New York and Centennial, Colo. – November 13, 2009 – Americans across the nation are invited to take a rare inside look at the Nobel Peace Prize-winning independent humanitarian aid organization, Doctors Without Borders/Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), in Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders – LIVE with Elizabeth Vargas. Presented by NCM Fathom and Doctors Without Borders in nearly 450 movie theaters nationwide, this one-night-only exclusive in-theater event on Monday, December 14th will feature the documentary “Living in Emergency” that will take audiences to the medical frontlines as seen through the eyes of four doctors. Following the documentary, ABC News 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas will moderate an exclusive LIVE panel discussion with doctors and journalists broadcast from the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University.
Tickets for Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders – LIVE with Elizabeth Vargas on Dec. 14th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern / 6:30 p.m. Central / 5:30 p.m. Mountain / 8:00 p.m. Pacific (tape delayed) are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit the web site (theaters and participants may be subject to change).
Set in war-torn Congo and post-conflict Liberia, “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders” is a raw and real depiction of the dilemmas facing Doctors Without Borders staff in the field and the toll their work can take on them both personally and professionally. Following the 90-minute documentary, Vargas will moderate a LIVE panel discussion, where audiences in movie theaters across the country will hear from doctors featured in the documentary, as well as an award-winning journalist.
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders – LIVE with Elizabeth Vargas event panelists include:
- Sebastian Junger – “The Perfect Storm” author and Vanity Fair contributing editor will speak about the challenges of reporting about war from crisis zones around the world.
- Dr. Tom Krueger – Krueger closed his surgical private practice in Springfield, Tenn. after 20 years to join Doctors Without Borders. His first assignment in post-conflict Liberia in 2005 is featured in the documentary.
- Sophie Delaunay – Delaunay is the executive director of Doctors Without Borders -USA. She has worked for more than 12 years with the organization and recently returned from Paskistan.
“With this LIVE, one-night event, we want to give thousands of people across the country the opportunity to go beyond the headlines of today’s humanitarian crises, and get an inside look at the operations of Doctors Without Borders through the perspective of four of our doctors,” said Delaunay. “Faced with overwhelming medical needs in war zones, they are pushed to the edge and forced to confront the very limits of their idealism and ability to save lives. Their intensely personal experiences are emblematic of the hard choices, dilemmas, and sometimes bitter realities that Doctors Without Borders medical teams grapple with every day in more than 60 countries around the world.”
“Living In Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders” interweaves the stories of four Doctors Without Borders aid workers as they struggle to provide emergency medical care under the most extreme conditions. Two of the doctors are new recruits: a 26 year-old Australian doctor stranded in a remote bush clinic, and an American surgeon struggling to cope under the load of emergency cases in the shattered capital city of Liberia. Two others are experienced field hands: a dynamic Head of Mission, valiantly trying to keep morale high and tensions under control, and an exhausted veteran, who has seen too much horror and wants out. Amid the chaos, each doctor must confront the severe challenges of the work, the tough choices, and the limits of their own idealism. The documentary is A Red Floor Pictures Production, produced by Mark Hopkins, Naisola Grimwood and Daniel Holton-Roth. For more information, visit www.livinginemergency.com.
“Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders – LIVE with Elizabeth Vargas will take audiences behind-the-scenes with the MSF doctors who leave their comfortable lives behind to provide medical care in life-or-death situations in places with very limited resources for months – and sometimes years – at a time,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “This event will certainly give an insight into the truly complex situations and humanitarian aid that Doctors Without Borders provides.”
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders – LIVE with Elizabeth Vargas appears on the big screen in high-definition with Cinema Surround Sound in 444 select movie theaters, including AMC Entertainment Inc., Celebration! Cinema, Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Clearview Cinemas, Goodrich Quality Theaters, Hollywood Theaters, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theaters, as well as Arlington Theatre (Santa Barbara, CA), The Carolina (Asheville, NC) and Palace Cinema 9 (South Burlington, VT), through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network – North America’s largest cinema broadcast network.
About National CineMedia
National CineMedia (NCM) LLC operates the largest digital in-theatre network in North America through long-term agreements with its founding members, AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest theatre operators in the U.S., and through multi-year agreements with several other theatre operators. NCM LLC produces and distributes its FirstLook pre feature program; cinema, lobby and online advertising products; comprehensive meeting and event services and other entertainment programming content. NCM LLC’s national network includes approximately 16,800 screens of which approximately 15,400 are part of the company’s Digital Content Network (DCN). NCM LLC’s network covers 171 Designated Market Areas (49 of the top 50). During 2008, approximately 660 million patrons attended movies shown in theatres currently included in the network (excluding Regal Consolidated Theatres). National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 41.5% interest in and is the managing member of NCM LLC. For additional information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com.
About Doctors Without Borders/Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF)
Doctors Without Borders is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people whose survival is threatened by violence, negligence, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, natural disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries. For more Information, visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
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