Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will kick off its 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” screening series with last year’s Oscar-winning feature “The Cove” and Oscar-nominated short “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” on Wednesday, September 22, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. 

Admission to all screenings in the series is free. “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” examines the devastating aftermath of the 2008 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people, including many children crushed by school buildings.  The film follows parents coming to terms with their loss and challenging government officials to explain the inadequate construction. 

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” was directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill, both of whom also produced the film with Peter Kwong, Michelle Mi and Ming Xia. With the help of a team of divers, activists, filmmakers and special effects experts, “The Cove” exposes the horrific truth about what is happening to the dolphins in a lagoon near the Japanese village of Taiji. 

The film was directed by Louie Psihoyos and produced by Fisher Stevens and Paula DuPré Pesmen.  Mark Monroe, the film’s writer, will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening. The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year. Part One of this two-part series runs through November 2010. 

The screening schedule is as follows: Wednesday, September 22

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
Directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
 Produced by Alpert, Peter Kwong, Michelle Mi, O’Neill, Ming Xia
 Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject “The Cove”
Directed by Louie Psihoyos
 Produced by Fisher Stevens, Paula DuPré Pesmen
 Academy Award winner: Documentary Feature Wednesday, October 6 “Valentino The Last Emperor”
Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
 Produced by Tyrnauer, Matt Kapp “The September Issue”
Directed by R.J. Cutler
 Produced by Cutler, Eliza Hindmarch, Sadia Shepard Wednesday, October 13 “Garbage Dreams”
Directed and produced by Mai Iskander “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders”
Directed by Mark N. Hopkins
 Produced by Hopkins, Naisola Grimwood, Daniel Holton-Roth Wednesday, October 20 “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
Directed by Daniel Junge
 Produced by Henry Ansbacher, Davis Coombe
 Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
Directed and produced by Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
 Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature
Wednesday, November 3 “Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak”
Directed by Lance Bangs, Spike Jonze
 Produced by Perry Moore, Hunter Hill, Allison Sarofim, Vincent Landay
  “The Beaches of Agnès”
Directed and produced by Agnès Varda Wednesday, November 17 “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
Directed and produced by Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
 Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject “Capitalism: A Love Story”
Directed by Michael Moore
 Produced by Michael Moore, Anne Moore

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.  Doors open at 6 p.m.  All seating is unreserved.  The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible. The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood.  Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). 

For additional information, visit www.oscars.org. 

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.