Not Too Late to Join Immigration Debate

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Just three weeks before the November presidential election, SnagFilms and the Downtown Community Television Center expose voters to new sides of the immigration debate with the fourth premiere – Peter Getzels and Eduardo Lopez's Harvest of Empire – of the Snag the Vote series.  The documentary makes a powerful argument that past U.S. actions in Latin America fueled the migration north. Harvest of Empire premieres tonight, Monday at 8PM in New York City at DCTV and will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, Wendy Thompson-Marquez, Eduardo Lopez, Peter Getzels, and Harriet Gordon Getzels.  It will be simulcast online at snagfilms.com/harvest.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121015/NY93228 )

The debut of Harvest of Empire feels incredibly appropriate and it also serves as an eye-opener.  The film shines a bright light on the way that the U.S. government and multi-national corporations have been considerably responsible for the influx of immigration in this country. 

"With the immigration debate currently consuming much of the current political climate, there's no better time for the release of Harvest of Empire," says The Hollywood Reporter.

Harvest of Empire conveys the message that if American citizens have the facts and tools necessary to enlighten them, they will make informed decisions and will "rarely permit injustice to stand," which journalist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez also points out in his book from which the film was adapted.  SnagFilms established Snag the Vote 2012 with the same confidence in our nation's voters, recognizing their need to be politically informed.

"Immigration policy has provoked emotional responses for some time, and attitudes seem to have hardened on both sides.  Maybe what's needed is to come at the issue from another angle and that's what the film Harvest of Empire does," says SnagFilms founder Ted Leonsis. 

Tune in on October 15 at 8pm EDT to see the film that NY Daily News calls "a sobering and much needed look at Latino migration."  The Los Angeles Times agreed, praising Harvest of Empire for pressing "past the distortions and prejudices that are shaping much of the immigration debate in the United States."

Harvest of Empire will be available for free on SnagFilms for two weeks after tonight's premiere.  This Social Screening™ premiere is part of more than 100 films featured in Snag the Vote 2012 – independent films for independent voters.  The unprecedented, free, online film festival running through Election Day, showcases movies chosen to illuminate 10 key issues defining the 2012 Presidential election (Economy and Jobs, Health Care, Immigration, the Environment, Foreign Affairs, Energy, National Security, Education, Civil Liberties, and the political process). Subsequent premieres are described at snagfilms.com/socialscreenings.  Watch, share, debate and decide.

About SnagFilms

SnagFilms features free, sponsor-supported, on demand viewing of more than 3,300 award-winning, fiction and non-fiction titles from some of the greatest names in film. SnagFilms' curated collection is viewed on its own site and a digital network of more than 110,000 affiliated sites and webpages worldwide, including partners such as Comcast's Xfinity, Hulu, the Starbucks Digital Network, IMDb, hundreds of non-profits, special interest sites and blogs — and via its applications for tablets, including Apple's iPad (AirPlay-enabled), Amazon's Kindle Fire, BlackBerry Playbook and other Android-based tablets; Android smartphones; OTT platforms Roku, Boxee and Western Digital; connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic, LG and Vizio, and soon to launch on connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung.   SnagFilms' titles have been featured on more than 3.5 billion pageviews across its network.  

SnagFilms also offers selected titles via pay video on demand with Comcast, iN Demand (including Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks), Verizon's FiOS and DIRECTV, as well as on iTunes, Hulu Plus, Amazon, VUDU, Xbox Live, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Samsung Media Hub, and will soon be launching on DISH Network.  SnagFilms was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in Washington, DC area. Gizmodo has named SnagFilms as a "Best iPad App," OVGuide has twice named SnagFilms a Top Site, and MovieMaker Magazine named SnagFilms to its annual list of "50 Best Websites for Moviemakers." The SnagFilms family also includes Indiewire, for more than 15 years the web's top source of news, reviews and information about independent film – and winner of the 2012 Webby Award as the top film and movie site.

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SOURCE SnagFilms