Monday, September 22

Sister Helen" screening and discussion with filmmaker and co-producer Rob Fruchtman
Science Building, Room 309
Film will be shown from 2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. After a 15 minute break, there will be Q&A with the filmmaker from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Filmmakers bio:
Rob Fruchtman is an award-winning director, producer and editor of television programs and documentaries. He won the Documentary Director award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival for his feature film, Sister Helen, which aired on HBO in 2003. His film, Trust Me, a documentary produced for SHOWTIME, follows Christian, Jewish and Islamic boys at an interfaith camp in North Carolina. He has won three Emmys for his work with PBS. He directed all 13 episodes of Samurai Sportsman for the Outdoor Life Network in 2004, which was one of OLN's highest-rated shows. Fruchtman also directed Secrets Of Angels And Demons (PBS 2006), Secrets Of Mary Magdalene (PBS 2007) and Seeing Proof (2007), a film about Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime and its lingering effect on Cambodia's society.

Mr. Fruchtman has created compelling television programs, such as In Search Of China; Kronos; The Body Adorned and On The Edge Of Being for PBS; The Last Of The Incas for Showtime and Ancient Splendors for Reader's Digest. He executive produced Nature's Great Events and Incredible Journeys for BBC and PBS while at RD, as well as films on Australia and China.

Fruchtman has made many programs featuring the arts, including Dance New York (WNET), an Emmy-winning profile of Elliot Feld and Paul Taylor; Iso Dance Theater(PBS), a dance special with former Momix and Pilobolus dancers and a recipient of five Los Angeles Emmys; Kronos: Music Of Our Time (PBS), a portrait of the Kronos Quartet with Philip Glass and John Cage; and The Creation Of Omo (PBS), a dance special with the San Francisco Ballet.

Mr. Fruchtman began his career as a dialogue and sound editor on many feature films, including The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, Quiz Show, Blue Velvet, Backdraft, and many others, working closely with directors such as Robert Redford, Ron Howard, Philip Kaufman and David Lynch.

Film Description:
Winner of the Sundance Director's award, this docudrama centers on Sister Helen Travis, an unconventional nun determined to help substance abusers in the South Bronx. A recovering alcoholic, Travis turned to God after hitting
rock bottom when her two children and husband died from substance abuse-related causes. The hard-nosed Sister runs a halfway house, dispensing her unique form of tough love in a tireless effort to help recovering addicts.

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