Ana’s Playground has qualified to be considered for an Academy Award® nomination in this years’ 83rd awards cycle due to wins at four Academy sanctioned festivals – the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Cleveland International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Foyle Film Festival in Northern Ireland. Since the film’s release in September 2009, it has also won top honors at the Tiburon, Norwich, New Hampshire and Cenflo film festivals.

Set in a non-specific, war-torn country, Ana’s Playground is an examination of children living and dying in a world of armed combat. Told through the eyes of 11 year-old Ana, the story opens on a group of children playing soccer surrounded by signs of conflict. When their soccer ball is kicked into a sniper zone, Ana is sent in to retrieve it. Once inside, a dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues, as Ana becomes the sniper’s target. Viewers are kept guessing as to how the story will reach its ultimate conclusion — will their games end up in harmony or tragedy?

“Ana’s Playground is an allegory about the moment a child is forced to choose between humanity and ideology,” said filmmaker Eric Howell. “The film is not a political statement about a particular war or conflict, instead it directly examines the delicate nature of a child’s humanity and how the world at large is connected to and responsible for preserving it.”

Raven Bellefleur, an eleven year-old actress plays Ana, leading an all-Minnesotan cast and crew. Producers Jillian Nodland and Marsha Trainer worked hard to pull together and organize resources to shoot the film in November 2008 in the Twin Cities.

With a background that demonstrates a balance of studio films and independents, writer-director Eric Howell is on a mission to raise awareness for short films, as well as the plight of war-affected children around the globe. Early in his career, Howell developed his directing skills by working as a stuntman/ coordinator on numerous feature films including North Country, Joe Somebody, Fargo and A Simple Plan as well as hundreds of TV commercials and music videos. Howell has directed several short films as well as various episodic television projects. He continues to work in the industry writing and developing his own material.

“Our hope is that Ana’s Playground will entice audiences to explore more of the exceptional film work being done in the short film category,” said Howell. “Short films are covering ambitious subject matter and the quality of the final product looks like what audiences expect from feature-length films.”

The filmmakers are interested in partnering with corporations, foundations and individuals who can help sponsor Ana’s Playground at film festivals and screening events to help audiences learn more about war-affected children and organizations helping them.

Production
Production of Ana’s Playground was made possible entirely through charitable donations. George Lucas’s Skywalker Sound provided all sound engineering post-production; and the Coen brothers’ latest production A Serious Man donated much of the physical set support. A long list of other industry insiders also shows up in the film’s credits.

Awards
WINNER – Grand Prize – USA Film Festival (Academy Sanctioned Festival)l
WINNER – Best Narrative Short Film – Newport Beach International Film Festival
WINNER – Best Foreign Short Film – Rome Independent Film Festival
WINNER – Best Short Film – Cleveland International Film Festival (Academy Sanctioned Festival)
WINNER – Best Short Film – Tiburon Film Festival
WINNER – Audience Choice Award and International Spirit Award – Sedona Film Festival
WINNER – Best Live Action Short Film – Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Academy Sanctioned Festival)
WINNER – Best International Short Film – Foyle Film Festival (Academy Sanctioned Festival)
WINNER – Best Screenplay – Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
WINNER – Best Short Film and Best of the Fest – Norwich International Film Festival
WINNER – Best Dramatic Short Film – New Hampshire Film Festival
WINNER – Best Short Film – Cenflo Film Festival

Other screenings of Ana’s Playground taking place in September and October include the Montreal International Black Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, International Conference on Children & War (Austria), Tacoma Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival (Indianapolis) and Valladolid International Film Festival (Spain).

For details on the film Ana’s Playground, to see an online media kit, or for more information about war-affected children, child soldiers and the organizations that support them, visit: www.anasplayground.com.

###

Notes for media:
For an online, press-only opportunity to screen Ana’s Playground please contact Sarah Shamla.

Eric Howell, the writer-director of Ana’s Playground and Jillian Nodland and Marsha Trainer, producers from the film are all available for interviews.

To be removed from this mailing please hit reply and list ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line. Please make sure your email address also appears in the body of the email.

The protection of war-affected children merits special attention and must be made a strategic priority as the Afghan government, with support from the international community, lays out plans to bring lasting peace and stability to the country.

The Watchlist’s report provides concrete policy recommendations to a range of actors to prioritize child protection in Afghanistan. Highlights include:
• The UN Security Council should ensure that core concerns relating to children affected by armed conflict are reflected in the terms of reference of the upcoming Security Council field visit planned for mid-2010. This includes following up on the commitments made by the GoA and international military forces to the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAC) during her recent visit.
• The UN Country Team in Afghanistan, under the dedicated leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan (SRSG), should commit staff and resources to prioritize child protection within their respective agencies, including the full implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1612 and 1882 throughout the country.
• Donors should support strengthening the capacity of Child Protection Action Networks (CPAN), which consist of governmental and nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan, to respond more effectively to violations against children.
This report is being widely distributed to the UN Security Council, other UN officials, governments, donors, NGOs, the media and academics. We encourage you to share this report with any of your colleagues who might find it of interest.
The report is available at www.watchlist.org.

Today I’m reminded of why.

This is why we made 'Ana's Playground'

The mission of this festival is to bring together soccer fans and cinephiles to celebrate the beauty and passion of soccer as captured and expressed on film. As strong believers in soccer’s power to unite people, K&S partners each year with a soccer-affiliated charity to whom a portion of the proceeds from the festival’s various activities is donated.

This year’s partner is Play31, a New York based nonprofit that uses soccer to help post-conflict communities in Africa come to reconciliation. Check them out at Play31.org – PLEASE DONATE TO THEIR EFFORT!!

e

Los Angeles Int’l Short Film Festival / Winner Best Screenplay
Norwich Int’l Film Festival, (U.K.) / Winner Best of Fest & Winner Best Short Film
Foyle Film Fest (Northern Ireland) / Winner Best Short (Academy Qualifier)
Santa Barbara Int’l Film Fest / Winner Best Live Action Short (Academy Qualifier)
USA Film Festival (Dallas) / Grand Prize Winner Short (Academy Qualifier)
Sedona Int’l Film Fest / Winner Best Int’l Spirit Award & Winner Audience Choice Award
Newport Beach Film Festival / Winner Best Short Film
New Hampshire Int’l Film Fest / Winner Best Short Film
Cenflo Film Festival / Winner Best Short Film
Tiburon Int’l Film Festival / Winner Best Short Film
Cleveland Int’l Film Festival / Winner Best Live Action Short (Academy Qualifier)
Rome Independent Film Festival (Italy) / Winner Best Foreign Short
WIFTI Short Film Showcase / Walker Art Center / Winner Outstanding Achievement Award
Milan Int’l Film Festival / Nominated Best Short Film under 30 minutes
Atlanta Film Festival / Honorable Mention Short Film (Academy Qualifier)

Calgary Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Bahamas Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Boulder Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Cinequest Int’l Film Festival, San Jose / Official Selection
Berlin Int’l Football Film Festival / Official Selection
San Luis Obispo Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Bradford Int’l Film Festival, (U.K.) / Official Selection
Vail Film Festival / Official Selection
Florida Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Upcoming Festival Screenings Include:
Minneapolis/St. Paul Int’l Film Festival (April 15-30)
Boston Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Arizona Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Sacramento Int’l Film Festival / Official Selection
Seattle Int’l Film Festival (May 21-23)
New York Kicking and Screening Football Film Festival (June 1-5)
Krakow Film Festival, Poland (May 31 – June 6)
Palm Springs Int’l ShortFest & Film Market (June 22-28)
Zanzibar International Film Festival (July 10-18)

Other Misc. Screenings:
Vancouver Winter Olympics, screenings organized by Right to Play to recruit athlete ambassadors (Feb 12-28)
Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Minneapolis MN (March 6)
“Children and War: Past and Present” Conference, Salzburg, Austria (Sept ’10)
World Link, Inc., 2011 Mid-term workshops for exchange students from Russia, Grozny, Chechnya, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Armenia, Moldova, Albania, Afghanistan and Pakistan
Shorts in Ports, Portsmouth Rhode Island (March 18)
Red Wing Outreach and Hope Coalition (April 22)