A GOLDEN FIPA AWARD FOR WENDY CREWSON IN HUNT FOR JUSTICE : THE LOUISE ARBOUR STORY

Montreal, Canada – Monday, January 30th 2006 – Galafilm is proud to announce that actor Wendy Crewson won a Golden FIPA Award for her portrayal of Louise Arbour in Hunt for Justice : The Louise Arbour Story at the 19th Biarritz’s International Festival of Audiovisual Programs. Director Charles Binamé accepted the award in her name.

Wendy Crewson is one of Canada’s most important actors. She has appeared in an impressive number of movies, such as A Home at the End of The World, The Clearing, The Santa Clause and Santa Clause II, Better than Chocolate, Air Force One, Corrina, Corrina, … We also saw her in numerous TV series, including Sex Traffic, 24, An Unexpected Love, The Many Trials of One Jane Doe, The Spring, At the End of the Day: Sue Rodriguez, From the Earth to the Moon, I’ll Never Get to Heaven or Getting Married in Buffalo Jump. In the course of her career, Mrs. Crewson has worked with many respected directors, such as Ted Kotcheff, Don Ameche, Robert Zemeckis, Anne Wheeler, Pieter Jan Brugge, Chris Columbus, Sally Field, Francis Mankiewicz, Robert Altman and Wolfgang Peterson. She also won four Gemini Awards.

This new honor follows the victory of Hunt for Justice : The Louise Arbour Story at California’s Orinda Film Festival where the movie won the Audience Award for Favorite Feature and Overall Favorite. The television movie also enjoyed a warm reception during its presentations in December at the United Nations in New York, and at the International Criminal Tribunalin The Hague.

Hunt for Justice : The Louise Arbour Story, soon to be broadcast on CTV and Radio-Canada, recounts the story of Louise Arbour, a determined and courageous woman who Is currently serving as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. When age-old hatreds in the Balkans ended in ethnic cleansing, mass killings and rape of civilians, the world watched in horror as war criminals went unpunished. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, created by the United Nations was derided as a lame duck. That is, until the arrival of Louise Arbour as Chief Prosecutor for the International War Crimes Tribunal in 1996. Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story is a fictionalized account of her dramatic 3-year struggle to indict, arrest and convict war criminals, culminating in the imprisonment of former president Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague. Today Milosevic is currently standing trial for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since these events, Time Magazine named 2004 Louise Arbour one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

The movie is directed by Charles Binamé (Seraphin: Heart of Stone, The Rocket, H2O). Joining Wendy Crewson are John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sex in the City), Academy Award-winner William Hurt (The Village, Kiss of the Spider Woman), as well as German film stars Heino Ferch (The Fall, Run Lola Run, The Tunnel) and Stipe Erceg (The Edukators). Leslie Hope (Commander-in-Chief, 24, H2O) and Claudia Ferri (Mambo italiano, Ciao bella) round up the ensemble cast. Ian and Riley Adams (Agent of Influence) and Michelle Lovretta (Instant Star, The Associates) wrote the screenplay. Michel Cusson (Omertà, Un homme et son péché) wrote the original music, Dominique Fortin (La Grande Séduction, Head in the Clouds), the editing and Georges Archambault (Les Boys), the direction of photography.

The Louise Arbour Story is a Canada/Germany co-production involving Montreal’s Galafilm Inc. and Germany’s Tatfilm in association with CTV. Producers are 2003 Primetime Emmy Award-winner Arnie Gelbart (Cirque de Soleil: Fire Within, The Origins of AIDS, Lilies) and Gemini Award-winner Francine Allaire (Dr. Lucille: The Lucille Teasdale Story, The Blue Butterfly, Steel Toes). Executive Producers are Gemini-Award Winner Anne Marie La Traverse (Tripping the Wire, The Eleventh Hour, Lucky Girl), and Randy Holleschau (Changing Hearts) along with Francine Allaire, Arnie Gelbart and German co-producer Christine Ruppert. Normand Thauvette is Co-Executive Producer. Tecca Cosby is CTV’s production executive overseeing the movie. Bill Mustos is Senior Vice-President, Dramatic Programming for CTV. Susanne Boyce is President of CTV Programming and Chair of the Media Group.

Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story is being distributed worldwide (outside of Canada and Germany) by PorchLight Entertainment.

The Louise Arbour Story was made possible with the financial participation of CTV’s Heroes, Champions and Villains (HCV) strand, Cogeco Fund, a contribution from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Flimstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen Fund, ARTE and WDR Broadcast licences, the Quebec Tax Credit Program administered by SODEC and the Canadian film or Video Production Tax Credit.

For 15 years, Galafilm has been at the forefront of independent film and television production in Canada. Founded and helmed by Arnie Gelbart, the company has grown into one of Canada’s leading entertainment producers with an expertise of national and international co-productions. Synonymous with high-quality production values, Galafilm’s catalogue boasts over 200 hours of award winning and commercially successful entertainment content that aim to educate and entertain worldwide audiences. Galafilm’s diverse slate includes documentaries, youth programs, television dramas and feature films.



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Information:

Brigitte Léveillé
Communications, Galafilm Inc.
514-273-4252 x228
bleveille@galafilm.com