MAJOR DOCUMENTARY BEING PRODUCED ABOUT "PEACE PILGRIM"-- A WOMAN WHO WALKED OVER 25,000 MILES IN 28 YEARS FOR PEACE

Peace Pilgrim, who has been referred to as "America's Mahatma Gandhi," walked over 25,000 miles across America for peace from 1953 until her death in 1981, influencing hundreds of thousands of people.

Saturday May 6, 2000

Multi award-winning Wakan Films is producing a major TV documentary about "Peace Pilgrim," regarded as one of the greatest and most influential women in American history.

The project, which is being produced and co-directed by national TV producer-director Khashyar Darvich, and co-directed by David Mueller, has been fully funded with private donations, and began production in 1998. The documentary is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2000, and expected to be broadcast on television (and possibly theaters) in  2000 and 2001.

Thousands of hours and the efforts of dozens of people have been put into the film.

This is the first broadcast documentary produced about Peace Pilgrim.

(Above) His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Producer-Directors Khashyar Darvich (right) and David Mueller (right)

New Info: Wakan films has interviewed His Holiness The Dalai Lama for three separate projects including "Peace Pilgrim", "Synthesis Dialogues with the Dalai Lama", and a Dateline NBC special on Tibetan medicine. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama is one of the authorities of peace in the world today.

Other interviews that have been filmed for the Peace Pilgrim documentary include:

Poet/Actress/ Filmmaker Dr. Maya Angelou, actor and activist Dennis Weaver (star of "McCloud," "Gunsmoke," "Duel" (Speilburg’s first film), "Lonesome Dove" and dozens of other movies); John Robbins (international best-selling author of "A Diet for a New America"); author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross ( author of "Death and Dying," and world renowned for identifying the emotional stages of dying); Dr. Robert Muller (former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, and Chancellor of the UN’s University for Peace in Costa Rico); Author Gerald Jampolsky (best-selling author of "Love is letting Go of Fear," and "Teach only Love,"); Dan Millman (author of "Way of the Peaceful Warrior"); Dr. Vincent Harding (friend of M.L.K, civil rights scholar, and one of the early leaders of the civil rights movement); and Evrett Loomis (one of the pioneers of holistic medicine-- he coined the spelling of holistic with a "holi"). Other celebrities also should be interviewed fairly soon.

(Above) Khashyar Darvich (right) with actor Dennis Weaver (center) and David Mueller (right)

Mildred Norman Ryder, known only as "Peace Pilgrim" until after her death, has been called "an American Saint" and "America's Mahatma Gandhi."

In 1953, "Peace Pilgrim" gave up material comforts and her financial success for a life-long walking pilgrimage across America for peace, vowing to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace."

From 1953 until her death in 1981, she walked well over 25,000 continuous miles for peace, asking nothing for herself, and touching and genuinely bringing peace to at least hundreds of thousands of lives in nearly every community in America.

She shared a similar spirit as Mother Teresa-- challenging accepted mores and instead listening to an inner voice that led her to achieve the remarkable. If Mother Teresa was the "Patron Saint of the poor," Peace Pilgrim was the "Patron Saint of the poor in spirit," and the "Patron Saint of peace."

Because of the real impact her wisdom has for people all over the world, her popularity and interest in her life continue to mushroom at a phenomenal rate, especially after her death.

The broadcast documentary about her life is being produced and co-directed by multi-award-winning national television producer Khashyar Darvich. Darvich has over 20 awards, including 8 national/international Telly Awards.

PBS filmmaker Dennis Aig, winner of two Emmies and dozens of other awards, is the documentary's Consulting Producer. Aig is currently producing two documentaries for Robert Redford to accompany Redford's current feature film, "The Horse Whisperer." He has produced and directed numerous programs for PBS.

Palo Alto, California filmmaker David Mueller will co-direct and co-produce the film with Darvich. He has won 14 awards for his work as a Producer and Director.

In 1997, the documentary that Darvich and Aig co-produced and co-directed ("Black Hawk Waltz: Tales of a Rocky Mountain Town") was broadcast on PBS stations and History Channel, and won 3 prestigious International Telly Awards, a 1997 Cindy, as well as several other major awards.

Bill Ostroff, Director of the Philadelphia Film and Video Festival, commented in 1997 that "Black Hawk Waltz is the best documentary I've seen in the past two years."

"Black Hawk Waltz," about an eccentric "Northern Exposure"-like Colorado mountain town, has been airing nationally on The History Channel in since 1998 up to the present, and was broadcast on PBS stations in 1997.

(above) poet/actress/film director Dr. Maya Angelou with Producer-Directors Khashyar Darvich (center) and David Mueller (right)

Story Synopsis of the feature-length documentary

Was Peace Pilgrim a kook, as some claim, or a visionary, mystic, saint, or even a Christ-like figure as many wholeheartedly believe?

The viewers of this documentary can decide for themselves.

Mildred Norman Ryder, nationally known as "Peace Pilgrim," walked over 25,000 miles for peace across America from 1953 until her death in 1981. She stopped counting her mileage in 1964, and most likely walked a total of 50,000 to 75,000 miles.

Her message was simple: "This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love." She walked on faith, never accepted money even when offered to her, and without asking, was provided with food and shelter during the 28 years of her walking by those who were inspired by her message and example.

This cinematic fluid feature-length documentary, produced and directed by award-winning Wakan Films, unveils to America one of its most historic, influential and little known figures. "Peace Pilgrim: walking 25,000 miles for peace" features a rich soundtrack including music by American composer Philip Glass, and includes interviews with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, poet Dr. Maya Angelou, actor Dennis Weaver, and others who were inspired by her life. Through rare, newly found film footage of Peace Pilgrim, America’s wandering mystic of peace is brought back to exuberant life as she begins her pilgrimage for peace in 1953 during the Korean War and McCarthy Era, walked through three decades including the Vietnam War and the hippy youth rebellion, through the 1970's and up to her unexpected and ironic death in an automobile accident in 1981.

The film weaves together many cinematic elements into a rich tapestry that tells her story, as well as chronicles, through unique newsreels that capture the times through which she walked, how American leaders oftentimes spoke about peace, and yet acted in war. While many American leaders spoke about peace and acted otherwise, Peace Pilgrim speaks about inner and outer peace, and lived her life as an example that inspired others.

Peace Pilgrim inspired many tens of thousands during her nearly 30 years of walking, as she was interviewed thousands of times by newspapers and television stations all over the country. She believed that it was best to create change at a grassroots level, and spoke several thousands of times at universities, churches, and civic groups.

Newly discovered newsreel footage of Peace Pilgrim gives us a fascinating and fresh look at the straightforward yet enigmatic Peace Pilgrim from 1953 (during the first week of her pilgrimage), through many different years, up to her most electrifying interview taken just 3 months before her unexpected shocking death.

In U.S. government footage, some of which has not been seen on television or film before, the documentary also shows the atomic bomb and how it was the greatest threat to human peace during her time of walking, and the very human impact of the American government’s use of the atom.

The film also tells the interesting story of her marriage (that ended in 1946, several years before her pilgrimage), and how Peace Pilgrim was not cut out to be a housewife, and how she dramatically changed after her divorce from a person who was judgmental and unhappy, to a transformed spirited person brimming with love and peace after she began walking.

Other Press materials on Peace Pilgrim:

SAN FRANCISCO -- In 1953, Mildred Norman Ryder carefully stored the only possessions she would need in the pockets of a blue tunic and set out to promote a simple yet powerful message: peace. During the next 28 years, penniless and with no organizational backing, she would cover nearly 25,000 miles on foot, fasting until given food and walking until given shelter. Changing her name to Peace Pilgrim, one of the most important, spiritual women in American history would be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize only to have her quest end in a tragic accident.

Now, award-winning PBS producer-director Khashyar Darvich is embarking on an equally daunting quest: capturing the spirit and influence of Peace Pilgrim on film in a major television documentary. The project, fully funded before it even began, is something that Darvich sees as an opportunity to create "positive, life-affirming programs."

"She walked across America without asking for any money, food or shelter, speaking with people about inner and outer peace and spirituality," Darvich said. "She always received what she needed without even asking, and changed hundreds of thousands of lives through living her life on what she believed to be true."

As an example of Peace Pilgrim’s influence today nearly 17 years after her death, her "inner peace programs" at prisons nationwide are credited with helping convicted felons to lead law-abiding lives. At one state prison in Arizona, only one person who went through her program while incarcerated is back in jail.

Her message is both simple and universal. "Overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love." She carried this message at the beginning of the McCarthy era (where she was investigated by Congress for being a communist) and throughout the Vietnam War and beyond. Her accomplishments during this period include becoming the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace."

Ironically, her death in 1981 came in a car accident when she accepted a rare lift while traveling to a speaking engagement. Since that time, a book about her life has over 400,000 copies in print and is available in nine different languages. In keeping with Peace Pilgrim’s personal philosophy, the book is given away for free and publishing costs are paid by unsolicited donations. Additionally, her "Steps to Inner Peace" booklet just passed the one million mark and is available in 24 different languages and Braille.

In recognition of her enormous and growing influence, the Peace Abbey based in Boston, Mass., awarded her its 1992 peace prize. Past winners of the award include Mother Teresa, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mohammed Ali and Mahatma Gandhi.

Joining Darvich in producing this documentary on Peace Pilgrim is PBS filmmaker Dennis Aig, who will serve as consulting producer. Aig has recently completed a companion documentary to accompany Robert Redford’s current feature film "The Horse Whisperer."

The Peace Pilgrim project is expected to be completed by the Summer 2000. Darvich’s previous work includes "Black Hawk Waltz: Tales of a Rocky Mountain Town," which was broadcast on PBS and the History Channel. The film was critically acclaimed, winning several awards including a prestigious 1997 Telly.

***

In her booklet "Steps Toward Inner Peace," Peace Pilgrim explains two important discoveries she made early in life. First, that making money was easy. And second, making money and spending it foolishly was completely meaningless. "And so I went into the second phase of my life," she explains. "I began to live to give what I could, instead of to get what I could, and I entered a new and wonderful world. My life began to become meaningful. I attained the great blessing of good health. I haven’t had a cold or headache since."

The idea that most illness is psychologically induced is especially poignant in Peace Pilgrim’s case since she walked until given shelter and fasted until given food. That left her at the mercy of the elements and without the creature comforts that many people associate with good health. She relied instead on faith.

Even today, nearly two decades after her death, a foundation established to continue her message is still run entirely by donation. That includes not only her booklet on inner peace but a new documentary about her life being produced by Wakan Films.

David Mueller, co-director of the current Peace Pilgrim documentary, spent over eight months in 1993 retracing Peace Pilgrim’s steps with a three-person film crew, said he would often walk outside and find money pinned to the windshield of his car -- sometimes in increments of a thousand dollars and more. Similar donations have allowed the current production to be fully funded right from the start.

"She was an inspiration to people to examine their lives," said Mueller, who accumulated 120 hours of film during their trek across the country. "That feeling comes through with everyone we’ve interviewed."

But for co-producer Khashyar Darvich, an even greater accomplishment is receiving the blessing and help in making the film from Friends of Peace Pilgrim, a non-profit and all-volunteer organization based in Hemet, Calif. Several other filmmakers were actively soliciting the same cooperation to produce a film abut Peace Pilgrim but were denied.

Darvich believes he was chosen not for Wakan Films award-winning success, but for his commitment to make the documentary in the same spirit of peace. He said if Mother Teresa was the patron saint of the poor, than Peace Pilgrim is the patron saint "of the poor in spirit."

"The Peace Pilgrim film is an optimistic one that I hope will inspire millions of people

throughout the world by showing them the great power that this woman had in bringing peace to many lives," he said. "If an elderly woman can do it, than each of us can do something positive and helpful for the world, too."

Wakan Films, founded five years ago, draws its name from the Lakota Native American word for having the "qualities of the Great Spirit." The company expects to have the project completed by the Summer 2000. The first nationwide television broadcast is anticipated in early 2001, after its expected appearance in international film festivals.

NOTE-WORTHY FACTS ABOUT PEACE PILGRIM:

 1) Mildred Norman Ryder (who called herself "Peace Pilgrim" after beginning her pilgrimage) walked over 25,000 continuous miles from 1953-1981 to promote peace, during the McCarthy Era (where she was investigated by Congress for being a Communist), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

2) She was one of the pioneers of American Peace activism, and let the example of her life be her message. Beginning in the early 1940's, she chose vegetarianism and was a peace activist when few people supported those causes.

3) Peace Pilgrim is one of the greatest spiritual women in American history and has been called "an American Saint," and "an American Mahatma Gandhi."

4) In 1980, shortly before her death, her name was submitted for nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, but was killed in a car accident after accepting one of her few car rides while traveling to a speaking engagement.

5) In 1952, she became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trial.

6) Thousands of articles have been written about her in virtually every major (and many minor) newspapers throughout the country, and she has been interviewed hundreds of times by all the national radio and television networks, and many of the of local stations across the U.S. and Canada. She has given dozens of talks at universities and organizations around the country.

7) Robert Mueller, Chancellor of the United Nations' University for Peace, and UN Assistant Secretary General for 40 years, wants the University for Peace to erect a statue of Peace Pilgrim to accompany its statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

8) In September 1992, She received the annual award for peace from The Peace Abbey in Boston, Massachusetts. The coveted award, which honors those who have worked for peace and justice using nonviolence, has also been given to and accepted in person by Mother Teresa, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mohammed Ali, Mahatma Gandhi's son (Arun Gandhi) and other prominent figures. At the Peace Abbey, Peace Pilgrim's words are inscribed around the Abbey's statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

9) The book about Peace Pilgrim, Peace Pilgrim: her life and work in her own words, has over 400,000 copies in print, and has been translated into 9 languages and braille. Her "Steps to Inner Peace" booklet, with over 1 million in print, has been translated into 24 languages and braille. Her book is used as texts in college classes across the country. Since Peace Pilgrim believed that spiritual truth should never be sold, these books are given away for free by the Peace Pilgrim Center to anyone who asks. All of these costs are funded by completely unsolicited donations.

10) She was featured on the cover of the 1996 Library of Congress calendar, "Women Who Dare," for which she was one of 12 women selected.

11) The Peace Pilgrim Center, that was established two years after her death in 1983, receives several powerful letters every day about the dramatic, beneficial and life-transforming impact that Peace Pilgrim's message has had on people's lives. The Center, which is run by a full-time all-volunteer staff, has mailed over 1.4 million Peace Pilgrim books for free to whomever has requested one. The Center survives without soliciting or asking for any funds whatsoever, and has relied solely on donations from people who have deeply and genuinely been touched by Peace Pilgrim's message and life.

12) "Inner peace" programs in prisons have been created based on her life and message. In the Arizona State Prison, not one felon has been re-incarcerated thus far who went through the program.

13) Peace Pilgrim's message is a simple yet powerful and practical one-- this is why it continues to touch the lives of more and more people, in growing and increasing numbers after her death. Her message and life have genuinely and in a real way brought peace to people's lives in a world that often struggles in fear, chaos, and despair.

14) Her message is a simple one, about love, inner and outer peace, and that anyone can attain these things. She said: "This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

15) Peace Pilgrim has inspired a number of other pilgrimages, including an Irish woman who walked over 2,000 miles around the coast of Ireland, a man on January 1, 1998, who began a walk across the country, as well as another man (who called himself "Peace Pilgrim Two") who began walking for peace a few years ago.

16) Swarthmore College, near Philadelphia, houses a substantial Peace Pilgrim collection in it's Peace library collection.

17) She gave up a good income and a stable "normal" life to begin her pilgrimage.

18) She accepted no money or backing during her nearly 30 years of walking-- she relied solely on the generosity of people to provide her with food and shelter, living with faith that she'd be provided for, and she was.

*****

Peace Pilgrim walked more than 25,000 miles, carrying in her blue tunic her only possessions. She crossed America for nearly three decades, bearing the simplest of messages: "This is the way of peace-- Overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

Peace Pilgrim talked about peace among nations, between nations, between people, and the most important inner peace.

Penniless, walking with no organizational backing, Peace Pilgrim touched the lives and hearts of countless thousands of Americans. Some were charmed by her simple but cheerful presence; many others were profoundly inspired by her message and her remarkable lifestyle.

Peace Pilgrim's message is a simple yet powerful and practical one-- this is why it continues to touch the lives of more and more people, in growing and increasing numbers after her death. Her message and life have genuinely and in a real way brought peace to people's lives in a world that often struggles in fear, chaos, and despair.

This documentary, presented in Peace Pilgrim's own words and through the words of others who met her, will offer a rare glimpse of the inner workings of a saint-- how she become one, her thought processes, and her transformation from a "regular" person of the world into a woman who brought and continues to bring significant peace into the world.

The film is expected to receive great exposure and television broadcast because of the remarkableness of Peace Pilgrim, and because this is the first professional broadcast documentary produced about her. There have been many movie executives and studios and national television networks interested in making films about Peace Pilgrim's life, but Darvich's Wakan Films was selected by the Friends of Peace Pilgrim to produce the documentary because he and the Friends of Peace Pilgrim agreed on maintaining the purity Peace Pilgrim's spirit within the film.

With 120 hours of footage having already been shot (and additional interviews with celebrities who admired Peace Pilgrim anticipated), completion of the documentary is scheduled for the summer of 2000, and television broadcast and potential theatrical showing expected in 2000 and 2001.

Wakan Films is also producing other prominent documentaries that will begin full production immediately after the completion of the Peace Pilgrim documentary.

Wakan Films and Dennis Aig's The Hunter Neil Company are planning several joint projects, including a couple of feature films based on scripts by Khashyar Darvich, one of which is about Iranians in America, poetry and Sufism called "Farewell to Rumi," as well as other feature films and documentaries.

KHASHYAR DARVICH (Producer, Co-Director) Among the projects that Darvich has produced and directed is the national television documentary, "Black Hawk Waltz: Tales of a Rocky Mountain Town", about an eccentric Colorado mountain town, a true-life "Northern Exposure." "Black Hawk Waltz" was broadcast several times on The History Channel in 1998 and 1999, and in 1997, aired on PBS stations. The film has thus far won a total of 7 awards, including three prestigious International Telly Awards and a 1997 International CINDY. Darvich is producing and directing several other projects, and after producing his current documentary about "Peace Pilgrim," a woman who walked over 25,000 miles across America in 28 years for peace, Darvich will be producing an inspiring documentary about Author Dr. Gerald Jampolsky and his principles of Attitudinal Healing. After that, he will produce a documentary about Iranians in America (their struggles, challenges and successes), and a documentary about "Coach Parks," a high school coach who many pro athletes like Joe Montana, Roger Craig, and Ronnie Lot come to for physical, personal and spiritual conditioning and counseling. Wakan Films has already filmed some of the celebrity athlete interviews for the Coach Parks film. Darvich also plans to produce a feature film, "Farewell to Rumi," about Sufism, the Persian poet Rumi, and a Persian family in America. Darvich has written four feature screenplays including "Farewell to Rumi," "Stars like Angels" (about a quadriplegic with multiple sclerosis who travels through time and space and ultimately heals his spirit), and others. Darvich has taught creative writing at the university level, worked for years as a newspaper reporter, and also focuses on personal writing projects. He currently lives in both Redwood City, California and Gaithersburg, Maryland (near Washington D.C.).

DENNIS AIG (Consulting Producer) has directed and produced numerous documentaries for PBS and has won two Emmies (with four total Emmy nominations) and dozens of other national awards for his efforts. Aig was the Producer and Director of the documentary about Robert Redford's "The Horse Whisperer," a behind-the-scenes look at the film and horse whispering, which is currently being broadcast on Lifetime. He also produced and co-directed, "Shadow Casting: the Making of A River Runs Through It," won over 14 awards at film festivals across the country, and was broadcast across the country. Aig also co-directed and co-produced the award-winning "Sacred Journey of the Nez Pierce" which was released nationally to PBS stations in February 1997, and which won several awards including a Gold Award at the New York Film Festival. He also produces feature films, one of which he is producing with Khashyar Darvich. Aig holds a Ph.D. in English/Film Studies from Ohio State University and is an associate professor of film at Montana State University in Bozeman. He has been awarded grants from many leading agencies and private sources including the NEA, Montana and Ohio Arts Councils, and Montana and Ohio Humanities Councils. He currently lives in Bozeman, Montana and New York City with his wife, Ann Bertagnolli, and their two young daughters.

DAVID MUELLER (Co-Director) has directed numerous television shows, commercials and documentary projects. Among his directing achievements on primetime television are Fox’s "New York Undercover" and CBS’s "The Wright Verdicts," both of which he left because he was dissatisfied with their violent content. His commercial work includes directing national spots for Panasonic ("Monty Python"), Pacific Bell, and The Sempervirens Fund. He has worked as a cameraman on numerous PBS documentaries and has also written, produced and directed numerous documentaries, corporate films, and public service announcements. Outside of film, Mueller served as project manager on the "Five Continent Spacebridge," a satellite link between the heads of state in six countries on five continents in an effort to promote peace. He is also the co-founder of Project Nepal, and the multi-national World Service Project. Mueller holds degrees in Anthropology, International Education, and a Certificate of Film from New York University. He lives in Palo Alto, Calif.

Producer-Director Khashyar Darvich would be happy to speak with you further about the project. You may to contact him at PeacePilgrim@wakan.com

PHOTOGRAPHS OF PEACE PILGRIM AND WAKAN FILMS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST, AS ARE COPIES OF HUNDREDS OF NATIONAL NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT PEACE PILGRIM, THE PEACE PILGRIM CENTER, AND WAKAN FILMS.

PLEASE EITHER SEND US ORIGINAL PAGES OF ANY ARTICLES YOU WRITE ABOUT THE FILM, OR PROVIDE US ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE PRINTING SO WE CAN PURCHASE A COPY OF THE NEWSPAPER, AND ADD IT TO OUR PRESS KIT.

Saturday February 6, 1999

INTERNSHIP/ PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Multi-award-winning Wakan Films is producing a major documentary about a remarkable woman (who called herself "Peace Pilgrim") who walked over 25,000 miles across America for peace from 1953 until her death in 1981.

We are seeking interns to help with this film (especially in editing and production office help) as well as possibly being involved with other upcoming documentary and feature film projects.

New Info: An interview for the Peace Pilgrim documentary has been granted by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at his residence in Northern India, and is tentatively scheduled for late summer. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama is one of the authorities of peace in the world today.

There will be a variety of world-class international music in the Peace Pilgrim film including work from Oscar-nominated composer Philip Glass and others.

The documentary, which began production on March 1, 1998, is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 1999. This is the first broadcast-quality documentary about this extraordinary women, and is expected to receive great exposure, and will be a wonderful opportunity for interns and other personnel.

Wakan Films' 1997 documentary, "Black Hawk Waltz: Tales of a Rocky Mountain Town," was broadcast on PBS stations in 1997, and was broadcast nationally several times on The History Channel in 1998 and 1999. The documentary is about an eccentric "Northern Exposure"-like Colorado mountain town faced with tremendous social changes brought about by the legalization of gambling.

"Black Hawk Waltz" won 7 television/video awards, including three National/International Telly Awards and a 1997 International Cindy Award.

Filmmaker Khashyar Darvich (of Wakan Films) is the Peace Pilgrim documentary's producer and co-director, and PBS filmmaker Dennis Aig will be the consulting producer. Palo Alto, California filmmaker David Mueller will be the documentary's co-director.

Three-time Emmy-winning Dennis Aig produced and directed "Visions of Grace," the Lifetime documentary about Robert Redford's most recent feature film, "The Horse Whisperer." Aig also produced and directed a 13 award-winning documentary about the making of Redford's "A River Runs Through It" and several other television documentaries.

Darvich and Aig were the co-producers and co-directors of "Black Hawk Waltz," are also currently producing a feature film about Persians in America and Sufism entitled "Farewell to Rumi," as well as other major documentaries.

Some of the interviews that we have already filmed for the Peace Pilgrim documentary include:

Actor and activist Dennis Weaver (star of "McCloud," "Gunsmoke," "Duel" (Speilburg’s first film), "Lonesome Dove" and dozens of other movies); John Robbins (international best-selling author of "A Diet for a New America"); author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross ( author of "Death and Dying," and world renowned for identifying the emotional stages of dying); Dr. Robert Muller (former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, and Chancellor of the UN’s University for Peace in Costa Rico); Author Gerald Jampolsky (best-selling author of "Love is letting Go of Fear," and "Teach only Love,"); Dan Millman (author of "Way of the Peaceful Warrior"); Dr. Vincent Harding (friend of M.L.K, civil rights scholar, and one of the early leaders of the civil rights movement); and Evrett Loomis (one of the pioneers of holistic medicine-- he coined the spelling of holistic with a "holi"). Other celebrities also should be interviewed fairly soon.

We believe that this film will be broadcast around the world, and has great potential to be shown in theaters, and will win several awards because of its remarkable subject matter and past award-winning success of the filmmakers.

Editing on the Peace Pilgrim documentary began in October, and will continue through the summer of 1999. We will also be filming one or two additional interviews with prominent celebrities in the next few weeks.

We need interns for the remaining stages of production, including: 1) editing, 2) production office help, 3) possible help with production/ shooting of additional interviews, and 4) duties in developing Wakan Films' other current projects.

Interns may commit for either a short or long period of time, will have flexible hours, and will receive appropriate and fair film credit based on the work performed. Work on the Peace Pilgrim film will be for screen credit, experience, and an opportunity to work on future projects.

Anyone helping the Peace Pilgrim Documentary will be eligible and be considered for paid positions on other Wakan Films projects.

This is a great opportunity for interns to work with experienced professionals committed to producing artistically and professionally successful films that present positive messages to television and theatrical audiences. Selected interns will receive screen credit and experience on a very important and probably influential documentary that should receive prominent exposure.

Final screen credit will be determined by intern's performance.

Anyone interested in the listed positions may send a letter of interest, a resume, and names and numbers of references ASAP to:

Khashyar Darvich; Producer, Wakan Films; Box 610119; Redwood City, CA 94061....     or by email: PeacePilgrim@wakan.com

Applications will be reviewed and interns/ production personnel selected on an on-going basis

Selected applicants will have the opportunity to work on future projects in paid positions.

You may learn more about Wakan Films and this project by reviewing Wakan Film's web site at: www.wakan.com.

Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to hearing from you.

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