Activist Returns to Denver for DNC

Sunday, August 24, 2008

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Holly Stadtler, 802-434-3987(o); 301-928-4389 (cell); dreamcat@gmavt.net

Local activist returns to Denver for a screening of her film �Finding Our Voices�

Laurel Jensen is a native daughter. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado and is proud to call it home even though she now resides in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Here this week to screen �Finding Our Voices,� a feature length documentary that she shot and produced with Dream Catcher Films, Inc., Ms. Jensen finds herself in the midst of the Democratic National Convention, both as a filmmaker, and as a peace activist � echoing her early years.

In 1968, at the age of thirteen, she joined a group of students from the University of Denver to take a bus to the State Capitol to protest the Vietnam War. Not only was she the youngest person on the bus, she also had to convince her parents to let her go. Her father, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves, had reservations but he trusted his daughter well enough to let her make up own mind. So in the late summer of 1968, a very young woman stood on the steps of the Colorado capitol and raised her voice for peace. Fast forward 40 years, and Laurel Jensen finds herself here again at a peace rally held Sunday. She returns as an activist, taking to the streets of Denver to speak for peace; and she returns as a filmmaker having been part of a team that has documented and celebrated the lives of eight contemporary activists who have made tremendous sacrifices to stop the war, and to uphold the constitution. In bringing �Finding Our Voices� to the people of Denver, and to the Democratic delegates at the convention, she hopes to inspire viewers to embrace the idea that in a democracy, we are all responsible for our country and our government and that it is our privilege to be part of a diverse community that lives that ideal. It is something Laurel Jensen has known and acted on throughout her life.

Laurel Jensen, Virginia Congressman Jim Moran, and Code Pink co-founder Gael Murphy will share the stage for a Q&A following the screening of �Finding Our Voices� Wednesday, August 27 at 2:30pm, at the Neighborhood Flix Cinema and Caf�.

Finding Our Voices raises the question, �if there is no dissent, and therefore no debate do we still have a Democracy�? This documentary provides moving portraits of 8 courageous and diverse Americans, deeply affected by U.S. foreign policy in Iraq, who attempt to protect democracy with their lives. The movie profiles a grandmother and retired social worker who lost her son at the WTC Sept. 11, 2001, three soldiers who served in Iraq, peace activist Gael Murphy, diplomat Brady Kiesling, Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA, and the Rev. Graylan Hagler.

Well known actor and peace activist Martin Sheen narrates the documentary which is also available online at www.findingourvoices.com. Tickets for the screening are $10 and may be purchased at the day of the event only at the theater. The public may call 240-723-2508 with questions. Neighborhood Flix is located one block east of Josephine St and is across the street from the Tattered Cover Bookstore.

Dream Catcher Films, Inc., owned and operated by Holly Stadtler, has for more than a decade produced commissioned documentaries for cable broadcasters. Its client list includes TLC, Discovery Channel, TBS Superstation, National Geographic Channel, MSNBC, and Animal Planet.

Electronic press kits are available at www.findingourvoices.com. For an interview with the producers, Laurel Jensen, or film subjects, please contact Holly Stadtler at 802-434-3987. Film clips (dvd) and radio clips (mp3) from the show are available and cleared for broadcast. Media should e-mail dreamcat@gmavt.net for a press pass if attending the event.

421 Sunrise Dr.

Huntington, VT 05462

802-434-3987ph; dreamcat@gmavt.net