Academy Award-Winning™ Producer Gerald Molen Creates ‘Schindler’s List for This Generation’
With ‘The Abolitionists’ in Select U.S. Cinemas May 16 Only
Fathom Events and FletChet Entertainment Present Remarkable Undercover Footage Showing Former CIA Agent and Team of Operatives Rescuing Child Slaves
DENVER – April 4, 2016 – From the Academy Award-winning producer of “Schindler’s List” comes a true story about the fight against child sex-trafficking in “The Abolitionists.” This eye-opening one-night event will be presented in select U.S. cinemas on Monday, May 16, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. local time. Highlighting secret footage from rescue operations conducted around the world, audiences will experience moving stories of freedom and survival. A special panel discussion with executive producer Gerald Molen (“Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park”), former CIA and Homeland Security operative Tim Ballard, and other experts and influencers will be shown following the feature presentation.
Tickets for “The Abolitionists” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in nearly 450 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Human trafficking has become the world’s fastest growing crime, with about 35 million people enslaved; nearly 2 million of them being children. “The Abolitionists” takes viewers behind the scenes as Ballard and his team of highly-trained operatives risk their own lives to free innocent children from captivity. As a special agent, despite the U.S. government’s best efforts, Ballard observed that red tape and bureaucracy left many of these children falling through the cracks.
“I believe it’s no coincidence that this feature comes almost twenty years after we released ‘Schindler’s List,’” said Molen. “The men and women in this story are simply modern-day abolitionists. Each of them with the same heartfelt mission as those before them: to liberate God’s children from slavery and oppression.”
Having turned in his U.S. government badge in 2013, Ballard is now the founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). In “The Abolitionists,” Ballard and his team investigate and rescue enslaved children from around the world, while undercover film crews (posing as traffickers) record each of these dangerous rescue operations. Utilizing hidden surveillance equipment to capture every moment, these stories of freedom fighters triumphing over evil will leave viewers inspired to join in the fight.
“Human trafficking is one of the most extreme ongoing atrocities in the world today,” said Fathom Events CEO John Rubey. “We are proud to partner with ‘The Abolitionists’ team to bring this important event to the big screen in the hopes that the audiences’ hearts will be touched, and they will be compelled to take action.”
“When we heard about this issue, as fathers, we knew that we could no longer sit by and do nothing,” said co-director Darrin Fletcher. “We made this documentary but our fear was that no one would come to see it, because it’s about something so ugly.”
Co-director Chet Thomas continued the thought, “We knew we needed to make the content appropriate for younger audiences so that even parents would feel comfortable bringing their teenagers. Our hope is that audiences will leave the theater enlightened and inspired.”
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For artwork/photos related to “The Abolitionists,” visit the Fathom Events press site.
About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is the event cinema distribution arm of AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) (known collectively as AC JV, LLC), the three largest movie theater circuits in the U.S., and is recognized as the leading distributor of alternative content. It offers a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, dance and theatre productions such as the Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre Live’s Hamlet, sporting events like FS1 Presents USA v Mexico, concerts with Roger Waters and One Direction, the TCM Presents classic film series and faith-based events such as The Drop Box and Four Blood Moons. Fathom Events also takes audiences behind the scenes and offers unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. In addition, Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 875 locations in 179 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.
About FletChet Entertainment
FletChet Entertainment is an American production company with a mission to develop inspiring character and story-driven entertainment that appeals to audiences of all ages through a variety of mediums including film, television, games, publishing and merchandising. The principals, Darrin Fletcher and Chet Thomas, have worked on such productions as “The Sandlot,” “Touched by An Angel,” “Minority Report” and “Meet the Parents.”
