THE DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL® SHOWCASES EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF
SOUTH AFRICA’S CELEBRATED ELDER STATESMAN WITH U.S. TV PREMIERE OF “VIVA NELSON MANDELA” ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (November 12, 2009) — The Documentary Channel® (DOC) helps celebrate 90 years of Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life when it telecasts the exclusive U.S. television premiere of “Viva Nelson Mandela: A Hero For All Seasons,” beginning Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. DOC’s encore presentations of the 90-minute feature-length documentary will be telecast in primetime on Tuesday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

“Viva Nelson Mandela: A Hero For All Seasons” is directed and edited by Catherine Meyburgh, who guides the viewer on a journey behind the headlines and away from the public eye and by looking at Mandela as a loyal friend, a dependable comrade, a trusted confidant, a respected mentor, and a man who has touched and transformed countless lives. For the first time his complete story is being told – a life of struggle, humanity, destiny and greatness is recalled and celebrated by those who knew him best and who worked with him in the quest to break the chains of oppression, taking us beyond the political and into the personal.

Produced by Anant Singh, the documentary features exclusive interviews with politicians, close friends and comrades of Mandela, among who are Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Oliver Tambo, George Bizos, Ahmed Kathrada, Pik Botha, Dorothy Masuka, Nthato Motlana, Cyril Ramaphosa, Helen Suzman, Zolani Mkiva, Jessie Duarte, Francois Pienaar, Sydney Kentridge, Mac Maharaj, Christo Brand and Gill Marcus. The film is distributed by Choices Inc, a specialty distributor of quality documentaries, educational programming, and feature films. More information is available online at www.choicesvideo.net.

In addition to the Mandela documentary, DOC will periodically telecast an original production of “DOC Talk” between Dec. 7-18 that highlights behind-the-scenes footage, film clips and interviews from the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures feature film “Invictus,” starring Academy Award® winners Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) and Matt Damon and directed/produced by Oscar® winner Clint Eastwood.

“We are honored to be premiering ‘Viva Nelson Mandela’ because it is such a comprehensive, in-depth portrait of a man who teaches every one of us that greatness and humility can be achieved through perseverance,” says Kate Pearson, The Documentary Channel senior vice president of programming.

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.

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About The Documentary Channel®: 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. For more information on DOC, visit www.documentarychannel.com.
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Contacts:

The Documentary Channel
Barry Smith / Cathy Vo / Bonnie Winings
SWPR Group
(818) 760-7131
bsmith@swprgroup.com / cvo@swprgroup.com / bwinings@swprgroup.com