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Hamzeh Mystique Films & Harron Entertainment's Critically Acclaimed/Award Winning Documentary
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Added: 12/23/2004
Type: Summary
Viewed: 870 time(s)
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Hamzeh Mystique Films & Harron Entertainment's Critically Acclaimed/Award Winning Documentary
December 23, 2004 -- Hamzeh Mystique Films and Harron Entertainment's critically acclaimed and award winning documentary "The Letter: An American Town and the Somali Invasion" has been selected to screen at two of Amnesty International's 2005 Film Festivals: San Francisco, CA and Asheville, NC. In 2004, "The Letter" was honored to launch Amnesty International's 2004-05 film festival series by being chosen as the Opening Night feature film at the Amnesty International Pittsburgh Film Festival.
The first of two 2005 Amnesty International screenings of "The Letter" will be held in San Francisco, CA at the ATA Theatre on January 15th. (www.atasite.org)
The second of two 2005 Amnesty International screenings of "The Letter" will be held in Asheville, NC on January 21st. (www.amnestyusa.org/filmfest)
Written and directed by Ziad Hamzeh, "The Letter" chronicles the turmoil predominately white Lewiston, Maine faces when 1,100 former Somali refugees relocate there en-masse in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy – referred to as the “Somali invasion” by the international news media.
A firestorm of controversy erupts when Lewiston mayor Larry Raymond sends an open letter to the newly arrived Somali community asking them to tell friends and family not to move into the city. The conflict escalates into competing “hate” and “peace” rallies held simultaneously and separated by only a few miles. The “hate” rally staged by Reverend Matt Hale’s World Church of the Creator, a white separatist group, and a “peace” rally organized by the Many & One Coalition, a local community group, necessitates the largest police action in Maine’s history to ensure the safety of the city’s residents.
Premiering at The 2003 AFI Film Festival, "The Letter: An American Town and the Somali Invasion" won Best Documentary at the 2004 Boston International Film Festival, was nominated as Best Documentary at The 2004 Pan-African Film Festival, was featured on NPR's "Here and Now", is the subject of a feature article authored by The Southern Poverty Law Center and Tolerance.org, and is an official selection of the 2004 Greenwich Film Festival, the 2004 Maine International Film Festival, the 2004 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival, the 2004 Newport Beach Film Festival, the 2004 Rhode Island Film Festival, the 2004 Tallgrass Film Festival, the 2004 African Diaspora Film Festival, and the 2005 Santa Barbara African Heritage Film Series.
"The Letter" Offical Website: www.hamzehmystiquefilms.com/theletter
Harron Entertainment: www.harron.com
Arab Films Distribution is the North American distributor of "The Letter": www.theletterfilm.com
Amnesty International Film Festival Official Website: www.amnestyusa.org
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