GROUNDBREAKING 179 SUBMISSIONS FROM 43 COUNTRIES The Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival announced today the showcase of new independent feature films. The Whistleblower Summit recognizes that cinema is a powerful medium for highlighting civil & human rights violations across the globe. It seeks to shine a light on stories of courage and perseverance in the face of injustice and to encourage individuals to stand together.

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GROUNDBREAKING 179 SUBMISSIONS FROM 43 COUNTRIES

Washington, DC - The Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival announced today the showcase of new independent feature films selected across all categories for the 2019 Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Washington, DC from July 29 - August 1, 2019.

"The Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival is the intersection between media, politics, culture and entertainment. Whistleblower stories (books and movies) are as American as apple pie. Come to the only Washington, DC film festival with events on Capitol Hill. Rub elbows with famous whistleblowers like Frank Serpico and Jeff Wigand or meet political leaders like Senator Charles Grassley, Representative Elijah Cummings and 'Jonestown' survivor, Representative Jackie Speier." - Michael McCray, Whistleblower Summit Managing Director.

"The Whistleblower Summit is unique because it combines legislative advocacy, public policy discussions with community and social events. During the conference we have panel discussions, press conferences, award presentations, receptions, luncheons, dinner, movie night, book signings, etc." - Marcel Reid, Whistleblower Summit Festival Director.

The Whistleblower Summit recognizes that cinema is a powerful medium for highlighting civil and human rights violations across the globe. It seeks to shine a light on stories of courage and perseverance in the face of injustice, and to encourage individuals to stand together to achieve human rights for all. We are looking for films about whistleblowers, the First Amendment or that touch on one or several human rights issues that are connected to our areas of work this includes freedom of expression, women's rights, discrimination, communal violence, human rights defenders, among other issues. The themes mentioned are not exhaustive, films centered on other civil and human rights issues are equally welcome for submission.

The feature films confirmed for the 2019 Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival are:

Fear No Gumbo / United States (Director: Kimberly Roberts, Producer: Kimberly Roberts, Co- Editors: Marshall Woodworth, Alex Wiltz) -Fear No Gumbo is structured as a tour through the 9th Ward through my eyes, questioning and sometimes confronting the "culture vultures" who have swooped into the neighborhood, alongside examples of corruption and systemic racism that still victimizes the residents that returned after Katrina. The film begins by revisiting the eyewitness footage I shot as Katrina devastated my neighborhood-then jumps ahead 10 years to shows the shocking images of that same neighborhood, at one time a thriving working class area, reduced a ghost town of decayed streets and entire blocks of empty lots and overgrown fields. Flashing back to my experiences as the photographer and subject of Trouble the Water - film festivals, Oscar parties, panel discussions - my hopes are raised that this attention would help bring recovery to New Orleans. Cast: Kimberly Roberts, Scott Roberts, Kenneth Baham, Joann Young. DAY ONE / OPENING NIGHT

The Kids We Lose / United States (Director: Lisa Q. Wolfinger, Writer: Lisa Q. Wolfinger, Producer: Mika Holliday Lentz, Editor: Tony Bacon) - The Kids We Lose is an unflinching expose' of how some of the most vulnerable, misunderstood kids are treated in our society. Kids with social, emotional and behavioral challenges, desperate for help, lash out against caregivers and teachers only to be punished, restrained and secluded, and ultimately sent to jail. The truth is that these kids want to be good, to belong, and to succeed. They just don't have the skills. DAY ONE / OPENING NIGHT

Official Secrets / United Kingdom (Director: Gavin Hood, Writers: Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein and Gavin Hood) - She risked everything to stop an unjust war. Her government called her a traitor. Based on world-shaking true events, Official Secrets tells the gripping story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a British intelligence specialist whose job involves routine handling of classified information. One day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain's help in collecting compromising information on United Nations Security Council members in order to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into an illegal war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press. So begins an explosive chain of events that will ignite an international firestorm, expose a vast political conspiracy, and put Gun and her family directly in harm's way. Cast: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Adam Bakri, Matthew Goode, John Heffernan, Ralph Fiennes, Indira Varma, Rhys Ifans, Conleth Hill, Tamsin Greig, Kenneth Cranham, Myanna Buring, Katherine Kelly, Shaun Dooley, Jeremy Northam. DAY TWO / NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY

THE GREAT HACK / United States (Directors: Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Judy Korin and Pedro Kos) Data has surpassed oil as the world's most valuable asset. It's being weaponized to wage cultural and political warfare. People everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details. THE GREAT HACK uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. Academy-Award nominees Amer and Noujaim (The Square, Control Room, Startup.com) continue their tradition of exploring the seismic ripples of social media with this riveting, complex film. THE GREAT HACK forces us to question the origin of the information we consume daily. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age? THE GREAT HACK premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Cast: Brittany Kaiser, David Carroll, Carole Cadwalladr, Julian Wheatland, Paul Hilder. DAY TWO / NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY

In Perspective / Iran (Director: Arshia Zeinali, Writer: Arshia Zeinali, Producer: Arshia Zeinali, Editor: Hossein Besharati, Music: Arad Asgari, VFX: Mehran Jebely, Sound design & Color Correction: Ali Mohammad Eghbaldar, Cinematography: Ali Barari) - "In Perspective" is a psychological drama about human or human beings who take place in an inappropriate place and time and... Cast: Arshia Zeinali, Kianoush Majnouni, Eslam Ghasali, Shayan Zeinali, Ali Barari, Ava Zeinali. DAY THREE

With My Own Two Hands / France (Director: Michaël Barocas, Writer: Michaël Barocas, Producer: Michaël Barocas, Cinematographer: Christophe Larue, Composer: Jean-Michel Bernard, Editor: Tony Bertrand) - The life of a man through his hands and the ones around him... Key Cast, Philippe Laudenbach, Nicole Gueden, Jean Charles Deval, Guillaume Monfraix, Christine Gautier, Anne Ribière. DAY THREE

Tank Man / United States (Director: Robert Anthony Peters, Writer: Robert Anthony Peters, Producers: Robert Anthony Peters, Curt Chatham) - Tank Man is the story of the iconic gentleman who stood in front of and stopped a line of tanks after the Tienanmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989. All that is known of this man are the images that were recorded of his acts. This film is a speculation of what he went through the day he took his courageous steps 30 years ago. Cast: Eddie Shan. DAY THREE

WHITLEBLOWERS / United States (Director: Stephen James Cole, Producers: Kathy Cole, Stephen James Cole) - Kathy Cole and her WHISTLEBLOWERS expose the common thread in New York States corrupt justice system: silence. New York will do whatever it takes, at the tax-payers expense, to keep their problems quiet. Cast: Kathy Cole, Frank Vetro, Mary Ellen Belding, Walter Wenger, Michael Carey. DAY THREE

THE GUARDIANS / Canada (Director: Billie Mintz, Producer: JB Sugar, Executive Producer, Producer: Billie Mintz, Executive Producer) - THE GUARDIANS is a revealing investigative documentary set in Las Vegas that exposes allegations of corruption within the Nevada Guardianship and Family Court system. The film shines a light on a lucrative business that drains seniors' life-savings. Victims and their families are caught in a scheme that has allowed corrupt court-appointed guardians to take total control over individuals' healthcare and financial decisions. Cast: Julie Belshe, Rudy North, Rennie North, Rick Black, Terry Williams. DAY THREE

ViZA / Togo (Director: Roger Komla B. Gbekou, Writer: Avisse Kossi, Producer: Pacha Noumon) - After the death of her husband who was trying a clandestine immigration to the Sicily island, a young pregnant lady decided to use all possible means to get a French citizenship to her unborn child. Against all odds she decided to give birth in the France Embassy. Cast: Maximiliene Lare. DAY FOUR

Bordered / Canada (Director: Anaïsa Visser, Writer: Anaïsa Visser, Producers: Lisa D'Alessandro, Marco Bossow, Darren Devlin, Director of Photography: Mitch Baxter, Composer: James Danderfer, Associate Producer: Niv Ende) - An American border patrol officer is forced to choose between duty and compassion when he apprehends two refugees fleeing the US into Canada. Cast: Jason Tremblay, Magda Ochoa, Camillia Mahal. DAY FOUR

Hoan Alone: Personal Stories from the Bridge / United States (Director: Aaron Johnson, Writer: Aaron Johnson, Producer: Aaron Johnson) - Milwaukee's Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge is the crown over Summerfest and has become one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. But it's also a popular site for suicides. This animated documentary explores the issues of the bridge and suicide through three intimate interviews. Follow animator, Aaron Johnson, as he shares the stories of Dave, John, and Mary. Cast: Aaron Johnson. DAY FOUR

Lost Treasure / Greece (Director: George Georgakopoulos, Writer: George Georgakopoulos, Producer: Artcut) - Antonis, a metal object investigator, is searching for a missing ring on behalf of a man of the underworld. Unforeseen complications are about to happen when he meets and falls in love with Elsa, a mysterious woman. Cast: Nikos Goulios, Klea Samanta, Sakis Kolotsios. DAY FOUR

Voice For The Voiceless / Russian Federation (Director: Anna Barsukova, Writer: Anna Barsukova, Producer: Anna Barsukova, Camera: Anna Barsukova, Composer: Gyuli Kambarova) - After learning about her diagnosis Marina begins to search for answers to her questions. Fearing disclosure and condemnation, she chooses to trust her thoughts to her diary. But nothing stays hidden for long" DAY FOUR

The Unforgivable Truth / United States (Filmmaker: Sharon de Lobo) - The Unforgivable Truth' is a quality film initially showcasing military servicemen having sacrificed life and limb to secure the rights and protections of surviving widows, children and others, but then quickly reveals that those survivors have become a victimized population of elderly and offspring suffering at the hands of guardianship and sophisticated financial exploitation schemes. The emotional accounts of isolated victims, their descendants and certain associates appear sincere and truthful. The accounts of the so-called trusted caregiver are no less than bewildering. Comprehensive coverage of the drawn out exploitation of the Kibbee family dynasty by the daughter and a team of professionals examining the facts surrounding the efforts of First Interstate Bank to frustrate Mercedes Kibbee's expressed wishes that her ranch and other assets be used for underprivileged children and that her daughter Sharon be present and involved in meetings discussing the formation of a foundation to carry out those wishes is compelling and infuriating, though, perhaps a little hard to follow for those unfamiliar with the subject-matter. DAY FOUR

Deceptive Diplomacy / Sweden (Producers: Axel Gordh Humlesjö, Ali Fegan, Director of Photography: Ola Christoffersson, Photography: Graham Walsh, Editing: Ola Christoffersson, Research: Sonia Rolley, Frederik Obermaier, Hannes Munzinger, Tobias Zick, Colum Lynch, Story advisor: Marcos Hellberg) - Deceptive Diplomacy is a 2018 investigating documentary that exposed the cover-up within the UN to hide crucial evidence about the murder of the UN experts Zaida Catala'n and Michael Sharp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But it is also a gripping story about two people that wanted to change the world in one of the most dangerous places on earth. DAY FOUR

Authors Website: http://www.WhistleBlowerSummit.com

Authors Bio:

Michael McCray is a public interest advocate who combats racism and corruption in the government and other institutions which deprive individuals of their basic civil rights, human rights and constitutional liberties. McCray is co-chair of the International Association of Whistleblowers (IAW), and a National Board Member for Federally Employed Women Legal Education Fund (FEW/LEF). McCray is the Author of ACORN 8: RACE, POWER & POLITICS--Memoirs of an ACORN Whistleblower; and he also hosts "The Fifth Estate" on Pacifica Radio, the only show made by whistleblowers--about whistleblowers.