PRESS RELEASE
March 11, 2010
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For Immediate Release
Contact:
Dawn Mikkelson
Emergence Pictures
dawn@emergencepictures.com
651-503-0274
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NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON VIDEO ON DEMAND!
Seeking reviews . . .
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(Minnesota) - After a year of touring international film festivals from Ireland to Germany, The Red Tail is now available to the general public through Amazon Video on Demand.
"As independent documentary filmmakers in a new age of film distribution, we are thrilled to share The Red Tail with the general public," says Director Dawn Mikkelson, (Mikkelson partnered with Director Melissa Koch on this film).
This past year has been full of excitement for the film as it received international acclaim and is already being distributed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. According to Felim MacDermott, Festival Programmer for 2009 Galway Film Fleadh, "These are the days that a programmer is besieged by documentaries that explain the financial crisis that our world has found itself in. Your documentary [The Red Tail] managed to illustrate the effect greed has against communities, families and a man's dignity in such a wonderful manner, congratulations."
As the former hometown airline, Northwest Airlines, disappears in its merger with Delta, the stories of the lives left behind still linger. This story is presented in the documentary, The Red Tail. Emerging filmmaker Melissa Koch and award-winning filmmaker Dawn Mikkelson followed the airline mechanics from the picket line to the bread line as they lost their jobs to outsourcing. Notably, Koch and Mikkelson received unprecedented access in Hong Kong and Xiamen, China, two of the cities NWA mechanic jobs were outsourced to.
Koch says, "The Red Tail becomes increasingly relevant in the context of this economy as more and more US workers lose jobs. The NWA mechanics story is powerful and cautionary, and begs the question, 'What can the average person do in the face of globalization and outsourcing?'
Mikkelson says, "Our release on Amazon Video on Demand is the internet equivalent to a
full theatrical release for a Hollywood film. This is such an exciting
time for independent filmmakers, as the way audiences consume film is
reinvented and independent films like The Red Tail
are available to viewers around the world who wouldn't normally have
the opportunity to see films like this outside of the festival circuit."
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"For all those families struggling with the disastrous effects of
economic globalism, with a global system that does not speak to their
concerns or address their fears, The Red Tail is your film. For those
not victims of globalism, at least not yet, The Red Tail is your ticket
to understand how your country is being shaped by forces beyond our
political control. [The Red Tail] will make you not only smarter, but
also more sensitive and compassionate." - Huffington Post, Feb 25, 2010.
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The Red Tail (Synopsis):
While
4,400 aircraft mechanics wage a seemingly endless strike to keep their
jobs from being outsourced - Mechanic Roy Koch and his daughter Melissa
(Director of The Red Tail
in collaboration with Dawn Mikkelson) follow the trail of outsourcing
to China. The Koch's journey is a search for dignity amidst the
helplessness experienced by global workers; a quest to reclaim their
power. While in China, the Koch family not only meets Roy's replacement
and top management, but they also become enmeshed in the bigger
picture. The Red Tail
offers fascinating insight and access into the inner workings of the
global airline industry, providing a new perspective on globalization
and the lives that hang in the balance.
Director Bios
Dawn Mikkelson (Executive Producer/Director/Writer): Named to AV Multimedia Producer's
2004 National "Top Producers Showcase", Mikkelson is both an
award-winning media producer and documentary filmmaker. From National
PBS broadcasts to being selected as a Featured Video Podcast by iTunes,
Mikkelson's work in film and video has received international acclaim
across broad delivery platforms. Mikkelson has completed three
award-winning feature documentaries. Her second film, THIS obedience,
won numerous festival awards and was distributed for national PBS
broadcast by American Public Television. Mikkelson premiered her third
documentary, Green Green Water,
in October of 2006 in Toronto. The film is currently touring festivals
around the world and has broadcast on PBS affiliates.
A
former television news reporter at an ABC affiliate, Mikkelson
graduated magna cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi, with departmental honors from
the University of Minnesota in Political Science and Women's Studies
and a minor in Music. Mikkelson has spoken at numerous festival panels
on documentary filmmaking, GLBT and environmental issues, as well as
speaking at colleges and universities across the country. Dawn is also
a film instructor and has served as adjunct faculty at Ottawa
University and is currently teaching Documentary Storytelling at
IFP/Minnesota.
Melissa Koch (Director/Producer/Writer):
Koch is an emerging filmmaker introducing
her feature-length documentary debut, "The Red Tail." She is a
multi-disciplinary media-artist who has directed narrative short films
and has worked in documentary video, photography, and radio. Koch
studied cultural theory, media arts, and social change at the
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the University of Tasmania,
Australia. She has worked with community organizations for eleven years
primarily focusing on work with youth, LGBTQ communities, and the arts.
In addition to working as a free-lance video producer, Koch currently
serves as the Community Programs Director for In the Heart of the Beast
Puppet and Mask Theatre.
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