FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Takata
Phone: 212-465-3125
FAX: 212-658-9627
Email: info@nextpix.com

[Washington DC, February 15, 2009] nextPix, a film/media production company, announced today the 2008 winner of its firstPix grant. The firstPix program offers post-production funding to selected films that meet the criteria of 'humanistic filmmaking'.

The 2008 selection is WEAVING WISDOM, directed and produced by Nicole Karsin. The film follows three indigenous women leaders across Colombia as they cope with killings, imprisonment, and combat in their territory. An intimate glimpse at the nonviolent struggle for indigenous rights and culture in Colombia, the film tracks the search for truth and justice by these courageous women.

A sensitive and compelling film, WEAVING WISDOM had its first 'Work In Progress' screening at Women Make Movies in September of 2008, and is produced by Todos Los Pueblos (All People Productions). Todos Los Pueblos was founded in 2007 with a vision to produce documentaries that connect many worlds with crucial, untold stories.

Don Thompson of nextPix states: "It's important for us all to support women filmmakers, and moreover, films about women who are overlooked and oppressed by forces with much more resources and apparent power. But the power of the oppressed cannot be understated; it is their voices that must and will be heard. We strongly believe WEAVING WISDOM will assist with that effort."

Now in its ninth year, the firstPix program has supported a diverse mix of projects, ranging from narrative features to documentaries. The 2005 selection, TIBET IN SONG (dir. Ngawang Choephel) became a nextPix co-production, was accepted at 2007 Sundance Documentary Lab and subsequently at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary. Other firstPix projects have been screened at Sundance, Mill Valley, Montreal World Film Fest, Chicago Documentary Film Fest, among others, and many have gone on to theatrical and/or DVD release.

Founded in 2001, nextPix was conceived as a production company that would focus on "humanistic" media that would promote and produce films and filmmakers with an alternative vision to Hollywood. The company has also produced or co-produced two feature films and one documentary, and is developing the narrative feature film MESSAGE TO SHIGATSE, due for release in 2010. For more information about nextPix, please email info@nextpix.com.

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