Media Programming Alert
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Contact: Kevin McKenna
617-338-4455 ext.143
Kevin_McKenna@APTonline.org

APT WORLDWIDE SECURES REPRESENTATION RIGHTS TO BARACK OBAMA DOCUMENTARY

Poignant film follows Senator Obama during his trip to Africa

Boston (Jan. 24, 2007) -- APT Worldwide, the international sales division of U.S. public television distributor American Public Television, has secured international representation rights for SENATOR OBAMA GOES TO AFRICA, a new documentary film by Bob Hercules, the director of Forgiving Dr. Mengele. Part personal odyssey and part chronicle of diplomacy in action, this timely and poignant documentary follows Senator (and U.S. Presidential hopeful) Barack Obama as he travels to the land of his ancestry. From Kenya to South Africa to a Darfur refugee camp in Chad, Senator Obama explores the vast continent that is gaining increasing importance in this age of globalization.

The heart of SENATOR OBAMA GOES TO AFRICA is Obama's homecoming to Siaya, Kenya — his father's hometown — where thousands of people turn out to greet him. "It was completely overwhelming," says Michelle Obama, the Senator's wife. "It's hard to describe unless you were there — to see hundreds and thousands of people lining the streets of this very small town to greet my husband." Obama visits with his grandmother and extended family before continuing on to Kisian, where he and Michelle take an HIV/AIDS test in public as a symbolic gesture to encourage others to do the same.

In South Africa, Senator Obama takes a trip to Robben Island — the infamous prison where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 21 years. He talks about how his own political activism was sparked by the U.S. anti-apartheid movement. He also visits several CARE facilities and comments on the inadequacies of the South African government's AIDS policy.

At a Darfur refugee camp in Chad, we see, through Obama's eyes, the devastating effects of genocide. Here, we listen as victims of the crisis tell their stories, and Obama, U.N. officials, and other aid workers explore ways in which to support the victims.

Throughout it all, Senator Obama narrates the film, giving his own perspective on the journey and Africa's significance in the world today. Additional perspectives are included through interviews with Obama's family members, experts on African affairs, U.S. political commentators and African citizens.

For more information, visit www.aptww.org

APT Worldwide
APT Worldwide, located in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is a major supplier of quality non-fiction programming to broadcasters around the world. It is a division of American Public Television, a leading distributor of television programming to public television stations in the United States. For more information, visit APTWW.org or contact Kevin_Mckenna@APTonline.org.

About American Public Television:
With more than 10,000 hours of programming in its library, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations for 47 years, distributing more than 300 new program titles per year. APT milestones include distribution of the first HD series on public television and the 2006 launch of Create – the TV channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming. Known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly programming, APT has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that strengthen and customize their schedules, such as Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti in Concert, Battlefield Britain, Globe Trekker, Rick Steves' Europe, Great Museums, Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way, America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated, Broadway: The Golden Age, Lidia's Family Table, California Dreamin' – The Songs of The Mamas & the Papas, Rosemary and Thyme, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, The Big Comfy Couch, Monarchy With David Starkey, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs and classic movies.

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