Celebrating Life in Union to Make Miami Premiere at Doc Miami Film Festival

Nov. 27, 2012 - PRLog --    
HBR Productions and Producer/Director Gladys Bensimon are pleased to announce that the Miami premiere of their documentary, Celebrating Life in Union, will take place Saturday, December 8th at 6:30 pm at the DocMiami Film Festival.

Celebrating Life In Union captures the tragedy and brotherhood of a group of former political prisoners from the Cuban Revolution, who fought for, and were subsequently betrayed by, their leader Fidel Castro. Director and human rights activist Gladys Bensimon, known for her award-winning documentary Crossing our Borders, learned that a group of these former prisoners, now in their 70’s, was living and gathering weekly in Union City, New Jersey. She and co-producer Drew Oberholtzer began attending their meetings as their curiosity grew about what really happened to the people of Cuba during the Revolution. Actor Andy Garcia, a Cuban-American himself, joined the project and together they are sharing the touching stories of these men through film.

Having world premiered at the New York City International Film Festival, Celebrating Life In Union is currently a final nominee for “Most Inspirational Documentary” at the 2012 DocMiami Film Festival. With nearly half of all Miami residents being of Cuban descent, Celebrating Life in Union is expected to have a remarkable turnout and will be one of DocMiami’s most in-demand tickets. For Bensimon debuting the film in a city so steeped in Cuban heritage is an emotional experience. “For me, presenting the film to the Cuban community is very important. They are the largest Diaspora of what I call the ‘Cuban Holocaust’,” said Bensimon.

They have seen their hopes for a free and democratic Cuba stolen from them, while the world continues to be indifferent, blind, and mute. It is my duty as a documentary filmmaker and an activist for freedom and democracy, to inform the world about the tragedies these men endured and to present them as a symbol of the past and present Cuban struggle. I am very thankful
 to DocMiami for giving me this opportunity to showcase Celebrating Life in Union.

For more information about Celebrating Life in Union, please visit the official website www.celebratinglifeinunion.com

About Gladys Bensimon- Producer/Director

Gladys Bensimon is an award-winning producer/director of political documentaries, a published author, and President of HBR Production Company, a multilingual film and video production company located in New Jersey. Bensimon has more than 20 years of experience working in a wide range of genres, from feature films, to animated shorts and educational films.  

Bensimon was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications and Television Production at Universidad Andres Bello of Caracas, Venezuela. She then went on to earn her Master's Degree in Media Studies and Film/Video Production at the New School University in New York City. For more information about Gladys Bensimon, please email gbensimon@gmail.com or call (732) 598-4278

         About Drew Oberholtzer- Co-Producer

Drew Oberholtzer has been working in the film and television industry for the last seven years as both a producer and editor in New York City.  He has worked on various projects for National Geographic Television, History Channel, Discovery, and HBO.  He is trained as a documentarian receiving a Masters degree in Film and Media Studies from the New School University and a graduate certificate from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

About HBR Production Company  

HBR Productions is an award-winning multilingual film and video production company with over 20 years of experience in a wide range of genres including commercials, features, animated shorts, short narrative films and documentaries. Located in Hoboken, New Jersey, HBR is led by Gladys Bensimon, an award-winning producer/director. For more information, please visit:
www.hbrproductions.com

About Doc Miami

Doc Miami is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the best that documentary filmmaking has to offer worldwide. We seek to provide filmmakers a forum in which to promote their unique contributions to the evolution of the cultural arts within South Florida and within the entertainment industry as a whole. In addition Doc Miami hosts a documentary film festival to promote up and coming documentary filmmakers at a local, national and international level. We provide educational outreach programs for young filmmakers grades 6-12. In an effort to give back, Doc Miami has hosted benefit concerts to raise funds in order to build much needed schools in Tanzania. Learn more about the Doc Miami International Film Festival by visiting: www.docmiami.org