NINTH INSTALLMENT IN KAT KRAMER’S FILMS THAT CHANGE THE WORLD SERIES WILL SHOW SAT. JUNE 3RD AT UCLA’S JAMES BRIDGES THEATRE
Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering’s “The Hunting Ground” and James Haven’s “Court of Conscience” both examine the rape culture and its deadly consequences
LOS ANGELES – MAY 25, 2017 --The searing feature documentary “The Hunting Ground”, a 2016 Oscar-nominated film about campus rape, will screen on Saturday June 3 at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre as the ninth installment in Kat Kramer’s Films That Change the World series. The short film “Court of Conscience”, starring Jon Voight and the late Anton Yelchin, will also be shown during the evening, followed by a panel discussion led by Kramer with members of the cast and production team including “Court of Conscience” star Voight and writer-director James Haven as well as producers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering who helmed “The Hunting Ground”.
Katharine "Kat" Kramer, an actress and producer in her own right, created the ongoing series to showcase motion pictures that tackle important social issues. In so doing, she is following in the footsteps of her late father, the legendary producer/director Stanley Kramer, who was known for taking artistic and financial chances by making movies about controversial subjects including “Judgement at Nuremberg” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.
THE HUNTING GROUND, a monumental exposé of rape culture on college campuses from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering -- two-time Emmy-award winning and two-time Academy award-nominated documentary film directors — premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and was released by Radius/The Weinstein Company and CNN. In 2016 it was the recipient of the Producer’s Guild of America’s Stanley Kramer Award, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Their previous film, THE INVISIBLE WAR, a groundbreaking investigation into the epidemic of rape within the US military, won two Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the 2012 Independent Spirit Award 2012 for Best Documentary, a Peabody Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
“Court of Conscience” is a dramatization of the concept developed by 17th-century European theology that held that one's conscience would testify for or against one's actions in life after death. Actor-writer James Haven made his directorial debut with this 20-minute cautionary tale.
Raised in the entertainment business James Haven is no stranger to the impact films, tv, and media have on our world. As the world becomes more complicated there is one thing that is constant; whatever happens to us as children will affect us the rest of our lives. Period.
"Court of Conscience" tackles this concept head on. Starring Jon Voight and the late Anton Yelchin, this film empowers all of us who see an injustice to take it on. No matter how powerful someone is they must be held accountable.
Kramer, Founder of Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World says, "I'm thrilled to be presenting the ninth installment for my international cinema series on the UCLA campus. My father Stanley Kramer donated his collection and archives to the UCLA School of Film and Television many years ago, and that started the special collections. There is also a special Fellowship in Directing scholarship under his name. In my own small way I am following in his footsteps by presenting and developing films that are socially-conscious."
"And this "double feature" on June 3rd is open to students, film students and educators besides the media, actorvists, creatives in the entertainment industry, and is made accessible to the deaf and differently-abled. Hopefully, these films and our panel will open people's eyes to the serious damaging repercussions of rape and abuse so prevalent in our society."
The film series began in 2009 with Barbra Streisand's Yentl,which focused attention on women's equality, and was used as a springboard for a discussion about the widespread sexual abuse of women in the Congo. Celebrities in attendance and the Host Committee included: Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Anne Archer, Jenna Dewan, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Beverly Todd, Bird York, Arlene Sorkin and women of the Congo.
The second film presented in the series in 2010 was the Academy Awardâ-winning documentary film, The Cove, which exposed the slaughter of dolphins in Japan. The Host Committee and Celebrities in attendance included: Luis Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens, Mark Monroe, Charles Hambleton, Danny Huston, James Kyson Lee, Leslie David Baker, Ben Stiller, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Beau Bridges, Jeff Bridges and Beverly Todd.
In 2011 the film, Elephants and Man: A Litany of Tragedy, about the suffering of elephants in captivity was presented. The event was hosted by Lily Tomlin with special guests, Cher and Tippi Hedren. The Host Committee included: Billy Bob Thornton, Paula Poundstone, Robin Williams, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Alec Baldwin, Kathy Griffin, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley, Jr., Ken Davitian, Stella Stevens, Lainie Kazan, and Karen Black.
In 2012, the film, Teach Your Children Well, which dealt with the growing problem of bullying in schools was screened. The documentary was narrated, and the event was hosted by, Lily Tomlin. Attendees included: Gary Takesian, Steven Roche, Paul Belsito, Robin Dunne Voss, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Miss Coco Peru, Kathryn Joosten, Bella Thorne, Glynn Turman, Bruce Vilanch, Judy Tenuta, Kate Linder, Thom Bierdz, Romi Dames and Wendy Walsh.
In 2013, the Australian documentary film, Fallout received its American Premiere in the series, exploring the subject matter of nuclear holocaust and the making of Stanley Kramer's film On The Beach. The event was hosted by Lily Tomlin and Dr. Helen Caldicott. The Host Committee included: Karen Sharpe-Kramer, Ed Asner, Harrison Ford, Sharon Stone, Ed Begley, Jr., Louis Gossett, Jr., Ric O'Barry, Rick Overton, Heather Mayfield, Donna Anderson, Marsha Hunt, Jerry Mathers, Glynn Turman and Beverly Todd.
In 2014, the controversial documentary film, The Decent One, was presented in association with the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, chronicling the life Adolf Hitler's right hand man, SS Commander Heinrich Himmler. Special Guests included filmmaker Vanessa Lapa, Event Co-Host Hilary Helstein, Sound Designer Tomer Eliav and Holocaust Historian Michael Berenbaum.
In 2015, the festival presented Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain hosted by Martin Sheen and Mischa Barton. Marsha Hunt, the legendary 97-year-old actress of Hollywood's Golden Age and one of the few remaining survivors of The Hollywood Blacklist, was honored with The First Annual Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World "Marsha Hunt For Humanity Award," for her prolific acting career and work as a social activist for change.
The Panel Discussion, included the film's stars Martin Sheen and Mischa Barton; the director and co-writer, Ravi Kumar; the executive producers Terrance A. Sweeney and Leszek Burzynski and the director of photography Charlie Wuppermann.
The Host Committee for the event included: Ed Asner, Mischa Barton, Ed Begley, Jr., Leszek Burzynski, Tim Edwards, Marsha Hunt, Ravi Kumar, William H. Macy, Kal Penn, Sharon Stone, Terrance A. Sweeney, Billy Bob Thornton, Mariana Tosca and Charlie Wuppermann.
In 2016, a special open caption screening of Paul Weitz’s Grandma starring Lily Tomlin was held on the lot at Sony Pictures Studios. The event was co-presented with Signmation and “The Grandma Gang,” a grassroots fan group that has devoted Grandma members across the country. The panel discussion featured writer director Paul Weitz who participated in a "filmmakers panel" for the deaf community in entertainment. Panelists included deaf actor/director Troy Kotsur (Deaf West) and writer/director Jevon Whetter. Kramer moderated the ASL interpreted panel with multiple interpreters, something she committed to do at all series screenings from then on.
The cinema series is FREE and by invitation only, but this one is open to students both high school and college students. Parking in Structure 3 on campus is $12.00.
Contact: Deborah Gilels, LA Media Consultants
818-758-6509/ddgilels@prodigy.net
