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FEATURE FILM: "PUNCTURED HOPE"
ACCRA/GHANA - SCREENING
"Punctured Hope", Film on Trokosi and Girls Slavery, Premieres in Africa with Great Success
Toronto Pictures Inc. hosts the exclusive premiere of the 35 mm, Hollywood standard feature film Punctured Hope in Accra/Ghana. The premiere was held on October 26th in the Executive Theater of Gama Films (TV3).
An impressive list of personalities ranging from Government officials, local film producers, prominent members of the press, cast and crew of the film were all in attendance.
In particular, gracing this special occasion were representatives from the Human Rights & Administrative Justice, Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations Honorable Asamoah Boateng, President of Ghana Actors Guide Mr. Samuel Odoi Mensah, Ghanaian Actress and Personality Ms. Akofa Edjeanu Asiedu and Senior Int. Banker (Unibank) Mrs. Gladys Teni Makonnen.
Also present were Director/Executive Producer Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Producer Daria Trifu along with Screen-Writer Kingsley Sam Obed and the lead actors of the feature film Belinda Siamey, Samuel Ruffy Quansah, Frost Asiedu, Tonye Akagbo, Michael Tuffour Ampem, Fred Amugi and Kenneth Senyo.
The film profiles the difficult subject of Trokosi, the ongoing sexual mutilation and enslavement of West Africas young girls and women. The plot consists of the enslavement of a young girl within the confines of a shrine, outside a small village in Ghana and her horrific ordeal through sexual abuse and genital mutilation.
The expansion, from the social to the political aspect, is delivered in the film with a dramatically poignant effect in the conclusion, as the medium of film assumes the idiosyncrasies of television, thereby revolutionising the rules of cinematography.
After the screening, Samuel Quansah declared I am astonished by the excellent direction, quality of production and general performance!. Others have stated that this is more than a film and Punctured Hope is the cinematic pride of Africa. Members of the Producers Association were unanimous in saying that this is how films have to be made.
Journalist Arthur Hughs of Uniq FM National Radio was granted an exclusive interview with Pischiutta, Trifu and Obed. Listen the 10 minutes radio interview in the Playlist above.
The premiere screening was followed by a second showcase of the film for the students of the National Institute of Film and Television (NAFTI) in Accra. The institute is headed by Mr. Martin Loh and it is actively training talent in all areas of film production.
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CONTACT TORONTO PICTURES:
Email: corporate@filmail.com
Phone: (1) 310-734-8669
Find more photos like this on Toronto Pictures FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TORONTO PICTURES CREATES ITS FIRST ADVISORY BOARD AND APPOINTS MEMBERS
TORONTO, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Toronto Pictures, Inc. (TTOPF), announced today that it has created a twelve-member Advisory Board to consult the Board of Directors (Bruno Pischiutta and Daria Trifu) on different activities and strategies of the company that range from research and development, production, publicity and marketing, distribution and finance as well as corporate expansion and new ventures.
Advisory Board members:
Mr. Marcelo Brito is a Travel Executive, film Executive Producer and an expert in Brazilian film production. He is in negotiation with Toronto Pictures to become the Executive Producer of the company’s two upcoming films scheduled for production this year. At present, Mr. Brito is the V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Blisscape, the ultimate resource for up-to-date travel to the most sought-after destinations, the richest resorts and the finest restaurants (www.blisscape.com). He is also the Managing Director at Brazilian Best Hotels, the world's leading sales outsource company in the United States selling the largest portfolio on International Hotels and Resorts in North America and Latin America. He is a graduate of the Universidade Paulista in Brazil.
Dr. Cheryl Bryantbruce, M.D. is recognized as the expert in concierge holistic wellness management. She has been seen on Access Hollywood, CNN, CBS, The Doctors, as well as on the Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World Alternate 100 list, USA Today, New York Daily News and more.
Ms. Jo-Ann Dean is a Producer, grant writer and member of Women in Film Los Angeles. As an educator of the deaf in Los Angeles for fifteen years, she established the American Sign Language Project to promote the visibility and accessibility of sign language programming through a U.S. Department of Education federal grant. The grant funded a Digital Television and Imaging Studio at Marlton School in Los Angeles, and her students have won competitive awards in video production nationally. She is a passionate producer for new voices and socially conscious media, as well as a co-founder of One Vision Media.
Ms. Anna Ivlieva is the Managing Director of Toronto Pictures’ office in New York. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia to a family of an actress and a theater play writer. Today, Ms. Ivlieva resides and works in New York City. She holds a BA in Communication/Electronic Film-Making from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her resume includes positions at SonyBMG Music Entertainment, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Ivlieva is an entrepreneur and she has just launched her exclusive website www.LuxuryVenture.com.
Ms. Tovi Kitron is an International Attorney, World Traveler and Entrepreneur. She was born in Israel. Today, a California resident, Ms. Kitron owns properties in Venice and in Santa Monica (www.BeyondBabyBoomers.ning.com)
Mr. Morris Kuzemchuk is the Manager of Market Research at General Motors of Canada. He lives in Toronto and he is a major shareholder of Toronto Pictures. Mr. Kuzemchuk has been with the company since its inception and he is Associate Producer of the feature films MAYBE and PUNCTURED HOPE.
Ms. Miri Lerner is a renowned Architect. She was born in the Czech Republic and raised in Israel. She lived and worked in South Africa for over 20 years in the 70’s and 80’s. Ms. Lerner now owns and develops properties in Venice, California.
Mr. Michael Lindlay, Vietnam War Veteran, President of the Veterans for Peace Los Angeles (www.VeteransForPeaceLA.org) and volunteer coordinator of the Arlington West Memorial in Santa Monica (www.ArlingtonWestSantaMonica.org). Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, a temporary memorial appears next to the world-famous pier in Santa Monica. This memorial, known as Arlington West, a project of Veterans For Peace, offers visitors a graceful, visually and emotionally powerful, place for reflection.
Ms. Adriana Hellinger Orlando is a Los Angeles Realtor and Board Member of the Canadians Abroad California. She has organized screenings for Toronto Pictures’ feature film PUNCTURED HOPE at the Kodak Company in Hollywood. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she was a social worker in Montreal, Canada for over 20 years and she helped to reform troubled teenagers.
Mr. Silvio Orlando has worked in the field of child welfare since 1970. He worked as a child care worker, social worker, social work supervisor, residential director, and assistant executive director in Montreal, New York, and Los Angeles before becoming the executive director of Optimist center (www.oyhfs.org) in Pasadena, California in 1999. Mr. Orlando received his Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from Boston College. He is also a past president of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services and is currently the president of the Association of Community Human Service Agencies in Los Angeles.
Dr. Nygel Poche, M.D., MBChB was raised in England and he began his undergraduate work at 14 and completed his medical degree at the University of Chicago at 23. Dr. Poche completed his residency at Harlem hospital and worked with Doctors Without Borders. He has conducted Neurolinguistic Training for the Tony Robbins Group, studied with J. Abraham, formatted and facilitated Life Redirection Seminars across the country, taught The Art of Listening workshop for The Summit Organization and completed advanced training with Landmark Education.
Mr. Dan Spelling is the C.E.O and Founder of Spelling Communications. Prior to starting Spelling Communications (www.spellcom.com), Mr. Spelling held previous positions that include: Director of Account Services at Design Communications; Media Coordinator for the public relations firm P.J. Roth & Associates; Principal at Reed/Spelling Associates; VP of Sales/Marketing at Book Source; and imprint publisher for Perigee Books, a division of Putnam Publishing Group. Mr. Spelling is a member of the American Marketers Association, the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society and the Public Relations Society of America. He has served on numerous advisory boards including Variety’s Showbiz Expo, the IDG EnterTech Expo, the Hollywood Reporter’s Post LA Expo. Mr. Spelling is also on the board of directors of Multimedia Tutorial (NASDAQ MMTS) and The Children’s Bureau, a 100 year-old philanthropic organization. A native of California, he holds a B.A. degree from University of California at Davis.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PUNCTURED HOPE Establishes Itself as the Hollywood Avant Garde in this Awards Season
Toronto, Canada Jan. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Yesterday, at Toronto Pictures’ headquarters, the company’s President Bruno Pischiutta and Vice President Daria Trifu have announced the production of three upcoming feature films: A PARTY GIRL FOR THE RAT PACK - from the original novel “Breaking My Silence” by Jane McCormick - (US $3.5 M; filming in Brazil & USA; June 2010), scripted and directed by Bruno Pischiutta, produced by Daria Trifu; GLICINE - Wisteria (US $6.1 M; filming in Romania; September 2010) and THE SEPIA PORTRAIT (US $12 M; filming in Brazil & China; March 2011), written and directed by Pischiutta and produced by Trifu.
Toronto Pictures’ film PUNCTURED HOPE has recently been nominated by the Political Film Society (Hollywood) as Best Film Exposé & Best Film on Human Rights of 2009. PUNCTURED HOPE has screened in Los Angeles since November 2009. PUNCTURED HOPE has certainly established itself as the Hollywood avant garde in this Awards Season. Each screening of the film has constituted an event. Viewers’ reaction has created a grassroots movement that identifies with Bruno Pischiutta’s CAUSE. Future event screenings will follow the film as it opens commercially in New York City starting in June.
The audience at PUNCTURED HOPE’s screenings included members of Amnesty International, of the Green Party, of Women in Film (WIF), of Films4Change, of Veterans for Peace and film professionals. Together with the general public present, they all have chosen to join the movement behind the film and Pischiutta’s CAUSE.
Toronto Pictures is trading on the OTC in the USA and plans are in motion to transfer the company on the London Stock Exchange in the coming months.
This year alone, the company is releasing commercially PUNCTURED HOPE and THE COMOEDIA: ENGLISH VERSION.
Brazilian producer and Los Angeles resident, Marcelo Brito, is in negotiations with Toronto Pictures to become an executive producer of the next two films alongside Bruno Pischiutta and Daria Trifu.
About PUNCTURED HOPE: Official Selection at the Montreal World Film Festival (2009); Nominated by The Political Film Society in two categories - Best Expose and Best Film on Human Rights of 2009; Qualified (2009) for consideration for Academy Awards® 2010 as 'Best Picture'. PUNCTURED HOPE is the first main stream feature film (USD 5.8 M, Hollywood standard, 35 mm, 91 min., English Language, Color, NR) that is based on an African story interpreted by an all African cast of professional actors and shot in Africa under the direction of visionary Maestro Bruno Pischiutta. PUNCTURED HOPE is inspired by the true life story of an African Trokosi slave who manages to escape. Trokosi is one of the widest spread forms of women slavery that exists today in the world.
FILM REVIEW: PUNCTURED HOPE Review
HUMAN RIGHTS EXAMINER: PUNCTURED HOPE Article
POLITICAL FILM SOCIETY: PUNCTURED HOPE Review
VIDEO CLIPS: PUNCTURED HOPE Clips
About Maestro Bruno Pischiutta: Born in Udine, Italy in 1947, Bruno Pischiutta began his film career in the late 1960s as an actor in films by Francesco Rosi, Nanni Loy and Billy Wilder. In 1975 he founded the Centro Iniziative di Azione Culturale in Rome. Pischiutta graduated from the Institute of Dramatic Art, Trieste, Italy (1966); he is a Dr. of Philosophy graduated from the University of Trieste, Italy (1971) and International Academician appointed by Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia, Italy (1981). Pischiutta has been awarded: Critics Award at Venice Film Festival (1970), Premio Simpatia (1976), Belle Arti Di Roma (1976), New York Film Festival (1981 & 1986), Bahamas One World Film Festival (2003). Pischiutta has been nominated by The Political Film Society (2009). Maestro Pischiutta is also a published writer of two books (‘The Comoedia’ 1980; ‘E va bene parliamo di cinema’ 1982) and of recognized courses for filmmakers (directing, writing, editing and acting) in Italy. He made his directorial debut in 1975 with COMPAGNE NUDE, and he moved to Canada in 1983. His other films include ULTIMO INCONTRO A VENEZIA (1977), ISOLA MECCANICA (1978), THE COMOEDIA (1981), BOUNTY HUNTERS (1985), LIFE’S CHARADE (1987), MAYBE (2003) and PUNCTURED HOPE (2009). Additionally, he wrote, directed, produced, executive produced and edited other feature films, TV shows and documentaries widely screened in cinemas and broadcast throughout Italy and other European countries to date. Bruno Pischiutta is the Founder, President and C.E.O. of Toronto Pictures and Chairman of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana.
About Pischiutta’s CAUSE: “We want that the rights of women and children are respected. We want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. We want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. We want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today.
Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us.
It is a new world; it is time for a new morality! It is time to put the important things first. We are working for our CAUSE through the medium of film because we are filmmakers. Film is our way to express ourselves and we are aware that our films will live after us: they will become our legacy.” - Bruno Pischiutta
About Daria Trifu: Born in Brasov, Romania in 1981, Daria Trifu began her film career in the year 2000, few months after moving to Canada, as a graduate of Bruno Pischiutta’s exclusive Film Acting Courses in Toronto. Trifu has studied Fine Arts since grade 5 in Europe and she graduated in 2000 with honors from the Central Technical School - Fine Arts Program in Canada. In Romania, she held private exhibitions of her paintings ever since the early age of 15 and her artwork was commissioned by prestige hotels in the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov. In her youth, Trifu, a prodigy child, excelled in sports such as tennis and sky when she won numerous competitions; she traveled the world both with her family and on her own with a National Choir attending International Festivals. Today, Trifu oversees the organization of Toronto Pictures’ attendance to all major film markets such as The American Film Market, Cannes, Montreal, etc. and in 2003 she was a speaker on the “Peacefulfish & Variety Presents Global Film Finance” panel in Cannes. Trifu is the Assistant Director of the feature film MAYBE (2003); Producer & Executive Producer of the documentary BRUNO PISCHIUTTA: FILM DIRECTOR (2009) and Producer & Executive Producer of the feature film PUNCTURED HOPE (2009). She will make her acting debut in the leading female role in the feature film GLICINE (Wisteria) to be shot in Romania in 2010. Daria Trifu is the Founder, President and C.E.O. of Adhara Properties and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of “Daria!” Magazine. She is also Vice President and C.O.O. of Toronto Pictures and President of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana. Daria Trifu is the role model for the actual generation of Romanian girls. She is one of the youngest and most powerful film executives in the world.
About Toronto Pictures: Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures explores different cultures and addresses controversial issues of our time in dramatic format. Toronto Pictures develops, produces and releases Hollywood standard, 35 mm feature films that provoke thought not violence.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Movie Commentary: PUNCTURED HOPE
SANTA MONICA, CA, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The last scheduled screening of PUNCTURED HOPE in Los Angeles is taking place tomorrow, January 16th @ 11:00 AM at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica (2nd Street and Santa Monica Blvd.). Academy Awards(R) members, in particular, are urged to attend. A Q&A period with Director Bruno Pischiutta and Producer Daria Trifu will follow the movie.
PUNCTURED HOPE is an English language feature film shot entirely in Africa. The actors are all professional Ghanaian and Nigerian actors. The motion picture showcases one of the best and most accurate representations of the African Black Magic displayed on film. Tomorrow's screening gives the chance to more Los Angeles residents to see this unique and powerful film. They will also have the chance to see the African style of acting, which is, of course, very different from the Hollywood one.
Until today, this film's viewers generally agree that the direction (Bruno Pischiutta) is spectacular and brilliant; the photography (Carmelo Dodaro) is excellent, the editing (Bruno Pischiutta) is impeccable and the music score (David Brandstatter) is monumental. The incredible interpretation of Belinda Siamey, leading actress, is unforgettable. Actor Ruffy Samuel Quansah, one of the lead male actors in the film, is a 2009 African Movie Academy Awards Nominee. Quansah and many of the actors playing in PUNCTURED HOPE were students of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana prior to joining the cast of the film.
PUNCTURED HOPE is an Academy Awards® Qualified Feature Film for nomination consideration as 'Best Picture'.
Already nominated by the Political Film Society as Best Film Exposé & Best Film on Human Rights of 2009, PUNCTURED HOPE stands in great company alongside films such as INVICTUS, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, AVATAR, THE YOUNG VICTORIA, DISTRICT 9, THE HURT LOCKER, THE INFORMANT, THE COVE, STATE OF PLAY, A WOMAN IN BERLIN.
An excerpt from the "Movie Commentary: PUNCTURED HOPE" article written today by Monica of A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MONICA!! Blog: (... This film is here to wake us up, as you watch it you keep thinking that this is maybe a memoir of an event of a cruel tradition that existed many, many years ago. Deep down you wish, it was one of those historic films, but unfortunately it's not. You will not walk out as the same person that walked in; if you are anything like me you will be wanting to take action to help abolish something so cruel. ...) To read the entire article, please go to:
REVIEW: MOVIE COMMENTARY: "PUNCTURED HOPE"
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Political Film Society Nominates “PUNCTURED HOPE” for a Best Film Exposé and a Best Film on Human Rights of 2009 Stanley Award
Hollywood, California 12/24/2009/ -- The Political Film Society in Hollywood has nominated the feature film “Punctured Hope” for two awards in the categories of ‘best film exposé’ and ‘best film on human rights’ of 2009.
The Political Film Society, founded by Professor Emeritus/Writer Michael Haas, was formed in 1986 to honor outstanding films that raise the political consciousness of the film viewing public. The Political Film Society exists to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Courageous film directors are given awards as a way of encouraging the film industry to make the public more aware of political realities.
Each year, films that best promote political consciousness are selected in four categories - democracy, exposé, human rights, and peace.
Since 1986, a short list of films nominated for this prestigious award include:
The Accused
Good Morning, Vietnam
Mississippi Burning
Born on the Fourth of July
Driving Miss Daisy
City of Hope
J.F.K.
Hoffa
The Last of the Mohicans
Midnight Express
Schindler’s List
L.A. Confidential
Saving Private Ryan
Fight Club
Boys Don't Cry
Erin Brockovich
Hotel Rwanda
The Constant Gardener
The Queen
Babel
Blood Diamond
The Last King of Scotland
“It is really an honor to have one of my films nominated by the Political Film Society and in the important categories of Best Film Exposé and Best Film on Human Rights. I have started out in this business, with Nobel Price Winner Dario Fo and I think that, after my many years and obvious dedication to certain social issues, I can say that this nomination represents one of the highest achievements of my life. I want that the rights of women and children are respected. I want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. I want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We, as a company, want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. I want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today. Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us. It is a new world; it is time for a new morality!” - Director Bruno Pischiutta
About the POLITICAL FILM SOCIETY: The Political Film Society was formed at Honolulu in 1986. The Political Film Society, headquartered in Hollywood since 1998, exists to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Courageous film directors are given awards as a way of encouraging the film industry to make the public more aware of political realities.
About MICHAEL HAAS: Michael Haas started the Political Film Society as a way to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Haas lived in Hollywood during the 1950s, when politically aware filmmakers were blacklisted. Mr. Haas is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii and the Chairman of the International Academic Advisory Board of the University of Cambodia. He played a role in stopping the secret funding of the Khmer Rouge by the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He has taught political science at the University of London, Northwestern University, Purdue University, and the University of California, Riverside. He is the author or editor of 33 books on human rights, including International Human Rights (2008), International Human Rights in Jeopardy (2004), The Politics of Human Rights (2000), Improving Human Rights (Praeger, 1994), and Genocide by Proxy (Praeger, 1991).
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WATCH FEW CLIPS BY REUTERS WHO DID MEDIA COVERAGE FOR 'PUNCTURED HOPE' IN NOVEMBER
About PUNCTURED HOPE: "PUNCTURED HOPE - A STORY ABOUT TROKOSI AND YOUNG GIRLS' SLAVERY IN TODAY'S WEST AFRICA" is the first mainstream feature film (USD 5.8 M, Hollywood standard, 35 mm, 91 min., English Language, Color, NR) that is based on an African story, interpreted by an all-African cast of professional actors and shot in Africa, under the direction of visionary Maestro Bruno Pischiutta.
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE
"PUNCTURED HOPE" ON THE IMDB
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Toronto, Canada (TransWorldNews) — On the occasion of his film, PUNCTURED HOPE, being announced as Toronto Pictures’ contender for the 2010 Academy Awards, Director Bruno Pischiutta has addressed the members of his private social network in a letter that breaks down the concept of his company’s CAUSE.
“Through PUNCTURED HOPE we want to help to free the slaves of the Trokosi tradition and to eliminate the barbaric practice of genital mutilation from the world.
We have other goals too.
We want that the rights of women and children are respected. We want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. We want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. We want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today.
Our business identifies with our art; our art identifies with our life. We have decided, long time ago, to live a life with a CAUSE that motivates us, our art and our work. Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us.
It is a new world; it is time for a new morality! It is time to put the important things first. We are working for our CAUSE through the medium of film because we are filmmakers. Film is our way to express ourselves and we are aware that our films will live after us. They become our legacy."
Email: corporate@filmail.com
Phone: (1) 310-734-8669
Find more photos like this on Toronto Pictures FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETORONTO PICTURES CREATES ITS FIRST ADVISORY BOARD AND APPOINTS MEMBERS
TORONTO, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Toronto Pictures, Inc. (TTOPF), announced today that it has created a twelve-member Advisory Board to consult the Board of Directors (Bruno Pischiutta and Daria Trifu) on different activities and strategies of the company that range from research and development, production, publicity and marketing, distribution and finance as well as corporate expansion and new ventures.
Advisory Board members:
Mr. Marcelo Brito is a Travel Executive, film Executive Producer and an expert in Brazilian film production. He is in negotiation with Toronto Pictures to become the Executive Producer of the company’s two upcoming films scheduled for production this year. At present, Mr. Brito is the V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Blisscape, the ultimate resource for up-to-date travel to the most sought-after destinations, the richest resorts and the finest restaurants (www.blisscape.com). He is also the Managing Director at Brazilian Best Hotels, the world's leading sales outsource company in the United States selling the largest portfolio on International Hotels and Resorts in North America and Latin America. He is a graduate of the Universidade Paulista in Brazil.
Dr. Cheryl Bryantbruce, M.D. is recognized as the expert in concierge holistic wellness management. She has been seen on Access Hollywood, CNN, CBS, The Doctors, as well as on the Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World Alternate 100 list, USA Today, New York Daily News and more.
Ms. Jo-Ann Dean is a Producer, grant writer and member of Women in Film Los Angeles. As an educator of the deaf in Los Angeles for fifteen years, she established the American Sign Language Project to promote the visibility and accessibility of sign language programming through a U.S. Department of Education federal grant. The grant funded a Digital Television and Imaging Studio at Marlton School in Los Angeles, and her students have won competitive awards in video production nationally. She is a passionate producer for new voices and socially conscious media, as well as a co-founder of One Vision Media.
Ms. Anna Ivlieva is the Managing Director of Toronto Pictures’ office in New York. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia to a family of an actress and a theater play writer. Today, Ms. Ivlieva resides and works in New York City. She holds a BA in Communication/Electronic Film-Making from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her resume includes positions at SonyBMG Music Entertainment, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Ivlieva is an entrepreneur and she has just launched her exclusive website www.LuxuryVenture.com.
Ms. Tovi Kitron is an International Attorney, World Traveler and Entrepreneur. She was born in Israel. Today, a California resident, Ms. Kitron owns properties in Venice and in Santa Monica (www.BeyondBabyBoomers.ning.com)
Mr. Morris Kuzemchuk is the Manager of Market Research at General Motors of Canada. He lives in Toronto and he is a major shareholder of Toronto Pictures. Mr. Kuzemchuk has been with the company since its inception and he is Associate Producer of the feature films MAYBE and PUNCTURED HOPE.
Ms. Miri Lerner is a renowned Architect. She was born in the Czech Republic and raised in Israel. She lived and worked in South Africa for over 20 years in the 70’s and 80’s. Ms. Lerner now owns and develops properties in Venice, California.
Mr. Michael Lindlay, Vietnam War Veteran, President of the Veterans for Peace Los Angeles (www.VeteransForPeaceLA.org) and volunteer coordinator of the Arlington West Memorial in Santa Monica (www.ArlingtonWestSantaMonica.org). Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, a temporary memorial appears next to the world-famous pier in Santa Monica. This memorial, known as Arlington West, a project of Veterans For Peace, offers visitors a graceful, visually and emotionally powerful, place for reflection.
Ms. Adriana Hellinger Orlando is a Los Angeles Realtor and Board Member of the Canadians Abroad California. She has organized screenings for Toronto Pictures’ feature film PUNCTURED HOPE at the Kodak Company in Hollywood. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she was a social worker in Montreal, Canada for over 20 years and she helped to reform troubled teenagers.
Mr. Silvio Orlando has worked in the field of child welfare since 1970. He worked as a child care worker, social worker, social work supervisor, residential director, and assistant executive director in Montreal, New York, and Los Angeles before becoming the executive director of Optimist center (www.oyhfs.org) in Pasadena, California in 1999. Mr. Orlando received his Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from Boston College. He is also a past president of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services and is currently the president of the Association of Community Human Service Agencies in Los Angeles.
Dr. Nygel Poche, M.D., MBChB was raised in England and he began his undergraduate work at 14 and completed his medical degree at the University of Chicago at 23. Dr. Poche completed his residency at Harlem hospital and worked with Doctors Without Borders. He has conducted Neurolinguistic Training for the Tony Robbins Group, studied with J. Abraham, formatted and facilitated Life Redirection Seminars across the country, taught The Art of Listening workshop for The Summit Organization and completed advanced training with Landmark Education.
Mr. Dan Spelling is the C.E.O and Founder of Spelling Communications. Prior to starting Spelling Communications (www.spellcom.com), Mr. Spelling held previous positions that include: Director of Account Services at Design Communications; Media Coordinator for the public relations firm P.J. Roth & Associates; Principal at Reed/Spelling Associates; VP of Sales/Marketing at Book Source; and imprint publisher for Perigee Books, a division of Putnam Publishing Group. Mr. Spelling is a member of the American Marketers Association, the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society and the Public Relations Society of America. He has served on numerous advisory boards including Variety’s Showbiz Expo, the IDG EnterTech Expo, the Hollywood Reporter’s Post LA Expo. Mr. Spelling is also on the board of directors of Multimedia Tutorial (NASDAQ MMTS) and The Children’s Bureau, a 100 year-old philanthropic organization. A native of California, he holds a B.A. degree from University of California at Davis.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PUNCTURED HOPE Establishes Itself as the Hollywood Avant Garde in this Awards Season
Toronto, Canada Jan. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Yesterday, at Toronto Pictures’ headquarters, the company’s President Bruno Pischiutta and Vice President Daria Trifu have announced the production of three upcoming feature films: A PARTY GIRL FOR THE RAT PACK - from the original novel “Breaking My Silence” by Jane McCormick - (US $3.5 M; filming in Brazil & USA; June 2010), scripted and directed by Bruno Pischiutta, produced by Daria Trifu; GLICINE - Wisteria (US $6.1 M; filming in Romania; September 2010) and THE SEPIA PORTRAIT (US $12 M; filming in Brazil & China; March 2011), written and directed by Pischiutta and produced by Trifu.
Toronto Pictures’ film PUNCTURED HOPE has recently been nominated by the Political Film Society (Hollywood) as Best Film Exposé & Best Film on Human Rights of 2009. PUNCTURED HOPE has screened in Los Angeles since November 2009. PUNCTURED HOPE has certainly established itself as the Hollywood avant garde in this Awards Season. Each screening of the film has constituted an event. Viewers’ reaction has created a grassroots movement that identifies with Bruno Pischiutta’s CAUSE. Future event screenings will follow the film as it opens commercially in New York City starting in June.
The audience at PUNCTURED HOPE’s screenings included members of Amnesty International, of the Green Party, of Women in Film (WIF), of Films4Change, of Veterans for Peace and film professionals. Together with the general public present, they all have chosen to join the movement behind the film and Pischiutta’s CAUSE.
Toronto Pictures is trading on the OTC in the USA and plans are in motion to transfer the company on the London Stock Exchange in the coming months.
This year alone, the company is releasing commercially PUNCTURED HOPE and THE COMOEDIA: ENGLISH VERSION.
Brazilian producer and Los Angeles resident, Marcelo Brito, is in negotiations with Toronto Pictures to become an executive producer of the next two films alongside Bruno Pischiutta and Daria Trifu.
About PUNCTURED HOPE: Official Selection at the Montreal World Film Festival (2009); Nominated by The Political Film Society in two categories - Best Expose and Best Film on Human Rights of 2009; Qualified (2009) for consideration for Academy Awards® 2010 as 'Best Picture'. PUNCTURED HOPE is the first main stream feature film (USD 5.8 M, Hollywood standard, 35 mm, 91 min., English Language, Color, NR) that is based on an African story interpreted by an all African cast of professional actors and shot in Africa under the direction of visionary Maestro Bruno Pischiutta. PUNCTURED HOPE is inspired by the true life story of an African Trokosi slave who manages to escape. Trokosi is one of the widest spread forms of women slavery that exists today in the world.
FILM REVIEW: PUNCTURED HOPE Review
HUMAN RIGHTS EXAMINER: PUNCTURED HOPE Article
POLITICAL FILM SOCIETY: PUNCTURED HOPE Review
VIDEO CLIPS: PUNCTURED HOPE Clips
About Maestro Bruno Pischiutta: Born in Udine, Italy in 1947, Bruno Pischiutta began his film career in the late 1960s as an actor in films by Francesco Rosi, Nanni Loy and Billy Wilder. In 1975 he founded the Centro Iniziative di Azione Culturale in Rome. Pischiutta graduated from the Institute of Dramatic Art, Trieste, Italy (1966); he is a Dr. of Philosophy graduated from the University of Trieste, Italy (1971) and International Academician appointed by Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia, Italy (1981). Pischiutta has been awarded: Critics Award at Venice Film Festival (1970), Premio Simpatia (1976), Belle Arti Di Roma (1976), New York Film Festival (1981 & 1986), Bahamas One World Film Festival (2003). Pischiutta has been nominated by The Political Film Society (2009). Maestro Pischiutta is also a published writer of two books (‘The Comoedia’ 1980; ‘E va bene parliamo di cinema’ 1982) and of recognized courses for filmmakers (directing, writing, editing and acting) in Italy. He made his directorial debut in 1975 with COMPAGNE NUDE, and he moved to Canada in 1983. His other films include ULTIMO INCONTRO A VENEZIA (1977), ISOLA MECCANICA (1978), THE COMOEDIA (1981), BOUNTY HUNTERS (1985), LIFE’S CHARADE (1987), MAYBE (2003) and PUNCTURED HOPE (2009). Additionally, he wrote, directed, produced, executive produced and edited other feature films, TV shows and documentaries widely screened in cinemas and broadcast throughout Italy and other European countries to date. Bruno Pischiutta is the Founder, President and C.E.O. of Toronto Pictures and Chairman of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana.
About Pischiutta’s CAUSE: “We want that the rights of women and children are respected. We want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. We want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. We want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today.
Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us.
It is a new world; it is time for a new morality! It is time to put the important things first. We are working for our CAUSE through the medium of film because we are filmmakers. Film is our way to express ourselves and we are aware that our films will live after us: they will become our legacy.” - Bruno Pischiutta
About Daria Trifu: Born in Brasov, Romania in 1981, Daria Trifu began her film career in the year 2000, few months after moving to Canada, as a graduate of Bruno Pischiutta’s exclusive Film Acting Courses in Toronto. Trifu has studied Fine Arts since grade 5 in Europe and she graduated in 2000 with honors from the Central Technical School - Fine Arts Program in Canada. In Romania, she held private exhibitions of her paintings ever since the early age of 15 and her artwork was commissioned by prestige hotels in the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov. In her youth, Trifu, a prodigy child, excelled in sports such as tennis and sky when she won numerous competitions; she traveled the world both with her family and on her own with a National Choir attending International Festivals. Today, Trifu oversees the organization of Toronto Pictures’ attendance to all major film markets such as The American Film Market, Cannes, Montreal, etc. and in 2003 she was a speaker on the “Peacefulfish & Variety Presents Global Film Finance” panel in Cannes. Trifu is the Assistant Director of the feature film MAYBE (2003); Producer & Executive Producer of the documentary BRUNO PISCHIUTTA: FILM DIRECTOR (2009) and Producer & Executive Producer of the feature film PUNCTURED HOPE (2009). She will make her acting debut in the leading female role in the feature film GLICINE (Wisteria) to be shot in Romania in 2010. Daria Trifu is the Founder, President and C.E.O. of Adhara Properties and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of “Daria!” Magazine. She is also Vice President and C.O.O. of Toronto Pictures and President of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana. Daria Trifu is the role model for the actual generation of Romanian girls. She is one of the youngest and most powerful film executives in the world.
About Toronto Pictures: Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures explores different cultures and addresses controversial issues of our time in dramatic format. Toronto Pictures develops, produces and releases Hollywood standard, 35 mm feature films that provoke thought not violence.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Movie Commentary: PUNCTURED HOPE
SANTA MONICA, CA, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The last scheduled screening of PUNCTURED HOPE in Los Angeles is taking place tomorrow, January 16th @ 11:00 AM at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica (2nd Street and Santa Monica Blvd.). Academy Awards(R) members, in particular, are urged to attend. A Q&A period with Director Bruno Pischiutta and Producer Daria Trifu will follow the movie.
PUNCTURED HOPE is an English language feature film shot entirely in Africa. The actors are all professional Ghanaian and Nigerian actors. The motion picture showcases one of the best and most accurate representations of the African Black Magic displayed on film. Tomorrow's screening gives the chance to more Los Angeles residents to see this unique and powerful film. They will also have the chance to see the African style of acting, which is, of course, very different from the Hollywood one.
Until today, this film's viewers generally agree that the direction (Bruno Pischiutta) is spectacular and brilliant; the photography (Carmelo Dodaro) is excellent, the editing (Bruno Pischiutta) is impeccable and the music score (David Brandstatter) is monumental. The incredible interpretation of Belinda Siamey, leading actress, is unforgettable. Actor Ruffy Samuel Quansah, one of the lead male actors in the film, is a 2009 African Movie Academy Awards Nominee. Quansah and many of the actors playing in PUNCTURED HOPE were students of the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana prior to joining the cast of the film.
PUNCTURED HOPE is an Academy Awards® Qualified Feature Film for nomination consideration as 'Best Picture'.
Already nominated by the Political Film Society as Best Film Exposé & Best Film on Human Rights of 2009, PUNCTURED HOPE stands in great company alongside films such as INVICTUS, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, AVATAR, THE YOUNG VICTORIA, DISTRICT 9, THE HURT LOCKER, THE INFORMANT, THE COVE, STATE OF PLAY, A WOMAN IN BERLIN.
An excerpt from the "Movie Commentary: PUNCTURED HOPE" article written today by Monica of A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MONICA!! Blog: (... This film is here to wake us up, as you watch it you keep thinking that this is maybe a memoir of an event of a cruel tradition that existed many, many years ago. Deep down you wish, it was one of those historic films, but unfortunately it's not. You will not walk out as the same person that walked in; if you are anything like me you will be wanting to take action to help abolish something so cruel. ...) To read the entire article, please go to:
REVIEW: MOVIE COMMENTARY: "PUNCTURED HOPE"
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Political Film Society Nominates “PUNCTURED HOPE” for a Best Film Exposé and a Best Film on Human Rights of 2009 Stanley Award
Hollywood, California 12/24/2009/ -- The Political Film Society in Hollywood has nominated the feature film “Punctured Hope” for two awards in the categories of ‘best film exposé’ and ‘best film on human rights’ of 2009.
The Political Film Society, founded by Professor Emeritus/Writer Michael Haas, was formed in 1986 to honor outstanding films that raise the political consciousness of the film viewing public. The Political Film Society exists to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Courageous film directors are given awards as a way of encouraging the film industry to make the public more aware of political realities.
Each year, films that best promote political consciousness are selected in four categories - democracy, exposé, human rights, and peace.
Since 1986, a short list of films nominated for this prestigious award include:
The Accused
Good Morning, Vietnam
Mississippi Burning
Born on the Fourth of July
Driving Miss Daisy
City of Hope
J.F.K.
Hoffa
The Last of the Mohicans
Midnight Express
Schindler’s List
L.A. Confidential
Saving Private Ryan
Fight Club
Boys Don't Cry
Erin Brockovich
Hotel Rwanda
The Constant Gardener
The Queen
Babel
Blood Diamond
The Last King of Scotland
“It is really an honor to have one of my films nominated by the Political Film Society and in the important categories of Best Film Exposé and Best Film on Human Rights. I have started out in this business, with Nobel Price Winner Dario Fo and I think that, after my many years and obvious dedication to certain social issues, I can say that this nomination represents one of the highest achievements of my life. I want that the rights of women and children are respected. I want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. I want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We, as a company, want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. I want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today. Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us. It is a new world; it is time for a new morality!” - Director Bruno Pischiutta
About the POLITICAL FILM SOCIETY: The Political Film Society was formed at Honolulu in 1986. The Political Film Society, headquartered in Hollywood since 1998, exists to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Courageous film directors are given awards as a way of encouraging the film industry to make the public more aware of political realities.
About MICHAEL HAAS: Michael Haas started the Political Film Society as a way to recognize outstanding achievement in raising political consciousness. Haas lived in Hollywood during the 1950s, when politically aware filmmakers were blacklisted. Mr. Haas is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii and the Chairman of the International Academic Advisory Board of the University of Cambodia. He played a role in stopping the secret funding of the Khmer Rouge by the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He has taught political science at the University of London, Northwestern University, Purdue University, and the University of California, Riverside. He is the author or editor of 33 books on human rights, including International Human Rights (2008), International Human Rights in Jeopardy (2004), The Politics of Human Rights (2000), Improving Human Rights (Praeger, 1994), and Genocide by Proxy (Praeger, 1991).
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WATCH FEW CLIPS BY REUTERS WHO DID MEDIA COVERAGE FOR 'PUNCTURED HOPE' IN NOVEMBER
About PUNCTURED HOPE: "PUNCTURED HOPE - A STORY ABOUT TROKOSI AND YOUNG GIRLS' SLAVERY IN TODAY'S WEST AFRICA" is the first mainstream feature film (USD 5.8 M, Hollywood standard, 35 mm, 91 min., English Language, Color, NR) that is based on an African story, interpreted by an all-African cast of professional actors and shot in Africa, under the direction of visionary Maestro Bruno Pischiutta.
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE
"PUNCTURED HOPE" ON THE IMDB
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Toronto, Canada (TransWorldNews) — On the occasion of his film, PUNCTURED HOPE, being announced as Toronto Pictures’ contender for the 2010 Academy Awards, Director Bruno Pischiutta has addressed the members of his private social network in a letter that breaks down the concept of his company’s CAUSE.
“Through PUNCTURED HOPE we want to help to free the slaves of the Trokosi tradition and to eliminate the barbaric practice of genital mutilation from the world.
We have other goals too.
We want that the rights of women and children are respected. We want to fight intellectual pollution, stupidity, racism and discrimination. We want to show that nonviolent film can be commercially viable and it can help to make a better world. We want to win the fight against ignorance and bigotry. We want to use film as an artistic weapon to improve the lifestyle and mentality of the viewers, to make their life better and to make them think in a positive way about major social problems that anguish our world today.
Our business identifies with our art; our art identifies with our life. We have decided, long time ago, to live a life with a CAUSE that motivates us, our art and our work. Our CAUSE is driven by high ideals and it is more important than anyone of us.
It is a new world; it is time for a new morality! It is time to put the important things first. We are working for our CAUSE through the medium of film because we are filmmakers. Film is our way to express ourselves and we are aware that our films will live after us. They become our legacy."
Music
"PUNCTURED HOPE" AT THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL 2009
COMPANY INTRODUCTION
Montreal World Film Festival 2009
PUNCTURED HOPE
Official Selection - World Premiere
~~~
Toronto Pictures and Adhara Properties are proud to announce that the feature film PUNCTURED HOPE: A STORY ABOUT TROKOSI AND YOUNG GIRLS’ SLAVERY IN TODAY’S WEST AFRICA, directed by internationally acclaimed Film Author, Bruno Pischiutta, has been selected for ‘Focus on World Cinema’ at the Montreal World Film Festival (August 27 - September 7, 2009).
PUNCTURED HOPE (Feature Film, 35 mm, 91 min.) is based on a true story. The story takes place in today’s Ghana. According to the TROKOSI customary practice, if someone commits a crime, traditional leaders order that a young girl from that family be sent to the shrine as a form of atonement. The chief priest and his entourage genitally mutilate and sexually abuse the girls. Against all odds, the protagonist of the story escapes the shrine. As the film follows her life from the age of innocence to premature adulthood, the viewers get to see a beautiful showcase of the real and very animated African life in a typical village.
PUNCTURED HOPE will have its WORLD PREMIERE at the Festival.
VIDEO CLIPS: Few clips from PUNCTURED HOPE on YouTube
The Montreal World Film Festival is considered the largest fully independent film festival in the world and each year over 400,000 international film executives, members of the press and general public are in attendance.
Director Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Producer Daria Trifu will be attending the festival from August 27 to September 7.
International Sales Agents and Press can contact Daria Trifu to schedule a meeting at corporate@filmail.com OR (1) 416-303-0226.
Available territories: ALL (except USA and Canada)
~~~
BRUNO PISCHIUTTA, FILM AUTHOR
DARIA! MAGAZINE
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE
TORONTO PICTURES ON TWITTER
BRUNO PISCHIUTTA IMDb
DARIA TRIFU IMDb
~~~
“Nine Meridians – Connections”
Newsletter - Issue August 2009
AN INTRODUCTION NOTE FROM PUBLISHER EVIE WEAVER:
"This month I have a very special guest writer who is hosting this issue of 'Connections'. The 'Tree of Learning' centre will feature again next month. There are also several links below, after the article, for you to visit and see just what these amazing people are producing.
PUNCTURED HOPE, directed by Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Produced by Daria Trifu, has been selected at the prestigious Montreal World Film Festival (August 27 - September 7).
Please enjoy this special issue and feel free to forward it on to your contacts that may be interested in reading it. Very many thanks for your continued support and valued feedback.
Push here to read the Article:
NINE MERIDIANS
Wishing you much love and many blessings."
Evie Weaver
evie@ninemeridians.com.au
www.ninemeridians.com.au
~~~
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/TorontoPictures
Name on YouTube: TorontoPictures
TORONTO PICTURES ON TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/TorPix
Name on Twitter: TorPix
Toronto Pictures Inc. develops and produces ethical feature films that provoke thought, not violence. Toronto Pictures is a Brand Name, very well recognised within the Entertainment Industry for its quality product of social influence. The Company uses top Hollywood 35 mm film production standard. Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures explores different cultures and addresses controversial issues of our time in dramatic format. With cultural influences from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, the Company is authentically international in its scope and recognition.
Toronto Pictures Inc. is a public company in the US. The Company's stock is trading on the OTC Pink Sheets under the Symbol 'TTOPF'. The trading commenced on May 11, 2007.
CONTACT TORONTO PICTURES:
E-mail: corporate@filmail.com
Around the World with Toronto Pictures:
PUNCTURED HOPE
Official Selection - World Premiere
~~~
Toronto Pictures and Adhara Properties are proud to announce that the feature film PUNCTURED HOPE: A STORY ABOUT TROKOSI AND YOUNG GIRLS’ SLAVERY IN TODAY’S WEST AFRICA, directed by internationally acclaimed Film Author, Bruno Pischiutta, has been selected for ‘Focus on World Cinema’ at the Montreal World Film Festival (August 27 - September 7, 2009).
PUNCTURED HOPE (Feature Film, 35 mm, 91 min.) is based on a true story. The story takes place in today’s Ghana. According to the TROKOSI customary practice, if someone commits a crime, traditional leaders order that a young girl from that family be sent to the shrine as a form of atonement. The chief priest and his entourage genitally mutilate and sexually abuse the girls. Against all odds, the protagonist of the story escapes the shrine. As the film follows her life from the age of innocence to premature adulthood, the viewers get to see a beautiful showcase of the real and very animated African life in a typical village.
PUNCTURED HOPE will have its WORLD PREMIERE at the Festival.
VIDEO CLIPS: Few clips from PUNCTURED HOPE on YouTube
The Montreal World Film Festival is considered the largest fully independent film festival in the world and each year over 400,000 international film executives, members of the press and general public are in attendance.
Director Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Producer Daria Trifu will be attending the festival from August 27 to September 7.
International Sales Agents and Press can contact Daria Trifu to schedule a meeting at corporate@filmail.com OR (1) 416-303-0226.
Available territories: ALL (except USA and Canada)
~~~
BRUNO PISCHIUTTA, FILM AUTHOR
DARIA! MAGAZINE
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE
TORONTO PICTURES ON TWITTER
BRUNO PISCHIUTTA IMDb
DARIA TRIFU IMDb
~~~
“Nine Meridians – Connections”
Newsletter - Issue August 2009
AN INTRODUCTION NOTE FROM PUBLISHER EVIE WEAVER:
"This month I have a very special guest writer who is hosting this issue of 'Connections'. The 'Tree of Learning' centre will feature again next month. There are also several links below, after the article, for you to visit and see just what these amazing people are producing.
PUNCTURED HOPE, directed by Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Produced by Daria Trifu, has been selected at the prestigious Montreal World Film Festival (August 27 - September 7).
Please enjoy this special issue and feel free to forward it on to your contacts that may be interested in reading it. Very many thanks for your continued support and valued feedback.
Push here to read the Article:
NINE MERIDIANS
Wishing you much love and many blessings."
Evie Weaver
evie@ninemeridians.com.au
www.ninemeridians.com.au
~~~
TORONTO PICTURES ON YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/TorontoPictures
Name on YouTube: TorontoPictures
TORONTO PICTURES ON TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/TorPix
Name on Twitter: TorPix
Toronto Pictures Inc. develops and produces ethical feature films that provoke thought, not violence. Toronto Pictures is a Brand Name, very well recognised within the Entertainment Industry for its quality product of social influence. The Company uses top Hollywood 35 mm film production standard. Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures explores different cultures and addresses controversial issues of our time in dramatic format. With cultural influences from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, the Company is authentically international in its scope and recognition.
Toronto Pictures Inc. is a public company in the US. The Company's stock is trading on the OTC Pink Sheets under the Symbol 'TTOPF'. The trading commenced on May 11, 2007.
CONTACT TORONTO PICTURES:
E-mail: corporate@filmail.com
Around the World with Toronto Pictures:
FRIARS CLUB NEW YORK - SCREENING
Toronto Pictures Inc. Celebrates the Completion of the Feature Film "Punctured Hope" With a Private Screening at the Friars Club in New York
Toronto Pictures held a private screening at the Friars Club in New York City for a few, very select people to celebrate the recent completion of its latest feature film production entitled "Punctured Hope." The screening, preceded by a cocktail reception in the Milton Berle Room, was attended also by the film's director Bruno Pischiutta, executive producer Daria Trifu, as well as Prince and Judith Uche, two of the film's lead Ghanaian actors.
The motion picture was financed by Adhara Properties Inc. and it was produced in collaboration with Toronto Pictures.
The screening, the first ever of "Punctured Hope," was a tremendous success. Inside the screening room, the emotions were high. The film was followed by a long-lasting round of applause and congratulations.
The third issue of Daria!, coffee-table magazine, was handed out to all guests.
Daria! is published by Adhara Properties. The current issue is 132 pages filled with art, entertainment and business articles and related photos from around the world. Amongst its features, there is an exclusive interview with Bill Drayton of Ashoka Organisation as well as a special on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in reference to its programs in Africa.
ON THE SET IN AFRICA: "PUNCTURED HOPE" FILMING
DARIA TRIFU MODELING PHOTOS
Daria! Magazine: www.dariamagazine.com
Toronto Pictures held a private screening at the Friars Club in New York City for a few, very select people to celebrate the recent completion of its latest feature film production entitled "Punctured Hope." The screening, preceded by a cocktail reception in the Milton Berle Room, was attended also by the film's director Bruno Pischiutta, executive producer Daria Trifu, as well as Prince and Judith Uche, two of the film's lead Ghanaian actors.
The motion picture was financed by Adhara Properties Inc. and it was produced in collaboration with Toronto Pictures.
The screening, the first ever of "Punctured Hope," was a tremendous success. Inside the screening room, the emotions were high. The film was followed by a long-lasting round of applause and congratulations.
The third issue of Daria!, coffee-table magazine, was handed out to all guests.
Daria! is published by Adhara Properties. The current issue is 132 pages filled with art, entertainment and business articles and related photos from around the world. Amongst its features, there is an exclusive interview with Bill Drayton of Ashoka Organisation as well as a special on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in reference to its programs in Africa.
ON THE SET IN AFRICA: "PUNCTURED HOPE" FILMING
DARIA TRIFU MODELING PHOTOS
Daria! Magazine: www.dariamagazine.com
ARTICLES FROM DARIA!
BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
This year, the Gates Foundation will invest millions more in programs around the world, from African AIDS to American education. And with the added support of Buffett and the hope of thousands behind them, the foundation is moving ahead with its mandate that “every life is of equal value”.
By Emily Bowers:
On a busy street in the Ghanaian capital Accra, a woman collapses, falling dangerously close to the fast-moving traffic. People flock around her, lifting her up and placing her on a blanket at the side of the road. But she doesn’t wake. There are no doctors, no blood tests or diagnoses here, but her puffed face bathed in sweat – despite the thick layers of clothing she’s wrapped herself in to ward off her continuous shivering – tell the obvious tale of malaria, and probably cerebral malaria, the most deadly and the most common kind here in Ghana, West Africa.
Malaria here is so mundanely regular. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say every Ghanaian will probably suffer from the disease at some point in their lives.
It’s also an especially mean disease: children under the age of five, with the young immune systems, and pregnant women, their bodies weakened with the burden of new life are malaria’s easiest and usual targets.
It’s been estimated that one million African children die of malaria each year. Millions more will fall seriously ill.
So when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation added malaria to the list of deadly diseases they are fighting with their philanthropy, it gave a boost to researchers and brought new attention to this prolific killer.
The Gates Foundation was formed in 2000, using money made by the Microsoft founder. Since then, the Foundation has sponsored programs both at home in the United States and across the world in developing countries, with a bulk of that work happening in Africa.
Driven by the belief that all life has equal value, the Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organisation in the world, a fitting title given Bill Gates’ own position as the world’s richest man.
In the U.S., the Gates Foundation has been funding literacy and education programs, especially in America’s schools, an offshoot of work that started through Microsoft’s Online Libraries initiative in the 1990s.
In 2005, Bill and Melinda Gates were named, along with rock star Bono, as Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year for their charitable work and in June 2006, Gates announced his plans to move away from day-to-day work with Microsoft to focus more on his philanthropy.
The foundation’s global programs have focused on areas of health and development. Malaria, along with immunisations, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and child and maternal health are among the components of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, which has received some $6 billion in funds, according to the foundation.
Along with the search for a vaccine, the foundation funds malaria prevention and treatment programs.
Carried by mosquitoes, malaria is a parasite that was eradicated in North America in the 1950s. But it thrives in sub-Saharan Africa’s tropical climate, fuelled by poverty in countries like Ghana where some 40 percent of the population still live on less than $2 a day.
For the researchers looking for an effective vaccine, the influx of money from the Gates Foundation, along with support from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, has meant a world of difference.
“The (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) has revolutionised work on malaria vaccines as well as work on all other malaria interventions,” said Dr. Carolyn Petersen, director of clinical and regulatory affairs at the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. “A widely used vaccine that prevents half of severe malaria, the type that causes death, would be expected to have a marked effect on the death rate of children,” Petersen said. “In addition, a decrease in overall malaria cases will relieve pressure on the health care system for outpatient and inpatient visits.”
Right now, there are 12 vaccine candidates being tested, with one in late stage development in Africa, Petersen said.
“We are working in seven centres in five countries now and plan to add additional sites so that we will be working in 10 research centres by the end of 2007,” Petersen said. “An additional three vaccine candidates are in early human trials.”
In malaria endemic countries, children are given three immunisations one month apart, then are closely monitored.
Petersen said the Gates Foundation funding has helped them expand their portfolio of vaccine candidates.
“(The funding) means that it is possible to do these trials which are expensive as they involve large numbers of children and a very exacting collection of data for regulatory agency scrutiny before licensure,” she said. “It means that we have been able to develop a robust pipeline of new candidate vaccines for evaluation. “
Among urgent issues in Africa, malaria is certainly high up on the list. But it’s not the only problem on the continent that’s gotten the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
While Africa is increasingly becoming urbanised, a vast majority of the population live in rural communities where farming of staple crops is the means to survival. Any bad crop, drought or dry season can mean the difference between life and death for the scores of subsistence farmers on the continent. Lower crop yields come from exhausted, unfertilised soil.
Like malaria, the plight of farmers didn’t get a whole lot of international attention, outside of a handful of non-government organisations and a few international development wings of Western governments.
But recently, a boost of attention from the Gates Foundation and its partners has given new impetus to the growing call for a so-called Green Revolution for Africa.
In the 1940s, the Rockefeller Foundation began a movement to use science and technology combined with government policy to increase crop yields of small-scale farmers in Mexico.
The program expanded to Colombia, India and The Philippines and further into Latin America and Asia. But, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, Africa missed the Green Revolution.
The Gates Foundation is now jumping on board the plan by the Rockefeller Foundation to revive the revolution and bring it to Africa.
Despite that the continent has received millions in public and private aid over more than a generation, the Gates’ money isn’t being viewed as just another donation to poor Africans.
To people like Monty Jones, this might be Africa’s last best hope.
“I believe that what they are planning is going to work for Africa, and Africa needs to be business unusual, it’s not usual,” said Jones.
In his spacious, air-conditioned office in a quiet suburb of Ghana’s capital city Accra, Jones heads up the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
With a mandate from the African Union and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), FARA brings together government agencies, NGOs and agricultural research groups both inside and outside Africa.
The goal of the five-year-old body is to increase agricultural growth in Africa by 6 percent annually by 2015. That’s a long way to go from the current 2 percent, Jones says.
“We want food to be available and affordable,” he says. “So if you do not produce what you eat you can buy it.”
Jones is a member of the board of the Gates and Rockefeller Foundation’s Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. In the area of crop science, Jones is already a recognised authority. The Sierra Leone native developing a hybrid rice, a combination of Asian and African rice called NERICA, or New Rice for Africa.
The crop has spread slowly but steadily around some parts of Africa, as farmers see the benefits of user a higher-yielding, more resistant crop. Jones sees the potential for NERICA’s success to be replicated with scores of other African staple crops like maize and cassava.
In developing NERICA, one of the key challenges Jones sought to address was “how do we disseminate it so that every farmer in every corner that wants those technologies will get them,” he said.
That kind of mentality can be spread to all areas of technological development that the Gates Foundation is now promoting, Jones said.
African farmers can be innovative on their own, but they work in isolation, with little communication between villages. Ideas don’t spread beyond their communities. “The problem that we face is that we haven’t been able to help these farmers in the past,” he said. “Farmers must have a voice in the development of technology from the onset. We are saying they should be involved at the implementation.”
“The Bill (and Melinda) Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation… will use this approach of disseminating technology to as many farmers as possible.”
Using what’s already working on the ground in Africa is what has helped give Jones encouragement that the Gates funding may finally make a difference in widespread agricultural development.
“It’s not Bill Gates sitting in Seattle telling us what we should do,” he said. “It’s us telling Bill Gates this is what works.”
“I think it’s a God send to Africa that somebody like Bill and Melinda Gates would be interested in our agricultural development. It’s a God send and it means a lot for Africa.”
In September 2006, the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations issued a joint press release announcing their partnership on the Green Revolution. The investment started with $100 million from Gates and $50 million from Rockefeller for the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems, or PASS.
That comprises development of improved crop varieties, training for African crop scientists and ensuring that those improved seeds get to more farmers who need them.
While the Gates Foundation’s funding has provided a boost to African development issues, the Foundation itself has gotten some notable help recently.
In June 2006, Warren Buffett pledged ten million shares annually of his Berkshire Hathaway stock – amounting to over $30 billion – to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
At a press conference to announce the donation, Melinda Gates said she was “absolutely honoured and humbled”.
“It's really unprecedented in terms of what we can do to do good in the world, and it's something that we take very seriously,” she said at the press conference. “I think when you give away your own wealth it's one thing, but to give away the body of somebody else's life work is really quite something.”
It’s an apt partnership: Buffet is the world’s second-richest man, behind Gates, thanks to a career of astute investing. The amount he pledged to the Gates Foundation has become the largest philanthropic donation in United States history.
Buffett said he wanted to support the work being done by the Gates Foundation with his money and while he pledged a smaller portion of funds to the charitable organisations of his children, the move was consistent with his long-stated pledge regarding inheritance:
"I want to give my kids enough so that they could feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.”
While the Gates Foundation rode something of a public relations high in 2006, early in 2007 a series of reports in the Los Angeles Times showed the other side of philanthropy.
An investigation by the newspaper showed that several corporations where the Gates Foundation invests is money – in hopes of making profitable returns to keep the foundation running – have corporate social responsibility records that conflict with the good works of the foundation.
While originally deciding to review all its investments after the Los Angeles Times articles, the Gates Foundation subsequently defended its investing decisions, saying in a statement that criteria used for judging companies’ corporate social responsibility is open to interpretation.
“Bill and Melinda oversee the investment of the foundation’s endowment. In giving guidance to the investment managers, they have chosen not to get involved in ranking companies based upon factors such as their lending policies or environmental record,” foundation chief operating officer Cheryl Scott said in a statement posted on their website. “There are dozens of factors that could be considered, almost all of which are outside the foundation’s areas of expertise.” D
Source: Daria! Magazine - www.dariamagazine.com
This year, the Gates Foundation will invest millions more in programs around the world, from African AIDS to American education. And with the added support of Buffett and the hope of thousands behind them, the foundation is moving ahead with its mandate that “every life is of equal value”.
By Emily Bowers:
On a busy street in the Ghanaian capital Accra, a woman collapses, falling dangerously close to the fast-moving traffic. People flock around her, lifting her up and placing her on a blanket at the side of the road. But she doesn’t wake. There are no doctors, no blood tests or diagnoses here, but her puffed face bathed in sweat – despite the thick layers of clothing she’s wrapped herself in to ward off her continuous shivering – tell the obvious tale of malaria, and probably cerebral malaria, the most deadly and the most common kind here in Ghana, West Africa.
Malaria here is so mundanely regular. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say every Ghanaian will probably suffer from the disease at some point in their lives.
It’s also an especially mean disease: children under the age of five, with the young immune systems, and pregnant women, their bodies weakened with the burden of new life are malaria’s easiest and usual targets.
It’s been estimated that one million African children die of malaria each year. Millions more will fall seriously ill.
So when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation added malaria to the list of deadly diseases they are fighting with their philanthropy, it gave a boost to researchers and brought new attention to this prolific killer.
The Gates Foundation was formed in 2000, using money made by the Microsoft founder. Since then, the Foundation has sponsored programs both at home in the United States and across the world in developing countries, with a bulk of that work happening in Africa.
Driven by the belief that all life has equal value, the Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organisation in the world, a fitting title given Bill Gates’ own position as the world’s richest man.
In the U.S., the Gates Foundation has been funding literacy and education programs, especially in America’s schools, an offshoot of work that started through Microsoft’s Online Libraries initiative in the 1990s.
In 2005, Bill and Melinda Gates were named, along with rock star Bono, as Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year for their charitable work and in June 2006, Gates announced his plans to move away from day-to-day work with Microsoft to focus more on his philanthropy.
The foundation’s global programs have focused on areas of health and development. Malaria, along with immunisations, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and child and maternal health are among the components of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, which has received some $6 billion in funds, according to the foundation.
Along with the search for a vaccine, the foundation funds malaria prevention and treatment programs.
Carried by mosquitoes, malaria is a parasite that was eradicated in North America in the 1950s. But it thrives in sub-Saharan Africa’s tropical climate, fuelled by poverty in countries like Ghana where some 40 percent of the population still live on less than $2 a day.
For the researchers looking for an effective vaccine, the influx of money from the Gates Foundation, along with support from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, has meant a world of difference.
“The (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) has revolutionised work on malaria vaccines as well as work on all other malaria interventions,” said Dr. Carolyn Petersen, director of clinical and regulatory affairs at the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. “A widely used vaccine that prevents half of severe malaria, the type that causes death, would be expected to have a marked effect on the death rate of children,” Petersen said. “In addition, a decrease in overall malaria cases will relieve pressure on the health care system for outpatient and inpatient visits.”
Right now, there are 12 vaccine candidates being tested, with one in late stage development in Africa, Petersen said.
“We are working in seven centres in five countries now and plan to add additional sites so that we will be working in 10 research centres by the end of 2007,” Petersen said. “An additional three vaccine candidates are in early human trials.”
In malaria endemic countries, children are given three immunisations one month apart, then are closely monitored.
Petersen said the Gates Foundation funding has helped them expand their portfolio of vaccine candidates.
“(The funding) means that it is possible to do these trials which are expensive as they involve large numbers of children and a very exacting collection of data for regulatory agency scrutiny before licensure,” she said. “It means that we have been able to develop a robust pipeline of new candidate vaccines for evaluation. “
Among urgent issues in Africa, malaria is certainly high up on the list. But it’s not the only problem on the continent that’s gotten the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
While Africa is increasingly becoming urbanised, a vast majority of the population live in rural communities where farming of staple crops is the means to survival. Any bad crop, drought or dry season can mean the difference between life and death for the scores of subsistence farmers on the continent. Lower crop yields come from exhausted, unfertilised soil.
Like malaria, the plight of farmers didn’t get a whole lot of international attention, outside of a handful of non-government organisations and a few international development wings of Western governments.
But recently, a boost of attention from the Gates Foundation and its partners has given new impetus to the growing call for a so-called Green Revolution for Africa.
In the 1940s, the Rockefeller Foundation began a movement to use science and technology combined with government policy to increase crop yields of small-scale farmers in Mexico.
The program expanded to Colombia, India and The Philippines and further into Latin America and Asia. But, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, Africa missed the Green Revolution.
The Gates Foundation is now jumping on board the plan by the Rockefeller Foundation to revive the revolution and bring it to Africa.
Despite that the continent has received millions in public and private aid over more than a generation, the Gates’ money isn’t being viewed as just another donation to poor Africans.
To people like Monty Jones, this might be Africa’s last best hope.
“I believe that what they are planning is going to work for Africa, and Africa needs to be business unusual, it’s not usual,” said Jones.
In his spacious, air-conditioned office in a quiet suburb of Ghana’s capital city Accra, Jones heads up the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
With a mandate from the African Union and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), FARA brings together government agencies, NGOs and agricultural research groups both inside and outside Africa.
The goal of the five-year-old body is to increase agricultural growth in Africa by 6 percent annually by 2015. That’s a long way to go from the current 2 percent, Jones says.
“We want food to be available and affordable,” he says. “So if you do not produce what you eat you can buy it.”
Jones is a member of the board of the Gates and Rockefeller Foundation’s Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. In the area of crop science, Jones is already a recognised authority. The Sierra Leone native developing a hybrid rice, a combination of Asian and African rice called NERICA, or New Rice for Africa.
The crop has spread slowly but steadily around some parts of Africa, as farmers see the benefits of user a higher-yielding, more resistant crop. Jones sees the potential for NERICA’s success to be replicated with scores of other African staple crops like maize and cassava.
In developing NERICA, one of the key challenges Jones sought to address was “how do we disseminate it so that every farmer in every corner that wants those technologies will get them,” he said.
That kind of mentality can be spread to all areas of technological development that the Gates Foundation is now promoting, Jones said.
African farmers can be innovative on their own, but they work in isolation, with little communication between villages. Ideas don’t spread beyond their communities. “The problem that we face is that we haven’t been able to help these farmers in the past,” he said. “Farmers must have a voice in the development of technology from the onset. We are saying they should be involved at the implementation.”
“The Bill (and Melinda) Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation… will use this approach of disseminating technology to as many farmers as possible.”
Using what’s already working on the ground in Africa is what has helped give Jones encouragement that the Gates funding may finally make a difference in widespread agricultural development.
“It’s not Bill Gates sitting in Seattle telling us what we should do,” he said. “It’s us telling Bill Gates this is what works.”
“I think it’s a God send to Africa that somebody like Bill and Melinda Gates would be interested in our agricultural development. It’s a God send and it means a lot for Africa.”
In September 2006, the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations issued a joint press release announcing their partnership on the Green Revolution. The investment started with $100 million from Gates and $50 million from Rockefeller for the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems, or PASS.
That comprises development of improved crop varieties, training for African crop scientists and ensuring that those improved seeds get to more farmers who need them.
While the Gates Foundation’s funding has provided a boost to African development issues, the Foundation itself has gotten some notable help recently.
In June 2006, Warren Buffett pledged ten million shares annually of his Berkshire Hathaway stock – amounting to over $30 billion – to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
At a press conference to announce the donation, Melinda Gates said she was “absolutely honoured and humbled”.
“It's really unprecedented in terms of what we can do to do good in the world, and it's something that we take very seriously,” she said at the press conference. “I think when you give away your own wealth it's one thing, but to give away the body of somebody else's life work is really quite something.”
It’s an apt partnership: Buffet is the world’s second-richest man, behind Gates, thanks to a career of astute investing. The amount he pledged to the Gates Foundation has become the largest philanthropic donation in United States history.
Buffett said he wanted to support the work being done by the Gates Foundation with his money and while he pledged a smaller portion of funds to the charitable organisations of his children, the move was consistent with his long-stated pledge regarding inheritance:
"I want to give my kids enough so that they could feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.”
While the Gates Foundation rode something of a public relations high in 2006, early in 2007 a series of reports in the Los Angeles Times showed the other side of philanthropy.
An investigation by the newspaper showed that several corporations where the Gates Foundation invests is money – in hopes of making profitable returns to keep the foundation running – have corporate social responsibility records that conflict with the good works of the foundation.
While originally deciding to review all its investments after the Los Angeles Times articles, the Gates Foundation subsequently defended its investing decisions, saying in a statement that criteria used for judging companies’ corporate social responsibility is open to interpretation.
“Bill and Melinda oversee the investment of the foundation’s endowment. In giving guidance to the investment managers, they have chosen not to get involved in ranking companies based upon factors such as their lending policies or environmental record,” foundation chief operating officer Cheryl Scott said in a statement posted on their website. “There are dozens of factors that could be considered, almost all of which are outside the foundation’s areas of expertise.” D
Source: Daria! Magazine - www.dariamagazine.com
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with Jay Stoyan & Sandy Duarte
Show Date: December 6
Guests: Bruno Pischiutta & Daria Trifu
Watch at: TORONTO JAY
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OM-Times Magazine
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