NASHVILLE, Tenn. (February 13, 2009) — The Documentary Channel^® (DOC) honors its founder and CEO, Tom Neff, with “Founder’s Month” by featuring the U.S. television premiere of four films produced by Neff as part of its special Monday “Primetime Premieres” lineup throughout March. Neff originally founded The Documentary Channel in January 2006 after seeing a need for a home for independent documentaries, and the 24-hour network now reaches over 21 million homes nationwide via DISH Network (Channel 197) and several broadcast stations in major television markets, including NYC TV (Channel 25) throughout the greater New York metropolitan area.

In celebration of its founder, The Documentary Channel will present the world television premiere of Neff’s 2006 feature length documentary, “Chances: The Women of Magdalene” on Monday, March 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  The film follows several women recovering from a life of drug addiction, prostitution and crime who have been given a second chance to make a difference within their lives through the generous efforts of the Magdalene House in Nashville, Tenn. “Chances” won the Best Audience Award at the Nashville Film Festival and the Tennessee Spirit Award.

“I created ‘Chances’ because I thought it was a story I felt had to be told, a story about a visionary approach to a blight affecting all of our cities: that dreadful cycle of prostitution and drug addiction, and the wreckage it causes in women’s lives,” says Neff, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker who has garnered more than 25 national and international awards during his career behind the lens.

Founder’s month begins its celebration on Monday, March 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with the exclusive premiere of Neff’s 2003 production of “Herb Alpert: Music For Your Eyes,” a documentary showcasing legendary musician Herb Alpert and the infusion of music in his paintings and sculptures through color, concept, and form.

On Monday, March 9, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, DOC will present the premiere of “Blood Brothers,” a rare behind-the-scenes look at organizations handling America’s blood supply, produced by Neff in 1998.

Finally, DOC will present the exclusive telecast of “No Magic Bullet,” a film produced by Neff in 1988, examining the cutting edge technology of cancer therapy developed by Dr. Robert K. Oldham, a leading nationally renowned American Oncologist, on Monday, March 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

In addition to founding DOC, Neff has served on a number of boards, including Financial Chairman of Belcourt Theatre Film Board, The International Documentary Association, The Tennessee Governor’s Advisory Film Board and Film Nashville. He also is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences^® and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences^®. Under Neff’s leadership, DOC also celebrated its first year anniversary as the co-winner of the Emmy^® Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2007 for the film “Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire.”

“Having a ‘Founder’s Month’ is both a moment of strong pride and mild embarrassment,” explains Neff.  “I am proud of a body of work that people might want to see and whose subjects have trusted me enough to give of themselves to make a film, but I’m slightly embarrassed at my programming team’s wish to put them together on my own channel.  Ultimately, I am humbly honored.”
In addition to the four Neff film television premieres, DOC will telecast a total of nine Neff films during March.  A summary of DOC’s “Founder’s Month” schedule is as follows:
Monday, March 2 “Herb Alpert: Music For Your Eyes” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

“Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse” 9:30 p.m. ET/PT

“Pat Kerr: Wrapped in Royalty” 10 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, March 9 “Blood Brothers” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

“Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days” 10 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, March 16 “Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada” 9 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, March 23 “Chances: The Women of Magdalene” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, March 30 “No Magic Bullet” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

“Louise Dahl Wolfe: Painting with Light” 9:30 p.m. ET/PT

(P) – Denotes Premiere

“Chances: The Women of Magdalene” is about hope and the chance to make a difference.  It is about giving women a voice, women who have before been silent, mired in hopelessness and shame, and drowning in a lifestyle that owned and controlled them.  The Magdalene House was founded in 1996 by a visionary, brilliant, maverick, Episcopal female minister named Becca Stevens who has given these women a second chance at a brighter future. The community recovery center has become an important lifeline for a sub-culture of women who have spent most their lives living on the street.  Clemmie Greenlee is one who has struggled with addiction her entire life, making her first court appearance at just 12 years old. After spending years immersed in drugs and alcohol addiction, prostitution and living life behind bars, Greenlee finally turned her life around after a stay at Magdalene. In “Chances,” Greenlee shares her tragic life history and how, through this recovery center, she was able to overcome her demons and create a better future for herself and now others, a story which has been chronicled recently in local and national media. 

“Herb Alpert: Music For Your Eyes,” written and directed by Neff and produced in cooperation with the TN State Museum, explores Alpert’s abstract paintings and his more figurative bronze sculptures, focusing on the first major retrospective of his work given at the Tennessee State Museum. “Herb Alpert: Music For Your Eyes” was premiered in 33mm in New York at Lincoln Center, in Los Angeles at the Director’s Guild Theatre, and at the Miami Film Festival. In this documentary, viewers see and hear how his music has infused his paintings and sculptures through color, concept, and form.

“Blood Brothers” is a documentary on America’s suspect blood supply, with extremely rare footage of blood supply companies and gripping interviews. A difficult story to tell, the film provides viewers with a look at blood packaging plants and how they handle our blood supply.  The film goes behind closed doors to examine procedures of obtaining blood for blood banks before it is distributed to patients in need. 

“No Magic Bullet” traces the cutting edge, highly controversial cancer therapy developed by leading internationally recognized oncology/hematology specialist, Dr. Robert K. Oldham.  Neff’s documentary provides a close examination at the discrepancy in the development of cancer treatment.

The Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker, providing viewers with round-the-clock opportunities to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres.  Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with offices in New York and Los Angeles, DOC was founded by Oscar^®-nominated and Emmy^®-winning documentary filmmaker Tom Neff (CEO) in January 2006.  DOC now reaches over 21 million homes nationwide via DISH Network (Channel 197) and several broadcast stations in major television markets, including NYC TV (Channel 25) throughout the greater New York metropolitan area.  DOC also provides content to online distribution outlets through www.youtube.com/documentarychannel and www.sling.com/network/189/The-Documentary-Channel. For more information on DOC, visit www.documentarychannel.com.