Starz Takes Five Holocaust Docs

BURBANK: Starz Entertainment has taken on five documentaries from Moriah Films of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in honor of Holocaust remembrance, all of which are slated to air on the IndiePlex channel on October 1.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human-rights organization. The films added to the Starz slate include Genocide, narrated by Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Welles; I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, narrated by Nicole Kidman; and Liberation, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, Jean Boht, Sir Ben Kingsley, Miriam Margolyes and Patrick Stewart. The Long Way Home chronicles the experiences of Jewish Holocaust survivors, while Unlikely Heroes highlights seven previously unknown stories of men and women involved in Jewish resistance.

The October 1 premiere date marks the anniversary of the mass, open execution of more than 1,000 of the remaining Jewish inhabitants of the German-controlled town of Luboml, Poland in 1942. The documentaries are scheduled to air again in April 2010 alongside an array of feature films on Starz Cinema and Encore Drama, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Month.

“Starz acquired the documentaries at the suggestion of Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, who has long been associated with The Simon Wiesenthal Center,” said Robert B. Clasen, the chairman and CEO of Starz. “As a company, Starz applauds the efforts of the center and is honored to air programming that supports the legacy of Mr. Wiesenthal and the organization’s commendable mission.”