---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 13 Apr 2001 12:22:41 -0400
From: Mary Watkins <[log in to unmask]>
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Shindler's List, Captioned and Described on PBS

While this is not a message about a first-run film, it is an announcement I thought a significant number of Motion Picture Access/MoPix e-mail list members would appreciate hearing about.  Please note that non-feature film related postings will be few and far between.  As always, if you would like to be removed from the MoPix e-mail list, please send a message with "delete mopix" in the subject line to [log in to unmask]

Thank you.
Mary Watkins

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE							   

Contact: Mary Watkins
Media Access Group at WGBH
617 300-3700 v, -2489 TTY
[log in to unmask]


PBS TO BROADCAST SCHINDLER'S LIST WITH CAPTIONS AND 
DESCRIPTION FOR DEAF AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED AUDIENCES

Boston, MA (April 13, 2001) — PBS stations nationwide will broadcast the Oscar-winning film Schindler's List on Thursday, April 19 from 8-11:30pm ET (check local PBS listings for times and repeat dates) in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day.  The special PBS broadcast will be captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for blind and visually impaired viewers, which represent a combined audience of 34 million Americans.  Closed captioning and description are provided by The Caption Center and Descriptive Video Service respectively — non-profit services of the Boston-based Media Access Group at WGBH. 

PBS recently purchased broadcast rights to Schindler's List, which was released in theaters in 1993.  As a trailblazer in the area of media accessibility, PBS saw the importance of and need to ensure that the film is fully accessible to deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and visually impaired viewers.  "This incredible film is of personal significance to many people and of great educational value to all audiences — including the deaf and blind communities," says Media Access Group/Services director Lori Kay.  "We're very proud to be able to make this broadcast event accessible to those viewers, and we have heard from many who are grateful that they’ll be able to enjoy it on April 19." 

Actors Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes star in Steven Spielberg's cinematic masterpiece, based on the true story of Nazi businessman Oskar Schindler, who employed Jewish laborers in his Polish factory during World War II and witnessed the Holocaust horrors that they endured.  In an unlikely metamorphosis from profiteer to humanitarian, Schindler (Neeson) manages to save more than 1,100 Jews from almost certain demise in Nazi death camps.  Nominated for an impressive twelve Academy Awards, Schindler's List collected seven, including those for Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski) and Best Original Musical Score (John Williams).  

PBS will broadcast the original, uncut theatrical version of the R-rated film, formatted for television and never before broadcast in its entirety.  Director Steven Spielberg will introduce the film and offer a brief content advisory to parents.  PBS will provide two intermissions, featuring segments based on the work of the Shoah Foundation and the PBS Online Holocaust Resources Web site at www.pbs.org/holocaust/schindler (with classroom resources, relevant Web links and Schindler information).  The presentation is sponsored exclusively by Northwestern Mutual.  

The Media Access Group at WGBH, with offices in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, is a non-profit service of the WGBH Educational Foundation, home of Boston's PBS station.  The service group includes Descriptive Video Service, which has made television, film and video more accessible to blind and visually impaired audiences since 1990, as well as The Caption Center, the world's first captioning agency, founded in 1972.  The third counterpart of the Media Access Group, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, is a research and development entity that works to make existing and emerging technologies more accessible to these under-served audiences.  Members of the Group's collective staff represent the leading resources and experts in their fields. For more information, visit access.wgbh.org.

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