Co-producers WORLD Channel and American Documentary announce the U.S. broadcast premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT on WORLD and PBS Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 8 p.m.

NEW YORK, NY (September 4, 2018) – American Documentary, Inc. and WORLD Channel announce the TV premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT, a new film by Juliane Dressner and co-director, Edwin Martinez. The documentary will broadcast on WORLD Channel and PBS as a co-presentation of the award-winning series America ReFramed and Latino Public Broadcasting.

PERSONAL STATEMENT follows three inspirational teens in Brooklyn who take it upon themselves to make a difference by becoming peer college counselors in their schools. They are high school seniors who are fighting to defy the odds not only for themselves but for every single one of their classmates. They have decided to become the very resource they don’t have themselves.

In the heart of Brooklyn, New York, Karoline Jimenez, Christine Rodriguez and Enoch Jemmott aspire to become the first generation in their families to attend and graduate college. But, like so many public school students throughout the country, their under-resourced schools don’t have enough college guidance support. That is why Karoline, Christine and Enoch have decided to do their part to close the college guidance gap. PERSONAL STATEMENT is an observational film that follows them through their senior year as they struggle to get themselves and their peers to college. The film’s narrative weaves their individual struggles, family life and their respective college application and admission processes.

“In the film we see  that  the  very  people  who  are  affected  by  a  problem  are  in  fact  the  ones  who  are  best  situated  to  solve  it.  This lesson could  not  be  more  timely  as  communities  throughout  the  country, many  of  which  Karoline,  Christine  and  Enoch  represent, including  immigrants,  members  of  the  LGBT community,  and  low income  people  of  color,  are  struggling  to  fight  for  their  rights.  When systems fail us, we  must  work  collectively  to  resolve  our  own  problems,  and  Karoline,  Christine  and  Enoch  show  us  how  it’s  done,” said Juliane Dressner in an interview with AFI.

"Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is very pleased to co-present this important film," said Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Director of LPB. "By shining a light on the challenges faced by so many students of color, PERSONAL STATEMENT reminds viewers that a pathway to higher education should be available to all students, regardless of where they live or what school they attend. The young peer counselors featured in the film are an inspiration and hopefully the film will encourage other schools to adopt similar programs."

“PERSONAL STATEMENT is an important film that honors the contributions and dreams young people have for themselves and for the country,” adds Carmen L. Vicencio, America ReFramed’s Series Producer.

“I am very excited that the public media family is supporting the premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT, a film that highlights the agency and leadership of dedicated youth peer counselors. PERSONAL STATEMENT will reach public television audiences just as students across the country are working in real-time on their own college application essays and forms,” says Chris Hastings, Executive Producer & Editorial Manager for WORLD Channel at WGBH Boston.

Produced by Reify Films and Hazel Pictures, PERSONAL STATEMENT will be presented on-air and on-line in collaboration with WGBH’s WORLD Channel and American Documentary Inc. for America ReFramed in association with Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB). Major funding has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate initiative with additional support provided by Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America, a public media initiative from WNET in New York. 

PERSONAL STATEMENT will make its U.S. broadcast premiere on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 on WORLD Channel and PBS (check local listings).

Free online streaming will begin on October 24 on worldchannel.org and all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and on PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.

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Media Contacts
For interviews and special requests, journalists and reviewers may contact
Neyda Martinez at 917-656-7846 or via email at neyda@amdoc.org.

            Film Credits
            Directed by Juliane Dressner
            ​Co-Directed by Edwin Martinez

Produced by Juliane Dressner & Beth Levison

Executive Producer for Latino Public Broadcasting, Sandie Viquez Pedlow

            About AMERICA REFRAMED
            AMERICA REFRAMED is a co-production of the WORLD Channel and American Documentary, Inc.

AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from the streets of towns big and small to the exurbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. The documentaries invite audiences to reflect on topics as varied as culture, health care, politics, gun violence, religion and more.

An award-winning documentary series, AMERICA REFRAMED is the recipient of the Peabody Award and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism. The series has earned several Christopher, GRACIE, Telly and Cine Golden Eagle Awards, as well as multiple nominations for an EMMY, Independent Documentary Association, and Imagen Award. 

AMERICA REFRAMED Series Credits
Executive Producers:      Justine Nagan, Chris Hastings, Chris White

Series Producer:               Carmen L. Vicencio

AMERICA REFRAMED can be accessed online via

http://worldchannel.org/programs/america-reframed/ 
and,
https://www.facebook.com/WorldChannel
https://www.facebook.com/AmericaReFramed

@worldchannel
@americareframed
 

AMERICA REFRAMED Co-Producers
American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia arts organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation. AmDoc is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit: www.amdoc.org

WORLD Channel delivers the best of public media’s nonfiction, news and documentary programming. The channel features original content from the heart of America's multicultural neighborhoods, creating award-winning series and specials, and offering a national platform to diverse filmmakers and communities via local public television stations, streaming online at worldchannel.org and social media platforms. WORLD Channel currently reaches markets representing more than 63% of U.S. TV households and millions more online, bringing powerful documentaries into people's lives and exploring the personal stories behind the headlines. WORLD has won numerous national honors including a Peabody and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, a Media for a Just Society Award, two Lesbian & Gay Journalist Awards, a Gracie, an Asian American Journalists Award and many others.  WORLD Channel also won the Radio Television Digital News Association’s 2017 Kaleidoscope Award for its critically-acclaimed series, AMERICA REFRAMED and has received seven National News & Documentary Emmy Nominations. WORLD is programmed by WGBH/Boston, in partnership with American Public Television and WNET/New York, and in association with PBS and National Educational Telecommunications Association. Funding for the WORLD Channel is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation and The Kendeda Fund. For more information about The WORLD Channel, visit www.worldchannel.org

About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. Latino Public Broadcasting provides a voice to the diverse Latino community throughout the United States and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Latino Public Broadcasting produces the series VOCES, PBS’s signature Latino arts and culture documentary showcase and the only ongoing national television series devoted to exploring and celebrating the rich diversity of the Latino cultural experience.  Between 2009 and 2016, LPB programs won over 85 awards, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award as well as two Emmys, two Imagen Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. In addition, LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. For more information, visit www.lpbp.org.

About Chasing the Dream
Chasing the Dream is WNET’s multi-platform public media initiative on poverty and opportunity in America. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of the impact of poverty on American society: what life is like below the poverty line and for the working poor, its impact on our economic security, and the solutions. Chasing the Dream reports can be found on air and at http://www.pbs.org/chasingthedream.

About American Graduate
Since 2011, the public media initiative American Graduate, made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), has grown into one of the largest public media collaborations across the country with over 125 local public media organizations, and national television and radio producers and distributors, working with more than 1,700 community partners. National and local reporting, public forums and town halls, and education resources drove awareness and discussions among leaders, educators, students and concerned citizens, and inspired adults to become an American Graduate Champion for the nation’s youth. Stations played an important role helping communities address the challenges and highlight local solutions to the dropout crisis, and the national graduation rate is now at an unprecedented 84.1 percent. In 2018, together with 19 stations, CPB launched the initiative’s next phase to partner with schools and businesses  and help prepare students with the skill sets and training needed to be part of the new work force, especially for high-demand fields. Join the conversation at facebook/americangraduate, and find out more through your local public media station or cpb.org/americangraduate.

About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and subscribe for email updates.