 2009
* Durham, NC . Chahine Retrospective at the Duke U. Screen Society . Feb. 2 & 9, 2009
* Berkeley, CA . Cairo Station at the Pacific Film Archive . Feb. 8, 2009
* Fort Worth, TX . Cairo Station at the Modern Art Museum . March 20-22, 2009
* Rochester, NY . Chahine Retrospective at the George Eastman House . April 1-29, 2009
* Brooklyn, NY . Chahine Retrospective at BAM . May 29-June 9, 2009
* Tucson, AZ . Cairo Station at The Loft Cinema . July 12 & 14, 2009
* Columbus, OH . Cairo Station at Wexner Center for the Arts . Oct. 15, 2009
* New York, NY . Chahine Retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center . Nov. 15, 2009
* New Orleans, LA . Cairo Station at the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center . Nov. 21, 2009
* Austin, TX . Chahine Retrospective at the Austin Film Society . Jan. 12 & 19, 2010
* Madison, WI . Chahine Retrospective at the UW Cinematheque . Jan. 23-Feb. 27, 2010

Typecast Releasing is pleased to announce that two of our documentary films have been nominated for Emmy Awards! LIBBY, MONTANA, which was broadcast nationally in 2007 on the PBS Series POV/The American Documentary, has received a News & Documentary Emmy nomination in the category of “Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story–Long Form.”

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, which was shown on Cinemax in their Reel Life series, has been nominated for “Outstanding Individual Achievement In a Craft: Cinematography” in the News Coverage/Documentaries category.

The nominees were announced on July 15 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). You can find the full list of this year’s News & Documentary Emmy nominees here.

Typecast Releasing is excited to announce the upcoming release of the 2008 documentary, The Corporal’s Diary. This eye-opening documentary is centered on the video and written diary of a young US soldier’s 38 days spent in Iraq before his unfortunate death.

Jonathan Santos, 22, documented his 37 days in Iraq on video and in writing; never knowing that day 38 would be his last. From high explosives to clandestine home brew, his video footage and witty narrative combine personal musings on life, death, and the future he imagined but would never see. His charming buddy, Matthew, who barely survived, brings the war home. Through Jonathan’s handwritten words and videotape, the film tells a personal and profound story. [thecorporalsdiary.com]

The film will be premiering at the Seattle Truly Independent Film Festival on June 10th, and then have a limited theatrical run before a widespread home video release. More details on the theatrical and home video specifics soon to follow.

The Corporal’s Diary – official website