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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 24, 2005
NEW FILM ABOUT WORLD HUNGER
OFFERS COMPELLING EXAMINATION
OF
BOTH THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTIONS
Silent Killer:
The Unfinished Campaign
Against Hunger
is narrated by NPR’s Scott Simon
PUBLICITY CONTACT:
Pat Mallinson
KCTS/Seattle Public Television
206.443.6798
pmallinson@kcts.org
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| SEATTLE – There are a billion hungry
people in the world. Fifteen thousand children—the equivalent
of five times the victims of the World Trade Center bombings—die
each day of hunger. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. We
can end hunger—if we make a commitment to doing so. The new
one-hour documentary SILENT KILLER: The Unfinished Campaign Against
Hunger shows how it can be done. Shot on location in South Africa,
Kenya, Mexico, Brazil, the United States and Rome, SILENT KILLER
examines both the problem of hunger and solutions. The documentary
and its companion Web Site (www.SilentKillerFilm.org) will provide
viewers with inspiration and information to become part of the effort
to end hunger. |
| Produced by Hana Jindrova and John de Graaf (Affluenza, Escape from Affluenza) in association with KCTS/Seattle Public Television,
SILENT KILLER airs on public television stations beginning
in September 2005. (Please check local
listings.) |
| Narrated by National Public Radio’s Scott
Simon, the film begins in South Africa’s Kalahari Desert, where
razor thin Bushmen use the
Hoodia cactus to fend off hunger. But
now, a drug firm has patented the Hoodia’s
appetite-suppressant properties
and is using it to make a diet product
for obese Americans and Europeans. Hoodia is a metaphor
for a world where some people die from too much food, but millions
more
die from too little. |
| We discover how serious the problem is in Kenya
as we meet Jane Ininda, a scientist
who is trying to make agriculture
more productive in her country, while
her own brother, Salesio, barely survives the drought, poor soils and
pests that constantly threaten his crops. Through powerful stories,
we come to understand the dimensions
of the hunger crisis. |
| At the World Food Summit in Rome, we learn how
activists have been working to end hunger since President John F.
Kennedy declared war on it in 1963.
But today, America’s commitment to food security is less clear. In fact,
world financial commitments to hunger research
have been declining in recent years. |
| But SILENT KILLER does not leave viewers feeling
helpless. A visit to Brazil finds a
nation energized by a new campaign
called FOME ZERO—Zero Hunger. In the huge city of
Belo Horizonte, we meet a remarkable
leader and see how, under
the programs she supervises, the right to food is guaranteed
to all. In the countryside, we are introduced to the Landless Peasants’ Movement, which is giving
hope to millions of hungry Brazilians. |
| Can we end hunger, or will it always be with
us? Why should we try? What will it
take? What are we doing now? Can
biotechnology play a role, and if so, how? Is hunger just a problem
of distribution, or do we still need
to produce more and better crops? These
are the questions considered in this exquisitely
photographed documentary. |
| EXPERTS featured in SILENT KILLER and available
for press interviews include: |
David Beckmann – president, Bread for
the World. Since 1991, reverend
Beckmann has served as president
of Bread for the World, a Christian group that lobbies the U.S.
government for policy changes to end hunger in the United States and around
the world.
dbeckmann@bread.org - Ph: 202.639.9400 |
Hans Herren – World Food Prize Laureate
1995, president of the Millennium Institute,
Arlington, VA; foreign associate,
National Academy of Sciences; co-chair of the International Assessment of
Agricultural Science and Technology
for Development.
hherren@threshold21.com - Ph: 703.841.0048 |
Per Pinstrup-Andersen – World Food Prize
Laureate 2001. A native of Denmark,
Pinstrup-Andersen is
the H.E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy at
Cornell
University. He also serves as the chairman of the Science Council of
the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research.
pp94@cornell.edu - Ph: 607.255.9429 |
Chris Barrett – development economist,
Cornell University. Dr. Barrett is a professor of applied
economics and management at Cornell
University. His focus is on rural communities,
primarily in Africa, concentrating on the dynamics of poverty,
food security and hunger.
Cbb2@cornell.edu - Ph: 607.255.4489 |
Walter Falcon – development economist,
Stanford University. Dr. Falcon is
the Farnsworth Professor of International
Agricultural Policy at Stanford University (emeritus), co-director
of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy, and former director
of the Stanford Institute for International
Studies.
wpfalcon@stanford.edu - Ph: 650.723.6367 |
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| PROGRAM TIE-INS: October 16
is the 25th observance of World Food
Day—a worldwide event
designed to create awareness,
understanding and year-round action
to alleviate hunger. (See www.worldfooddayusa.org.) In addition,
October 24 is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United
Nations
and its first agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). |
| CREDITS: SILENT KILLER was
produced by Hana Jindrova and John
de Graaf in association with KCTS/Seattle Public Television and
is narrated by NPR’s Scott Simon. Writer: John de Graaf. Photographers/Editors:
Diana Wilmar and David Fox. Composer: Michael
Bade. Executive Producer: Enrique Cerna, KCTS.
Funding was provided by The Rockefeller Foundation. |
| DISTRIBUTOR: SILENT KILLER
is presented nationally by KCTS/Seattle
Public Television and is distributed by the National Educational Telecommunications
Association (NETA). |
| WEB SITE: See www.SilentKillerFilm.org
for more information about the film,
including a full transcript, in-depth interviews
with film characters and experts on
hunger, a guide for teachers, a list
of hunger facts and myths, a
detailed “Take Action” section and additional resources.
Color images from the film are posted
on the site for press use, along with an online press
kit. |
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