HBO has provided updates for several titles:
New York, NY (September 24, 2018) – HBO Latino® celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with an all new, laugh-out-loud comedy show, Entre Nos: A Stand-Up Comedy Special, premiering Friday, October 5th at 9:00pm ET/PT. In an all Latino roster, Ramon Rivas, Gina Brillon, Jesus Sepulveda, and Nick Guerra share their personal, yet universal, stories in front of a live audience at the Alex Theater in Glendale, CA. From vacation preferences to sexual preferences, and “how-to’s” on topics like dating while broke, arguing while driving, and dressing for the gym, these comics cover what fires them up. This extended English-language special will also be available on HBO NOW®, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and partners’ streaming platforms. Comedy fans can also catch up on Entre Nos: Part 1-4, available now on all HBO platforms.
Gina Brillon – Actress, comedian, and writer, Gina Brillon was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She’s been a standup comic since she was 17-years-old and is the first, and only, Latina winner of NBC’s “2012 Stand up for Diversity Showcase”. She was also selected to be part of Montreal’s “Just For Laughs New Faces Showcase”. Gina is an accomplished singer, published writer, and poet. Her pieces have appeared in the New York Post and Daily News, among others.
Jesus Sepulveda – A Los Angeles native, and known as the “funny kid” from a young age, Jesus Sepulveda started performing in grammar school to express his passion in making people laugh. At 15-years-old, he performed at a local stand-up comedy club and has been fulfilling his dreams ever since. Jesus was also featured on Netflix’s “Chingo Bling: They Can’t Deport Us All.”
Ramon Rivas – From Cleveland to Los Angeles, Ramon Rivas has made a name for himself through his performances with Accidental Comedy Productions. Ramon has performed across the U.S. and was recognized by Comedy Central as a Comic To Watch in 2015. He also made his television debut on “The Half Hour with Comedy Central” in 2016.
Nick Guerra – An audience favorite from NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, Nick Guerra made his television debut on Comedy Central’s “Gabriel Iglesias’ Stand Up Revolution,” and recently made his late night debut on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”. With his cool and energetic attitude, Nick skewers relationships, family, and everyday life.
Cindy Shank received a mandatory 15-year prison sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend – a situation known in legal terms as “the girlfriend problem.” To cope with this tragedy, her brother, Rudy Valdez, filmed her family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones – moments Cindy herself can no longer share. In the midst of the nightmare, during the final months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative, Valdez and his family began to fight for her release.
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the intimate documentary THE SENTENCE takes a searing look at the impact of mandatory-minimum sentencing on one family when it debuts MONDAY, OCT. 15 (8:00-9:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
The documentary will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and partners’ streaming platforms.
Rudy Valdez’s directorial debut, THE SENTENCE draws on hundreds of hours of footage to tell the story of a Michigan woman who was sentenced to 15 years for crimes committed by her late boyfriend, following a family in crisis as it struggles to obtain her release.
Spanning a decade, the documentary combines home movies, frank interviews and candid moments with family members, and recordings of Cindy’s phone calls from prison. Part of a close-knit family of six from Lansing, Mich., whose parents had previously been migrant workers, Cindy had been doing well until her boyfriend, Alex, started dealing drugs. After Alex was murdered, she was at first charged for the drugs found in the house, but the state dropped its case against her.
Cindy moved on, married in 2003, and had three daughters: Autumn, Ava and Annalis. But six years after the initial case against her, and six weeks after giving birth to her third daughter, she was arrested for conspiracy, with the state arguing she could be charged with any crimes Alex committed while they lived together. Cindy was found guilty at trial, receiving a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.
2008: Cindy calls her husband, Adam, and their girls from prison, wishing Autumn good luck before a dance recital and crying because she can’t be there with her family. Moments like this, captured on camera, depict the harrowing experience of her daughters growing up without their mother.
Rudy Valdez speaks with litigator Marjorie Pearce, who notes that while mandatory minimums were once unconstitutional, the practice has grown in recent years, with thousands of people like Cindy, who once led productive lives, being incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses.
While the family accepts that Cindy may be culpable, they believe the punishment far exceeds the crime. “Just because Cindy was a good person and she really turned her life around, and she was going in the right direction, does not mean that she wasn’t guilty. And we’re willing to accept that,” says Rudy Valdez. “What we cannot wrap our heads around as a family, as her brother, as her children, is the sentence that she received. There has to be a better way to deal with this that is beneficial to everyone, that is fair, that is just.” Observes Cindy, “Missing my daughters grow up: That’s what I was sentenced to.”
2011: Cindy is moved to a prison in Florida, which means much of the family will only be able to travel from Michigan once a year to see her. Cindy’s mom has visited often, but her dad, older brother and sister have visited less, because it’s too difficult for them to see her in prison.
Meanwhile, Rudy continues his advocacy for Cindy, speaking to policy consultant Duchy Trachtenberg, who says “the girlfriend problem,” as Cindy’s situation is known, “speaks to the failure of government.” He also contacts Tatjana Misulic, a pro bono lawyer who notes that Cindy is one of 36,000 to apply for clemency from the Obama administration, though only a small percentage will have their requests granted.
2014: The girls are ten, eight and six. Now in Kentucky, Cindy says her memories of the girls are slipping away, but hangs on to the fact that although she missed early milestones, she’ll be there for proms, graduations and weddings.
2016: Autumn, now 13, admits, “It’s been tough the last nine years,” noting that her mom’s calls and letters aren’t the same as having her there. As the final days of the Obama administration draw near, Cindy and the family anxiously wait to see if her name will be on the clemency list – and whether she will be granted the opportunity to be reunited with her family and restart her life.
THE SENTENCE is directed by Rudy Valdez; executive producers, Wendy Neu, Lance Acord, Theodora Dunlap; produced by Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee; edited by Viridiana Lieberman; co-producers, Geeta Gandbhir, April Hayes; written by Rudy Valdez, Viridiana Lieberman; original music by Sam Bisbee; director of photography, Rudy Valdez.
Stunned when an annual mammogram delivered a diagnosis of breast cancer, Emmy®-winning TV host and lifestyle expert Sandra Lee embarked on a challenging voyage through treatment and recovery.
Capturing the most intimate moments of her story, RX: EARLY DETECTION, A CANCER JOURNEY WITH SANDRA LEE highlights the importance of early detection and informed decision-making in regards to treatment options. Directed by Peabody and Emmy® winner Cathy Chermol Schrijver, this candid film debuts MONDAY, OCT. 8 (8:00-8:40 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
The documentary will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and partners’ streaming platforms.
In 2015, after 48-year-old Sandra Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer, she met with a range of doctors and cancer experts to help her understand her options, she was told that she will need HCA from https://homecareassistance.com/cincinnati/. Eventually, with the support of her partner, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and her sister, Kimber Lee, she came to the decision to have a double mastectomy. It was a difficult choice, but Lee felt the procedure was the best option for her.
Deciding to document her journey, this very public professional allowed cameras to chronicle her most private moments over several months, as Lee’s initial shock gave way to urgent resolve. RX: EARLY DETECTION features unrestricted access to doctors’ offices, treatment rooms and her home, when Lee, Cuomo and Kimber Lee made their way through this difficult period. Now cancer-free, Lee is hoping to spread a message on the importance of early breast-cancer detection.
The documentary had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
A multiple Emmy®-winning television host and international lifestyle expert, Sandra Lee is a “Good Morning America” contributor and former Food Network host who authored 27 bestselling books before her 2015 breast cancer diagnosis. She received the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award, the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Medal of Honor, the Albert Einstein Award of Excellence and Ellis Island’s Medal of Honor for her activism, which was also recognized by the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program.
RX: EARLY DETECTION, A CANCER JOURNEY WITH SANDRA LEE was executive produced by Sandra Lee, Cathy Chermol Schrijver, Kathy Bates and Geralyn White Dreyfous; directed by Cathy Chermol Schrijver; editor, Paula Heredia; original music, Michael Bacon. For HBO: executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2018 – HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. TV rights to THE COLD BLUE from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions. Directed by Erik Nelson (“Dreams with Sharp Teeth,” “A Gray State”), the film takes an inside look at the daily life of men of the Eighth Air Force, who flew mission after deadly mission in World War II. The film features newly restored 4K footage and outtakes, shot by director William Wyler (Oscar® winner for “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “Ben-Hur” and “Mrs. Miniver”) for his 1944 documentary “The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress.”
THE COLD BLUE premiered at AFI Docs, and will screen at the New York Film Festival Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30. The documentary will debut on HBO in June 2019.
In 1943, William Wyler, one of Hollywood’s most renowned and versatile directors, went to Europe to document the air war in progress. Wyler and his crew flew actual combat missions on B-17s, during which one of his cinematographers was killed. Incredibly, all of the raw color footage Wyler shot for “The Memphis Belle” was recently discovered in the vaults of the National Archives. After a frame-by-frame restoration, director Erik Nelson has constructed a compelling new film out of the material.
A meditation on youth, war and trauma, THE COLD BLUE is a tribute to one of the world’s great filmmakers and the men of the Eighth Air Force. In recent interviews, nine of the few surviving Eighth Air Force veterans recall the harrowing experiences that Wyler and his cameramen captured in the summer of 1943.
“We’re thrilled HBO Documentary Films is giving this breathtaking footage and powerful new documentary a platform,” says Rocky Collins ofVulcan Productions. “After 75 years, the footage has been restored to a condition better-than-new, so we can bring this real-life story of aerial combat to a 21st-century audience.”
THE COLD BLUE is a production of Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Creative Differences; produced by Peter Hankoff; executive produced by Paul G. Allen, Carole Tomko, Rocky Collins, Catherine Wyler, Clark Bunting and Dave Harding; directed and produced by Erik Nelson.
ABOUT HBO
HBO® is one of the most respected and innovative entertainment brands in the world, serving iconic, award-winning programming to 142 million subscribers globally. A subsidiary of WarnerMedia, HBO is the world’s most successful pay TV service with an extensive array of programming that includes some of the most notable titles to be on television including Game of Thrones®, Big Little Lies®, Westworld®, The Sopranos®, Sex and the City®, Band of Brothers®, and The Wire®. In the United States, HBO® and sister network Cinemax® are available across multiple platforms including HBO On Demand®, Cinemax On Demand®, HBO GO® and MAX GO®, as well as HBO NOW®. Internationally, HBO branded services, including television networks and the standalone streaming product HBO GO®, are available in more than 70 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. HBO and Cinemax programming is also sold into more than 150 countries worldwide.
ABOUT VULCAN PRODUCTIONS
Vulcan Productions is dedicated to the power of storytelling. The company produces content and large-scale campaigns that entertain, inspire and change the way people understand the world’s toughest challenges. The films, television series and digital content spark ideas and turn action into measurable impact. Founded by Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen, Vulcan Productions creates content across all formats and genres, and spotlights Mr. Allen’s impact work in biodiversity, science, climate, technology, current social issues, history and the arts. Vulcan Productions uses cutting edge technology to create unique experiences for its audiences, by incorporating virtual, mixed and augmented reality. The team’s award-winning projects include USS Indianapolis: Live from the Deep, STEP, The Ivory Game, Unseen Enemy, Racing Extinction, Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale, News & Documentary Emmy winner and Academy Award®-nominated Body Team 12, Mind of a Giant, We the Economy, We the Voters, Ocean Warriors, #ISurvivedEbola, and Girl Rising. Upcoming releases include Ghost Fleet, Ballet Now and Oliver Sacks. For information on Vulcan Productions and our leadership in generating change through impact storytelling, visit vulcanproductions.com.
ABOUT CREATIVE DIFFERENCES
Creative Differences has produced an array of notable feature documentaries, including Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man (2005), Herzog’s Oscar nominatedEncounters At The World (2008) and the 2011 ADD SPACE 3D box office hit Cave Of Forgotten Dreams. Company founder Erik Nelson has also produced and directed such films as the 2008 biography of writer Harlan Ellison, Dreams With Sharp Teeth, as well as the 2012 animated feature Dinotasia and 2017’s A Gray State. For more information on Creative Differences, please visit http://cdtvfilms.com.
