PBS SHOW, HUMAN RIGHTS FILM TIE FOR BEST OF FESTIVAL-EDUCATION

LOS ANGELES -- Two films tied for Best of Festival in Education in the 2009 U.S. International Film & Video Festival. They are “Selma!” created by Forster Film LLC, Winterthur, Switzerland, and "Stop That Pickle! & Chicks and Salsa" Episode 803 “Between the Lions,” a PBS show from WGBH, Boston, Mass.

Judges were from the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers made the selection.

“The productions are both outstanding and at completely opposite ends of the educational spectrum,” wrote Vern Oakley, CEO of Tribe Pictures, Chatham, N.J., and coordinator of the judging panel. “After much debate, we decided to award both productions Best of Festival.”

“Selma!” was mandated by Geneva-based World Association for the School as an Instrument of Peace (EIP), to create interest in human rights among teen-agers in developed countries. It is about a 16-year old coping with the normal frustrations of growing up who begins to equate her problems to the Declaration of Human Rights when she is asked to read that document in school.

 "Stop That Pickle!” was designed to help youngsters learn to read, with an emphasis on children in high-poverty communities. The “Between the Lions” series follows the goals of the National Reading Panel. The series is funded by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education's Ready To Learn grant, and by the Barksdale Reading Institute. It uses live action and animation to tell the story.

Clips from the winners and nominees and other winners in the 2009 film festival can be viewed here. The U.S. International Film & Video Festival was founded in 1967. The Festival received more than 1,000+ entries in all categories from 22 countries.

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