Academy’s Contemporary Documentaries Series Returns Tonight With FOOD, INC., MUSIC BY PRUDENCE And MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences kicks off Part Two of its 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” screening series with “Food, Inc.” and “Under Our Skin” TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is FREE.

From cruel and unsanitary conditions in cattle and chicken farming to the addition of corn syrup and sodium to many foods, “Food, Inc.” examines the ways in which large corporations in the American food industry dominate the marketplace and affect the quality of what we consume. Directed by Robert Kenner and produced by Kenner and Elise Pearlstein, “Food, Inc.” earned an Academy Award® nomination for Documentary Feature. Robert Kenner & Elise Pearlstein will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening.

Directed and produced by Andy Abrahams Wilson, “Under Our Skin” investigates the untold story of Lyme disease.  As it follows patients and physicians fighting for their lives or livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of America’s broken healthcare system.

The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

The screening schedule for Part Two, which runs through June 2011, is as follows:

Wednesday, March 30
“Music by Prudence”
Directed by Roger Ross Williams
Produced by Williams, Elinor Burkett
Academy Award winner: Documentary Short Subject

“Music by Prudence” is the story about the most unlikely voice of hope – singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena and her band of seven young disabled Zimbabweans – trying to survive in a bankrupt country.  Directed by Roger Ross Williams and produced by Williams and Elinor Burkett, the film earned the 2009 Academy Award® for Documentary Short Subject.

“Mugabe and the White African”
Directed by Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson
Produced by David Pearson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock

In “Mugabe and the White African,” a courageous white farmer, Mike Campbell, challenges Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, before an international court in an effort to protect his property, his family’s livelihood and that of the 500 black workers who also live on his farm. The film was directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson and produced by David Pearson and Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock.

Wednesday, April 20
“Rabbit à la Berlin”
Directed by Bartek Konopka
Produced by Anna Wydra
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject

“We Live in Public”
Directed by Ondi Timoner
Produced by Timoner, Keirda Bahruth

Wednesday, April 27
“The Fence”
Directed by Rory Kennedy
Produced by Kennedy, Liz Garbus, Keven McAlester

“Which Way Home”
Directed and produced by Rebecca Cammisa
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature

Wednesday, May 11
“Soundtrack for a Revolution”
Directed by Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Produced by Joslyn Barnes, Jim Czarnecki, Guttentag, Sturman, Dylan Nelson

“Every Little Step”
Directed and produced by James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo

Wednesday, May 18
“Lt. Watada”
Directed and produced by Freida Mock

“Sergio”
Directed by Greg Barker
Produced by John Battsek, Barker, Julie Goldman

Wednesday, May 25
“Woman Rebel”
Directed and produced by Kiran Deol

“Burma VJ”
Directed by Anders Østergaard
Produced by Lise Lense-Møller
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature

Wednesday, June 1
“Facing Ali”
Directed by Pete McCormack
Produced by Derik Murray

“Tyson”
Directed by James Toback
Produced by Toback, Damon Bingham

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit http://www.oscars.org/ or call (310) 247-3600.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

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