824 W. Lancaster Ave · Bryn Mawr, PA · 19010 · (610) 527-4008 · www.brynmawrfilm.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Devin Wachs

Public Relations Coordinator

Bryn Mawr Film Institute

824 W. Lancaster Ave.

Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

610-527-4008

dwachs@brynmawrfilm.org

Bryn Mawr, PA—23 September 2009—Bryn Mawr Film Institute is partnering with the Baldwin School and author Homa Tavangar to present the Growing Up Global Film Series, a series of three family films that address multiculturalism from different perspectives. The series begins with the international soccer comedyThe Great Match on Saturday, November 7 at 11:00 am, followed by the innovative animated film Sita Sings the Blues on Saturday, February 6 at 11:00 am. Finally, enjoy Millions, a warmhearted meditation on morality from British director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), on Saturday, April 17 at 11:00 am.

Homa Tavangar, author of the new book Growing Up Global, will introduce the first film in the series,The Great Match (Le Gran Final). The 2006 film shows how a family of Mongolian nomads, a camel caravan of Tuareg in the Sahara, and a group of indigenous Indios in the Amazon are all connected through their quests to watch the 2002 World Cup soccer match between Germany and Brazil. The 88-minute comedy from director Gerardo Olivares is not rated and has English subtitles.

Homa Tavangar’s Growing Up Global (Random House, 2009) is an instructional book for families and educators on how to give children a vital global perspective in today’s world – without purchasing plane tickets. A Main Line resident, mother of three, and graduate of UCLA and Princeton University, Tavangar has spent her career helping governments develop globally oriented programs and advising businesses on how to thrive abroad. Tavangar has lived in the Middle East, East and West Africa, South America, and throughout the United States. In Growing Up Global, Tavangar shares her “parenting toolbox,” hailed by The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times and others.

Copies of Growing Up Global will be available for purchase at the event courtesy of Children’s Book World in Haverford, who will also be selling several other children’s book titles that fit in with the theme of global awareness. Additionally, the Baldwin School will be collecting used soccer gear, including jerseys, cleats, and balls, which will be donated to Reclaim Childhood (www.reclaimchildhood.com), a new nonprofit that runs a soccer camp in Jordan for Iraqi refugee girls.

On Saturday, February 6 at 11:00am, Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan will introduce Sita Sings the Blues, an animated feature from American artist Nina Paley that pairs episodes from the Ramayana and scenes from the filmmaker’s own life. This inventive take on mythology and biography, which incorporates the music of jazz singer Annette Hanshaw as well as traditional Indian iconography, earned Paley awards at several major film festivals, including the Berlin International Film Festival, the Cairo International Film Festival for Children, and Philadelphia CineFest.The 82-minute film is not rated.

Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan will introduce Sita Sings the Blues. Born in India and raised in England, Dr. Shyamalan earned her doctorate in clinical developmental psychology from Bryn Mawr College and has worked as a therapist at both Swarthmore College and St. Joseph’s University. A current trustee of the Baldwin School, she currently manages a private family foundation started by her and her husband that is focused on fulfilling every individual’s right to an education, adequate housing, nourishment, opportunity, and hope.

Sally Powell, the Head of the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, will introduce the final film in the Growing Up Global Film Series, Danny Boyle’s Millions, on Saturday, April 17 at 11:00am. As England prepares to switch currency from Pounds to Euros, a devout seven-year-old boy obsessed with the lives of the saints gets the surprise of a lifetime when a bag full of the soon-to-be-outdated money lands on his suburban “hermitage” playhouse. What he and his older brother do with their windfall drives the fable’s charming exploration of morality, greed, and redemption. The 2004 film is PG and 98 minutes long.

Sally Powell was born in England and was educated at the Perse School for Girls in England and Cambridge University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in education and an Honors (master’s) degree jointly in mathematics and education. Before becoming the Head of the Baldwin School, she worked in the field of education in Barbados, San Francisco, and New Jersey.  Founded in 1888, The Baldwin School is an independent college-preparatory school for girls in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, located in Bryn Mawr. Baldwin is a school for thinking girls, where the joy of intellectual rigor in academics, aesthetic accomplishments in the arts and collegial competition in athletics forms confident women who know their own minds and use them in the community and the larger world.

The Growing Up Global Film Series is presented in conjunction with the Baldwin School as a featured part of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s Kids Matinee series. Tickets for these special family-friendly Saturday shows are only $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for children. Visit www.BrynMawrFilm.org for a complete schedule.

Bryn Mawr Film Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to restoring the historic Bryn Mawr Theater and transforming it into the region’s preeminent film entertainment and education center. Founded in 2002 by Main Line academic, business, and civic leaders, Bryn Mawr Film Institute presents a daily program of first-run and repertory art and independent films and provides a comprehensive film studies curriculum, including courses, workshops, discussions, guest lecturers, visual literacy programs, and student screening opportunities. To learn about upcoming events or find news about the theater’s restoration project, visit www.BrynMawrFilm.org, or write to Info@BrynMawrFilm.org.