For more information contact:
Kristen Foster/ Erica Gerard
(212) 373-6108
Erica.Gerard@pmkhbh.com
Screen Media Films acquires
TRANSFORMATION:
The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard
CULTURE ICON AND THE FOUNDER OF EST PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON HIS LIFE, HIS IDEAS AND WHAT FORCED HIM TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY
Official Selection—Atlanta Film Festival
Official Selection—Palm Beach Film Festival
"Transformation was one of the biggest sleeper hits at the 30th Annual Atlanta Film Festival. Audiences were completely enthusiastic about the film and it engaged them throughout!"
--Jake Jacobson, Festival Director, Atlanta Film Festival
(New York, NY, January 22, 2008) – Screen Media Films President Robert Baruc announced today their acquisition of Transformation for theatrical distribution. The documentary, written and directed by Emmy Award winner Robyn Symon, explores the life of “est” founder Werner Erhard.
Symon debuted the film at The Quad in NYC with a limited one week run. The film broke Quad records becoming the highest grossing film in the cinema’s 25 year history raking in $50,000. Screen Media Films has since snagged the film for wider release.
More than thirty years ago, in 1971, Werner Erhard introduced the notion of “transformation” to the American public with the Erhard Seminars Training--better known as est. The seminars exploded out of San Francisco to become a worldwide phenomenon.
Millions
of people have been exposed to the work originally created by Erhard. In 1991,
he was the subject of several articles and a television magazine program that
made sensational allegations about him and his life. Those allegations later
were retracted or proven to be false. However, after two decades in the public
spotlight, Erhard chose to maintain a low profile outside the United States and
conduct his life and his work without publicity.
During the next seventeen
years, Erhard’s ideas continued to take root throughout the world. In his first
public interview in more than a decade, culture icon of the 1970s and 80s Werner
Erhard breaks his long silence about his ideas, his life and his controversial
program est that became "the thing" to do among celebrities and middle America,
and fueled today's multi-billion dollar personal growth industry. With exclusive
and rare footage, you'll step inside controversial est seminars, hear
provocative interviews with participants, family members, and experts. Viewers
will see that Erhard's transformational ideas are still in the mainstream today-
in our language, advertising campaigns and in personal growth seminars.
The allegations and controversy that surrounded Erhard are examined in full, leaving the audience with a new perspective on this influential figure of our times, and the breadth of his impact on society.
“We are excited to release this film knowing that there is a very motivated and passionate audience—from the people who have done the est seminars to those impacted by his corporate consulting and humanitarian work to people who have participated with Landmark Education, a company that offers programs based on Erhard’s original ideas”, says Robert Baruc, President of Screen Media Films.
This documentary is the only place where audiences can see Erhard address the controversy head on.
SUMMARY
Werner Erhard, pioneer of the multi-billion dollar personal growth industry, breaks a long silence about his ideas, his life and the controversial program est that made him a cultural icon of the 1970's and 80's.
With exclusive and rare footage, you'll step inside est seminars, and hear provocative interviews with peers, naysayers, family members, participants and experts. Viewers will be surprised, even shocked, at how Erhard’s course and ideas, thought of by some as strictly a phenomenon of the 70’s & 80's, have permeated the very fabric of society today.
Two-time Emmy winner Robyn Symon offer viewers a rare insider view into the life and ideas of Werner Erhard. Now 70 years old, Erhard speaks candidly about the early days of est, the media adulation and attacks, and the ideas themselves that underpin his work.
The documentary doesn't shy away from the hard questions about his controversial program, his past, his enemies, nor the "60 Minutes" expose that prompted him to leave the US in 1991.
Was he a man on a mission to make a difference, or just a man out to make millions? The film debates whether it's possible to separate the message from the messenger, and takes a glaring look at how the media targets public figures - leaving us with the notion that despite what you might think of him personally, this now almost forgotten cultural leader has left a lasting social legacy of personal transformation.
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Screen Media Films acquires the rights to high quality, independent feature films for the US and Canada. These films are distributed on home video through an exclusive distribution arrangement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Since 2001, the company has released more than 100 titles including, Noel, starring Penelope Cruz and Susan Sarandon and Kevin Bacon's directorial debut, Loverboy, starring Kyra Sedgwick and Matt Dillon and Steven Woolley’s, Stoned. Upcoming films include Canvas with Marcia Gay Harden and Joey Pantoliano, and The Sasquatch Gang with Justin Long. Screen Media Films, LLC is a wholly owned division of Screen Media Ventures. With a library of over 1000 motion pictures, Screen Media Ventures is one of the largest independent suppliers of high quality motion pictures to U.S. and international broadcast markets, cable networks, home video outlets and new media venues. For more information, visit www.screenmediafilms.net.