Shine Global Announces Doc Film Competition

PARK CITY, January 23: Albie Hecht’s Shine Global has
launched a semi-annual contest designed to promote and fund the development of
documentary films, following the success of its first film, War/Dance.

Shine’s first fully financed documentary film explores a
group of African children who overcome the realities of war by participating in
a national musical competition. It will be theatrically released by THINKFilm
in the fall.

The Shine Global competition kicked off on January 19 and
will continue for two months. It is soliciting treatments from documentary
filmmakers who wish to create projects that are consistent with Shine Global’s
mission statement: To end the exploitation and abuse of children globally
through the production of documentary films. The winner will be awarded a
stipend to fund an expanded treatment and the production of a 10-minute
trailer, which Shine may elect to produce into a feature film. The winner of
the competition will be announced in May 2007.

Shine Global is the non-profit subsidiary of Worldwide
Biggies, the multiplatform kids’ and family content company founded by former
Nickelodeon and Spike TV chief Albie Hecht. “Shine Global is continually
looking for ways to expand both the creation of, and audience for, socially
conscious films that can really cross over to a broader audience,” said Hecht.
“We are also mindful that there are scores of filmmakers working on ideas that
would resonate with us. This competition is just one of the many ways we are
looking to find these films and filmmakers and support their development and
production.”