Business, Entertainment, Lifestyle, News, Press Releases - Friday, December 11, 2009 12:00 - 0 Comments

Oprah Winfrey Network Partnering with Ro*Co Films International to Select Documentaries

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network has entered into an innovative partnership with ro*co productions, a division of ro*co films international, a renowned documentary film distribution company, to identify select documentaries for OWN.

The announcement was made today by Chief Executive Officer Christina Norman.

A leader in the national and international documentary distribution world, ro*co films international has distributed eight Oscar® nominated or Oscar® winning feature documentaries including Born into Brothels, The Garden, Jesus Camp, No End in Sight, Promises, Regret to Inform, Street Fight, and The Weather Underground.

The partnership will result in a documentary film club: a multiplatform experience including a primetime monthly documentary film series airing on the channel, an online community experience and exclusive footage on OWN.tv, as well as the opportunity for some documentaries to be presented as a nationwide theatrical screening event.

The “event” films will give the audience a festival experience by creating communities nationwide that can screen the film together and participate in a live, moderated panel discussion.

As an important part of the new channel’s programming mix, OWN will spotlight cinematic documentaries that can inspire and entertain, as well as provide opportunities for the audience to engage with each film’s emotionally gripping, universally important themes.

“OWN’s commitment to Self-Discovery provides the ideal platform to elevate documentary films and the real, compelling stories they tell,” said Ms. Norman.

“Partnering with ro*co productions, OWN will deliver the very best documentaries to our audience and give them ways to connect through stories that move them.”

“There is a wide-ranging audience hungry for access to profound documentaries of substance and originality,” said Ms. Roney. “Our partnership with OWN will bring these films to a broader audience, but it doesn’t stop there; community discourse and engagement is encouraged and supported as soon as the final credits roll.”

Founder and Managing Director Annie Roney launched ro*co films international in 2000 with belief that a well-told, well-researched documentary can challenge the way people think about issues in every corner of the globe.

After nine years working in documentary distribution, she began ro*co films international with a single Oscar® nominated film, Regret to Inform and has since compiled a growing, but highly selective catalog of feature documentaries and earned the respect of countless independent filmmakers in the United States and abroad.

Ms. Roney is joined by President of ro*co productions, Sue Turley. Ms. Turley has contributed to the growth of ro*co films international since its inception and has several film projects in production.

“Documentary films have the power to entertain, educate, and engage the world, one film at a time,” said Ms. Turley.

“We are thrilled to be working with the incredibly talented team at OWN. They believe in documentaries and have committed their network to bringing these amazing stories to the world.”

Visit rocofilms.com for submission information and guidelines.

About OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network

A joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives.

OWN will debut in more than 70 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.

The venture also will include the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com.