NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 4, 2008) — Documentary Channel® will offer two documentaries about the Iraq war featuring unique and controversial Iraqi and American viewpoints of the conflict during the network’s “Primetime Premieres” Monday, August 18. The special programming event begins with the exclusive U.S. television premiere of “The Price for Paradise” at 8 p.m. ET/PT, which reveals candid interviews by Iraqi citizens and refugees about the war in their homeland. The event also features “My War, My Story” at 9 p.m. ET/PT, which follows several U.S. war veterans who have returned home with mixed emotions after serving in Iraq.

“The Iraq war is fraught with controversies from many directions, and it is important to offer our viewers films that document more in-depth viewpoints than those typically presented in the network news cycle,” says Tom Neff, Documentary Channel founder and CEO. “We hope that by presenting two under-publicized perspectives of Iraqis and U.S. service men, it will help build a greater understanding of this current conflict in Iraq and its residual effects.”

DOC is available on DISH Network (Channel 197), and several broadcast stations in major markets including NYC TV (Channel 25) throughout the greater New York metropolitan area.

In “The Price for Paradise,” filmmaker Jeffrey Kramer travels to the Middle East to initially document the training and graduation of the largest class of Iraqi Police Cadets. Once he arrives, he shifts focus as he encounters a number of Iraqi refugees, professional athletes and police cadets, who offer moving accounts of their daily struggles to survive in a war-torn country. “The Price for Paradise” follows the personal experiences of Iraqi individuals and families as they cope with war on their native soil and rebuild their lives under horrific circumstances.

“Documentary Channel dares to go where others fear by airing ‘The Price for Paradise,’ revealing how Iraqi citizens have been coping with war in their homeland and enlightening Americans about their plight,” says Kramer. “It is information that we do not get a chance to see by watching the evening news or any other program on the war.”

“My War, My Story” focuses on 18 U.S. veterans, both men and women, who share their personal experiences about the war in Iraq, the difficulties they’ve had to adjust to since returning home and the moral conflicts they felt while serving their country. Writer and director Andy Blood discovers that while many of these veterans remain loyal to their military service, they stand in opposition to the war.

Telecast in between “The Price for Paradise” and “My War, My Story” at 8:30 a.m. ET/PT will be an all-new episode of the DOC original series “Treasures of the Academy,” produced in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, which will focus on the importance of film preservation. Two of John Huston’s World War II documentaries – “Battle of San Pietro” and “Let There Be Light” – have been preserved by DOC and AMPAS® and are highlighted as examples of film as living history. The 30-minute “Guardians of History” episode features interviews with Huston’s son, Tony, and top directors and historians who shed considerable light on this important and exciting subject. For more information about “The Price for Paradise” please visit www.priceofparadisemovie.com or www.kramercommunications.tv.

About Documentary Channel®: Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and is the Voice of the Independent Documentary Filmmaker. DOC seeks out and showcases independent, cutting-edge and international non-fiction programming rarely seen in the U.S., and often then only in film festivals or other special venues. Many of DOC’s programs are U.S. or world premieres on television. DOC is the television viewer’s round-the-clock opportunity to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres, from classics to cutting-edge.

DOC has created partnerships and relationships with world-renowned organizations and festivals to bring the world’s greatest documentaries to television, often for the first time. These organizations include The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, The International Documentary Association, The National Film Board of Canada, Los Angeles Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Hot Springs, HotDocs, Durango Film Festival, Reel Women, and many others. In addition, DOC has teamed up with distinguished educational institutions including USC School of Cinema and the Academy of Art in San Francisco, among others, to introduce young, future documentary filmmakers to the viewing public.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with offices in New York and Los Angeles, Documentary Channel was founded by CEO and Oscar®-nominated documentary filmmaker Tom Neff. DOC launched on DISH Network (Channel 197) in January 2006, and now reaches over 21 million homes nationwide. DOC is carried by several broadcast stations in major television markets including NYC TV (Channel 25) throughout the greater New York metropolitan area. DOC’s Web site is located at www.documentarychannel.com. DOC was recognized after its first year as co-winner of the Emmy for Best Feature Documentary at the 28th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards for the film, “Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire.”