NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Blue Heron International Pictures announced today that its latest Holocaust documentary -- "Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo" -- has attracted the attention of the Polish government.
“Alex Ringer, our producer in Israel, received a congratulatory letter recently from H. E. Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska, the Polish ambassador to Israel,” said Executive Producer Richard Lester, a teacher at New Smyrna Beach High School and one of the film's producers.
“It is truly heartwarming that we are able to bring additional honor to such a heroic Polish family, who risked their lives to save others in peril,” Lester added.
In her letter, Ambassador Magdziak-Miszewska wrote that the film is an “incredible story of survival and hope during a sad and horrific time in our history.”
"Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo" will premiere in August at the West Hollywood International Film Festival. It is also an official selection of the Route 66 Film Festival in September.
“I am absolutely ecstatic that two of the most prestigious film festivals in the country have chosen to screen our latest Holocaust documentary,” said award-winning director Gary Lester, son of Richard Lester, from his home in Daytona Beach. “Safe Haven is a compelling story about people willing to risk their lives for others because it was the right thing to do.”
Israeli producer Alex Ringer agrees that the documentary is speaking to hearts around the globe. "It is a compelling story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
Stills from the film by international photographer Piotr Bujnowicz may be viewed on the official West Hollywood International Film Festival web-site at _http://westhollywood.bside.com/2009/films/safehaventhewarsawzoo_westhol… (http://westhollywood.bside.com/2009/films/safehaventhewarsawzoo_westhol…) .
Marsha Goren, educational outreach coordinator for the documentary,
reports that she has received e-mails from scores of students and educators in Israel, Poland, Holland, Belgium, India, and the United States.
At the end of May, the Internet Movie Data base (imdb.com) was reporting 2.9 million hits on the film's web page.
Safe Haven premiered on network television in Israel in April. Since then, Israel Channel 10 has been streaming the documentary from its web-site, with both Hebrew and Russian subtitles.
For further information, please visit _www.blueheronpix.com_ (http://www.blueheronpix.com/) or _http://www.pangeaplayers.com_
(http://www.pangeaplayers.com/)