F.L.A.G.

9/11 Documentary Short Gets National Movie Screen Time on Sept. 11
"F.L.A.G." Reveals Post-9/11 America in Patriotic Light
Friday September 6, 1:52 pm ET

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2002--The entertainment industry agrees: "F.L.A.G." is a must see.
On Sept. 11, the documentary short screens nationally at selected movie theatres before every feature film presentation. In Los Angeles the Laemlee Theatre chain will hold special viewings of "F.L.A.G." from Sept. 6 - 12. The film documents 9/11, and, more importantly, our post-9/11 America.

Grand Prix Productions, an Emmy-Award-winning television and film production company, created the film as a testament to the positive surge in U.S. patriotism since Sept. 11, 2001. Broken into two parts, the 6-minute, 49-second film holds never-before-seen footage from the rubble of Ground Zero, as well as little-seen images of flag-bearing citizens from around the country. The documentary debuts original hip-hop/rap music and instrumental scoring, both inspired by American anthems.

"'F.L.A.G.' focuses on the positive events that have occurred since September - as expressed through our newfound patriotism and Americanism. Through this film, we honor and pay tribute to those who were lost," said Barbara Donahue, filmmaker and president of Grand Prix Productions. "'F.L.A.G.' channeled the uselessness we were feeling and directed it into a productive forum. It was a way to stand up for ourselves and say, 'What has happened is awful, and we're not going to take it lying down.'"

"F.L.A.G." features original hip-hop and musical scores based on lyrics and melodies from three patriotic American songs: "The Star Spangled Banner," "God Bless America," and "America the Beautiful." Donahue selected musicians to write the music based on their ability to translate the raw and uplifting visuals from the film into music. Music brokers have made inquiries over licensing the film's original music, Donahue added.

For the first half of "F.L.A.G.", Los Angeles hip-hop/rap group Modern Day Poets mixes lyrics from the three anthems to create an original hip-hop rap song. In the second half of the film New York musicians David Hill and Patrick Adams combine melodies from the same three anthems to compose a moving score.

"F.L.A.G." combines original footage with scenes donated by industry resources. The first three minutes of the film focuses on images Grand Prix captured from the site of the World Trade Center rubble. The last three minutes borrows images she collected from 300 network affiliates, 50 tourism boards and 50 film commissioners. All of them show American citizens expressing national pride in unique ways.

Donahue has submitted the film as an entry into the Academy Awards nominations under the nonfiction, short, documentary category. As a result, she cannot screen "F.L.A.G." on television or the Internet until March 2003. But she can show the film theatrically and to private groups, as planned.

For video copies, stills or audio files from "F.L.A.G.", contact Barbara Donahue at (310) 889-9310 or poloblsd@aol.com

Since 1986, Grand Prix Productions, an independent television and film production company, has produced films and shows for ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN and many other cable entities. Grand Prix also produces EPK's for all of the major movie studios.

Barbara Donahue, founder and president of Grand Prix, has received 10 Emmy Awards and from 1980 to 1986, was a staff employee at ABC.

Photos available for this release:

Barbara Donahue To view photos, go to www.enewsrelease.com/pressroom and enter Release