New York, NY, June 25th, 2009 — Culture Project has announced that the launch of “Blueprint for Accountability,” the groundbreaking event with Rachel Maddow, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Vince Warren and Ron Suskind that was presented to a sold-out audience at The Times Center on May 31, 2009, will premiere on Link TV on Friday, June 26th, with repeat airings on Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th.
At Culture Project’s event, panelists explored solutions to some of the challenges facing our country. The evening made breaking news on major news stations including MSNBC and CNN when Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top coalition commander in Iraq, called for a Truth Commission. Sanchez is the first General to go on record to call for a Truth Commission, and stressed that the outcome must embrace a variety of solutions, including prosecution.
The event presented a new form of theater, blending the best of investigative journalism with film and theater to create an unprecedented level of audience access to expert knowledge. Directed by acclaimed actor, writer and producer Fisher Stevens, the event also featured performances by Liev Schreiber, John Leguizamo and Julianna Margulies in roles that brought to life key scenes from the so-called War on Terror.
Those who were not able to be at the Times Center on May 31st now have an opportunity to see the discourse that took place during the evening, and watch the historic moment when General Sanchez came to make his statement.
In honor of Torture Awareness Month (the month of June, declared years ago by human rights organizations in the U.S. as a way to provide greater visibility to this issue and create an opportunity for coordinated actions across the country), Culture Project’s program will premiere on Link TV on Friday, June 26, which is International Torture Awareness Day. Air dates and times on Link TV are June 26, 5pm PT/ 8pm ET, June 27, 1pm PT/ 4pm ET and June 28, 8pm PT/ 11pm ET are sneak previews of the program that will continue to air later in the year, dates pending. The program will air nationwide in all States and all US territories and is available via satellite on Direct TV and Dish Network. A special version of the program will also be streamed online at www.linktv.org/accountability.
Culture Project’s “Blueprint for Accountability” series gathers the world’s foremost political and journalistic experts and today’s most visionary artists in the worlds of theater, music, film, dance, and literature to spotlight tangible ways to reintroduce accountability into our culture. Topics for future evenings in the series include domestic terrorism, economic injustice, human trafficking, Hurricane Katrina, and corporate media. A film series is also set to launch as part of the program this summer.
Culture Project is proud to partner with Link TV, the first nationwide television channel dedicated to providing Americans with global perspectives on news, events and culture, to distribute content and further Culture Project’s goal of engaging as broad an audience as possible.
Culture Project is New York City’s premier destination for artistic work that champions the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Showered with media praise and honors, including New York Times’ #1 Play of the Year (2003) Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award (2005) a Drama Desk Award (2003) an Outer Critics Circle Award (2003) and Lucille Lortel Awards (2003, 2008) Culture Project prides itself on providing a creative home to dynamic artists who share its passion for taking risks and creating work that amplifies marginalized voices. By fostering innovative collaboration between human rights organizations and theatre, music and film artists, Culture Project aims to inspire and impact public dialogue and policy, encouraging democratic participation in the most urgent matters of our time.
Culture Project has premiered celebrated shows including The Exonerated, Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel, Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, Lawrence Wright’s My Trip To Al-Qaeda, Tings Dey Happen, the Lucille Lortel Award-winning World Premiere of George Packer’s Betrayed and Temple University’s acclaimed production of In Conflict. Most recently, Culture Project produced a concert at the United Nations, Breaking the Silence, Beating the Drum that commemorated the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Visit us at www.cultureproject.org
Link TV is the nation’s largest independent broadcaster devoted to providing diverse global perspectives on news, current events and world culture not typically available in conventional media in the U.S. Link TV boasts the one of the world’s largest libraries of carefully curated international music videos, and through its Cinemondo film series, supports the essential cultural role of world cinema by helping Americans better understand what is happening globally. A pioneer in news and current affairs programming, Link TV has been recognized internationally for its Peabody Award-winning program Mosaic: World News from the Middle East. Most recently, Link TV launched Global Spirit, an unprecedented inquiry into the universe of human consciousness from cultures and faiths around the world. Link TV is a nationwide channel available in more than 31 million U.S. homes as basic service on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410. Select programs are shown on cable channels including CUNY and MNN in New York City. Visit us at www.LinkTV.org.
