V-me to Premiere Nat Geo Series, Religious Art Docs

NEW YORK, April 6: The new U.S. Hispanic-targeted network
V-me will broadcast the first season of 42×30-minute episodes of National
Geographic’s weekly public television series Wild Chronicles in Spanish this spring, and will premiere two
religious art documentaries as part of its upcoming Easter weekend schedule.

Wild Chronicles is
also presented in English on local public television stations by WLIW New York,
a leading producer of fundraising programming for PBS. Underwritten by National
Geographic Mission Programs in collaboration with Lindblad Expeditions, the
magazine-style show is hosted by Boyd Matson, long-time host of the critically
acclaimed National Geographic Explorer series. Each episode covers news from nature, scientific revelations,
human exploration and adventure. The series will feature the work of a broad
alliance of scientists, adventurers, conservationists and others who are
working to study, protect and preserve the planet. It will also include
original reports from the field and updates on exciting, recent discoveries,
through the eyes of National Geographic-sponsored researchers and explorers.

"The National Geographic Society recognizes the
importance of creating and providing high-quality science programming to
inspire people to care about the planet," noted National Geographic's Mark
Bauman, the executive producer of the series. "We're excited to make the
award-winning series available to the growing Spanish-speaking community here
in the United States."

In addition, V-me will premiere two religious art
documentaries as part of its Easter weekend lineup: the one-hour Picturing
Mary, airing tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET, and the
two-hour The Face: Jesus in Art on
Sunday April 8 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET.

Picturing Mary takes
viewers on an artistic journey through history with visually stunning pieces of
art from 12 cities in eight countries that demonstrate how images of Jesus’
mother Mary still play an important role in people’s lives from Europe to Asia.
The Face: Jesus in Art traces the
dramatically different ways in which Jesus has been represented in art by
people throughout history and around the world, exploring the treasures of the
Chartres Cathedral to glimpses of the Byzantine icons of St. Catherine’s
monastery.

"These films provide extraordinary, you-are-there
opportunities to see artistic masterpieces in their original settings, within
the context of history," said William F. Baker, V-me’s founding director
and executive producer of both films. "Using the latest digital technology
and motion control photography, we are delighted to bring the Latino community
on this artistic journey to see some of the world's most personal and important
works of art as they were originally intended by the artists."