www.live58.

org/thefilm

THE FILM
DIRECTED BY
Tim and Tony Neeves

RELEASE DATE
Coming to screens everywhere the weekend of October 14-16, 2011

DISTRIBUTION
Available on broadcast, online, DVD, and group screening events

TRAILER/FILM SITE
www.live58.org/thefilm

SYNOPSIS

Premiering this October, 58: THE FILM is the inspiring true story of the global Church in action.
Witness bravery and determined faith in a journey from the slums of Kenya to the streets of
New York. Confront the brutality of extreme poverty and meet those who live out the True Fast of
Isaiah 58 and create stunning new possibilities for the future.
Travel from the sun-scorched plains of rural Ethiopia to British shopping centers, from Brazilian
ganglands and the enslaving quarries of India to western churches, businesses and conferences.

58: invites audiences to discover the incredible work of God through His people in our hurting
world. Meet ordinary people, hear their stories, and see their struggles and their victories as 58:
shows the relentlessly loving God at work through His Church bringing hope to the darkest
challenges of our day. Experience eye-opening reasons to lift our expectations of the future.
Woven with Biblical truth, this film draws audiences into life-changing examples of the True Fast
of Isaiah 58 - a young British woman prevailing over the pressures of consumer society, Ethiopian
Christians working to restore their environment, an American business owner promoting Fair
Trade coffee and connecting his local community with the work of ending poverty, a local pastor
in India working to be a Good Samaritan to those enslaved by bonded labor, and the sacrificial
generosity of New York youth giving up their own food for the sake of those with even less.
These impatient revolutionaries and ordinary prophets present viewers with an empowering vision
of the Church rising up to its remarkable potential to end extreme poverty, by bringing God's
words through Isaiah to life in our time, in our day.
Experience 58: this October on television, online, on DVD, and at screening events throughout the
U.S. Go to www.live58.org/thefilm to see the trailer and download the EPK.

PRESS
Contact Ben Laurro 818.753.4056 ; ben@purepublicity.com

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BIOS
CREW

Tony Neeves Director

Tony Neeves came of age in Londons advertising world. But a dramatic
conversion in 1969 led him to redirect his heart and his ambitions.
Tony vowed to transform the way Christians communicate in the media.
He helped found Tearfund, a Christian relief and development organization.
He also set up his own ad agency, Greenleaf. And convicted of the
biblical mandate to fight poverty and injustice, Tony has worked as a
Vice President of Compassion International. For 35 years, Tonys primary
passion has been to challenge and educate Gods people by producing
and directing award-winning documentary films for nonprofit organizations.
58: was born out of this passion to, as he says, Comfort the afflicted,
and afflict the comfortable.

Tim Neeves Director

Tim Neeves was set for a career in classical composition, having studied
under British greats Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir George Benjamin.
Then, on a life-changing trip to Uganda with his director dad, Tony,
an encounter with a young AIDS victim changed everything. Within a
week of submitting his final Masters portfolio, Tim was on a plane to
Haiti armed with a camera, and Prospect Arts was born. Tim now has 70
overseas shoots under his belt, in such hotspots as Indonesia, Palestine
and Rwanda. He frequently incorporates composition and performance
into his productions. Tim describes 58: as a fantastic opportunity to
meet people living in the worlds toughest circumstances and help them
tell their stories.

CHARACTERS

Workitu Ethiopia
Workitu is the mother of four. Like her neighbors, she has raised her
family in a tiny hut built of mud and sticks. Her region of Ethiopia has
suffered a five-year drought and her farm is barren. So Workitu gathers
firewood to sell for pennies in a market thats two hours away on foot.
But even firewood is scarce because of the degradation of the local
environment. So Workitus husband works far from home to bring back
20 to 30 birr (less than $1.70) every few months. Their income barely
covers the cost of food and water for the children, who help gather wood.
The nearby school, with its 30 birr entrance fee, is an unaffordable
luxury. Workitus fifth child with whom she was visibly pregnant
during filming died a few days after birth. Yet she radiates dignity and
deep faith. Her facial tattoos are a traditional emblem of beauty in her
poor but close-knit community.
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BIOS
Alice Njoki Kenya
Alice Njoki and her husband, James, moved to Mathare in search of a
better life. But their rural upbringing didnt prepare them for the jungle
that is Kenyas second-largest slum. Their scrap metal shack sits atop an
open sewer. Disease, fire and violent crime plague the approximately
700,000 slum-dwellers. While Alice scavenges vegetables to resell in
the street, violent gangs hustle drugs and alcohol. James works pushing
a handcart when he isnt laid low by alcohol and mental health
problems. Alice fights her discouragement with a determination to return
to her hometown for her familys sake. After filming, James gave his life
to the Lord and began the journey toward a healthier life. And the
family returned to their hometown to work as farmers.

Bo Mann USA
People like coffee, and people like to do good. So Bo Mann opened
Wake Up Coffee on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The shops mission is to
provide great coffee while informing customers on issues of poverty
and development. But Bos mission and that of his baristas, who all
served in the mission field is to create an inviting space where he can
share his faith as well as his passion for justice. The shop has become a
community hub, modeled after Bos experience in the coffee shops of
North Africa, where people gather to discuss the days issues.
He pledges a percentage of profits to charitable causes. And the shop
organizes disaster relief efforts. As part of a new generation of socially
and politically active young Christians, Bo takes inspiration from
Micah 6:8 to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
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BIOS
Chris Durso USA
Some of the roughest neighborhoods anywhere are found around Christ
Tabernacle in Queens, New York. Drugs, gangs and violence are
epidemic. A high percentage of families rely on state welfare support.
Around 70 percent of the youth group comes from unchurched homes.
But Chris Durso, director of the churchs Youth Explosion ministry,
believes these young people can do remarkable things, despite
their hardships. His mission is to make young people see that God is
freedom and not religion or law. Hundreds of kids line up to join each
weeks meeting. A primary effort is a hunger and fasting campaign
inspired by Isaiah 58. Chris wants to show his young people that when
you give up something for another, God will always fill your needs
and theres always someone worse off whom you can help.

Sanjiv and Shivamma India

Sanjiv and Shivamma are wage slaves. The couple, along with two of
their five children, break stones in an illegal quarry, from sunrise to
sunset, in the searing Bangalore heat. Their bondage is the result of
debt incurred over the years roughly $700. Though seemingly
conquerable, its an exorbitant sum for migrants from the Tamil Nadu
region of India. In order to pay their daughters wedding dowry
an inescapable cultural tradition they took a loan from the quarry
owner, indenturing the family. They also borrowed to buy the equipment
needed to work the quarry. The high-interest debt surpasses their
income and will be passed on to their children when they die. Since an
education would cost 5,000 rupees ($112) a year each, the children are
caught in the cycle of brutal, dangerous work. Although their love for
their children is clear, Sanjiv and Shivamma have lost hope for them.
And when the film crew returned for a second interview in July 2009,
the family had vanished most likely to another quarry, with their debt
still in place.

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BIOS
Soundarya India
Beloved daughter and only hope of her proud parents, Soundarya is
a young teen with high hopes and a contagious zeal for life. She is
breaking the cycle of poverty and hard manual labor that has plagued
her family for generations. While her indentured father toils each day in
the stone quarry, through sponsorship, Soundarya is able to attend a
local school. The child development center provides Soundarya with
additional tuition in all the major fields of study as well as dance, music
and Bible studies. Her mother has been able to attend tailoring classes
at the church and pursue an income for the family away from the chains
of the quarry. Soundarya dreams of becoming a software engineer.
Her determination is forged from the knowledge that she is one of the
fortunate ones in her community. Her compassion for the needy
around her girls already sold into marriage, children breaking stones
while she is at school reflects a heart that knows things can and
should be different.

Auri Brazil
As a young man, Auris dream had been to join the Army. After the
death of his beloved father, young Auri slipped into alcohol and drug
use. Soon his dream of military service was replaced by the harsh reality
of membership in one of Brazils deadliest gangs. A law unto themselves,
the gangs administer street justice. Murder is a daily reality. For Auri,
it was a case of kill or be killed. By 2002, drugs and drink had robbed
Auri of his physical strength and most of his teeth. As his gang lost
power and influence, he was reduced to begging on the street. His
girlfriend and the mother of his daughter left him. At rock bottom,
Auri brought his big questions to God. Although many churches rejected
this shell of a man, an accepting community helped Auri kick his
addictions and earn his high school diploma. He is now married and
studying for a bachelors degree in theology in hopes of spreading grace
among others who struggle with addiction.

Kirsty Munro UK
Kirsty Munro was a London fashion college graduate alert to every trend.
Money was no object where style was concerned. Her credit card bills
were proof of that. But as a Christian, she began to feel convicted about
the nature of her spending. This led her to cut up her credit cards in
front of her church congregation and tackle the self-esteem issues at
the root of her image consciousness. When Kirsty traveled to Kenyas
Mathare slum, she encountered women who, despite incredible poverty,
lived lives of beauty in Gods love. Now, her changed spending habits
enable her to invest financially in the lives of her friends in Mathare.
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BIOS

Pastor Joel Gitahi Kenya

Joel Gitahi was raised in the hard-knock life of a Mathare slum-dweller.
His father abandoned the family early on. His mother and 15 siblings
bootlegged liquor from their two-room shack. Violence and drugs took
the place of health care and education. But one evening at age 18,
as Joel passed a rowdy church revival meeting, he felt compelled to join
in. Now age 50, he is known as Pastor Joel, and that very congregation,
Redeemed Gospel Church, is his flock. After his conversion, Joel studied
to become a construction engineer and eventually ran his own
construction company. As a professional, he easily could have escaped
the Mathare slum. Instead, Joel works to clothe and feed physically
and spiritually those in need. His community helps provide fellow
slum-dwellers the health care and education that Joel once lacked.
Since filming, a partnership with Christ Church of Tunbridge Wells, UK,
has helped Pastor Joel purchase land to expand his churchs facilities.

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WHAT IS 58:?
MISSION OF 58:

58: is an unprecedented, action-based, global alliance of Christians,

churches and world class poverty-fighting organizations working together
to end extreme poverty in our lifetime by living the True Fast of Isaiah.
To achieve this ambitious goal, 58: aspires to become the largest,
most unified effort ever by the global church to help the 1.4 billion
people living in extreme poverty. 58: answers Isaiah's call to 'shout it
aloud and do not hold back' through astonishing communications
and honors the True Fast by providing engagement in strategic,
poverty-eradicating action.

ORGANIZATIONS IN ALLIANCE WITH 58:

ECHO

Reducing Hunger, Impr oving Lives

Worldwide

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FULL CREDITS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Wess Stafford, David Dahlin & Scott Todd

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Angelina Dieleman

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Tim Neeves

PRINCIPAL CAMERA
Anthony Jarman

SECOND CAMERA
Cody McCarthy

EDITED BY

Rob Wilson & Anthony Jarman

ORIGINAL SCORE BY
Tim Neeves

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Mairi Neeves

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY

Tim Neeves & Tony Neeves

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