Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions to Sponsor Seattle International Film Festival

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Thursday, 14 May 2015 05:06

Written by A&E Contributing Editor

Vulcan Productions announced today the sponsorship of the Seattle International Film Festival.  Founded by philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul G. Allen, Vulcan Productions produces compelling feature films, television programming, digital content and outreach initiatives designed to inspire people to take action on the critical issues of our time. 

The sponsorship of the Seattle International Film Festival continues Paul G. Allen's commitment to support the Arts and initiatives that enrich the Seattle community, including the EMP Museum, The Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Seattle Seahawks and the South Lake Union area.
 
Two films produced by Vulcan Productions, Racing Extinction and Body Team 12, will have their Seattle premiere's at the 2015 edition of the festival. Paul G. Allen is executive producer of both films.
 
Racing Extinction, which premiered to great acclaim and attention at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, uses stunning images to inspire action, and show the devastating effects of carbon consumption on our oceans and the world's species. This documentary by Louie Psihoyos, the Academy Award®-winning director of The Cove, tells the story of mass extinction and loss of biodiversity by utilizing beautiful cinematography and photography as weapons of change. 
 
Body Team 12 is an artful and heartbreaking tale told through the eyes of a heroine, the Liberian Red Cross worker Garmai Sumo. The film, which won the award for Best Documentary Short at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, puts a human face on the extreme sacrifice and service of people fighting Ebola on the ground, and raises awareness about how transmission is halted.
 
Carole Tomko, Vice President of Vulcan Productions, states "For Vulcan Productions there's no place where it's more important to support the film community and the Arts than right here at home in Seattle. The Seattle International Film Festival is an absolute treasure of our community and we couldn't be more thrilled to come on board as a major sponsor this year. This partnership really aligns with the ethos and vision of our founder of supporting local communities worldwide, in a variety of ways that bring real value to people."
 
"We are also honored that this year's festival gives Seattleites the opportunity to attend premieres of two of our films that we are immensely proud of, Racing Extinction and Body Team 12. It really ties everything together to bring home these incredibly artistic cinematic works that intersect with Paul's groundbreaking work on climate, oceans and Ebola," added Tomko.
 
Seattle International Film Festival Artistic Director, Carl Spence said, "We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Vulcan Productions. Vulcan produces world-class films that are not only culturally and socially relevant but also innovative and artful in how they tell their deeply relatable stories. We are fortunate to have such an amazing local partner who has always recognized the importance of film as a medium that can not only entertain but provide transformative experiences that inform, enlighten and even change our view of the world."
 
Vulcan Productions, founded by philanthropist, entrepreneur and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and his sister Jody Allen, produces compelling feature films, television series, specials, digital content and outreach initiatives designed to inspire people to take action on the critical issues of our time. Vulcan Productions is committed to supporting projects of significance that ignite progress and motivate audiences to generate measurable impact on the world.

As part of a comprehensive relief campaign to stop the spread of Ebola, Vulcan Productions produced the #ISurvivedEbola campaign and co-produced Body Team 12, about Liberian Red Cross workers fighting Ebola on the ground, which won the award for Best Documentary Short at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Vulcan Productions is a co-producer of Unseen Enemy, a feature documentary that explores the global impact of pandemics.

The new documentary premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Vulcan Productions is currently producing an innovative outreach campaign for Racing Extinction that drives awareness and action around the core issues in the film, including carbon emissions, ocean health and mass species extinction.

Together with Morgan Spurlock's Cinelan, Vulcan Productions also produced We The Economy, a digital film series designed to deepen public understanding of the U.S. economy, which won the Webby Award, the Shorty Award and the Cynopsis Social Good Award.

Other awards garnered by Vulcan Productions projects include the George Foster Peabody Award, the Emmy Award, the Grammy Award, Wildscreen Panda Award and the Sheffield Doc/Fest Green Award. Acclaimed films and series from the Vulcan Productions group include Pandora's Promise, Girl Rising, Success at the Core, Hard Candy and The Blues.
 
Founded in 1976, SIFF creates experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world with the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education.

Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest, most highly attended film festival in the United States, reaching more than 150,000 annually. The 25-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging and eclectic programming, presenting over 450 features, short films, and documentaries from over 80 countries each year.

SIFF Cinema exhibits premiere theatrical engagements, repertory, classic, and revival film showings 365 days a year on five screens at the SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, and SIFF Film Center, reaching more than 150,000 attendees annually. SIFF Education offers educational programs for all audiences serving more than 13,000 students and youth in the community with free programs each year.