A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

RIO and THE OLYMPICS are on the minds of many this week!

I’m always excited to run into OLYMPIC legends – like a recent run-in with Olympic legend Carl Lewis.

Well, LIFE OF RILEY is excited to invite you to join us NEXT TUESDAY in New York City for a documentary on the 18 Black Olympians of the 1936 Games, “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” from Director Deborah Riley Draper (Versailles “73: American Runway Revolution) and Narrator/Executive Producer Blair Underwood.

PLEASE COME JOIN LIFE OF RILEY Tuesday, August 9^th for the 7p SCREENING. On this night, you get a BONUS with your purchased ticket: a post-show interview that I will conduct via Skype with Writer/Director Deborah Riley Draper. Ticket info: https://www.cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/olympic-pride-american-prejudice.html

Riley Draper is not a relative, but a Savannah home-girl who also graduated from the same high school as me: Windsor Forest High School. In fact, my dear friend from high school and my Spelman sister Tandi Reddick – Associate Producer on this project – is the one who hipped me to this masterpiece: www.tandireddick.com! So, I just had to help get the word out on it!  

Moreover, in my role as Brand Ambassador at Miss Jessie’s, Co-Founder, CEO, and Creative Director Miko Branch is donating bags for the NYC Theatrical Release’s Opening Night(s) this Friday, August 5^th and Saturday, August 6^th (Deborah and Blair are scheduled to be in attendance). Ticket info: https://www.cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/olympic-pride-american-prejudice.html

The film enjoyed a sold-out world premiere as an official selection in the documentary category at the Los Angeles Film Festival and is also an official selection at the 2016 Traverse City Film Festival. The film will open in 10 additional cities in September.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice follows 18 African Americans, 16 men and two women, who defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. While the world is familiar with Jesse Owens' story, this film tells the largely unknown story of the 17 other black Olympians. Though their untold stories faded into obscurity, their presence on the world stage in 1936 remains a seminal precursor to the modern American Civil Rights Movement and the struggle for equality in sports.

"Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is a deeply inspiring and emotional film that examines race, sports and implicit bias during the 1930s through the eyes and voices of 18 young Black Olympians, who laid the groundwork for so many movements,” said Deborah Riley Draper, writer/director. “Their experiences are as relevant today as they were 80 years ago.”

The film weaves rarely seen archival footage and photos with interviews of Carl Lewis, Isiah Thomas, Anita DeFrantz, Ambassador Andrew Young and Lonnie Bunch III, among others, including the families of the 1936 Black Olympians, German 1936 Olympics spectators and sports historians.

“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is a film for all ages and for the ages,” says Blair Underwood, the film’s narrator and executive producer. “Generations to come will be inspired by the perseverance, courage and patriotism of these 18 African American athletes who faced Jim Crow America and Nazi Germany during Berlin’s 1936 Olympics. I am honored and proud to play but a small role in singing their praises.”

View the Trailer for the film at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Icc35DJPM

79 minutes * unrated * USA/Germany* 2016 * www.1936olympicsmovie.com

Cinema Village

22 East 12th St.

New York, NY 10003

(212) 924-3363

Ticket info: https://www.cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/olympic-pride-american-prejudice.html

Monica Film Center

1332 2nd St.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

(310) 478-3836

www.laemmle.com

Ticket info: http://www.laemmle.com/films/41067

ABOUT COFFEE BLUFF PICTURES: Coffee Bluff Pictures is an Atlanta-based independent film venture created to develop, produce and distribute compelling stories that shed light on the life and stories of the under-represented.

ABOUT DEBORAH RILEY DRAPER

Deborah Riley Draper is a filmmaker, advertising executive and a Film Independent Documentary Lab Fellow. Riley Draper was named to Variety Magazine’s “2016 Top Ten Documakers to Watch.” Her debut film, “Versailles ‘73: American Runway Revolution,” received acclaim from critics and fans alike, including The New York Times, LA Times and Harper’s Bazaar. She is a member of Film Fatales and resides in Atlanta, Ga.

OPAP film website: www.1936OlympicsMovie.com

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Twitter: @olympics36

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