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5/10/2006

Shining Soul DVD Garners Awards and Endorsements

''SHINING SOUL: HELEN KELLER’S SPIRITUAL LIFE & LEGACY''
A NEW DOCUMENTARY COMMEMORATES THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER BIRTH

Houston WorldFest Remi Award – Gold, 2006

Telly Award Winner – 2nd place, 2006`

US / International Film and Video Festival – Bronze, 2006

Video Librarian 3*** – ''Recommended''

To be broadcast on PBS stations through 2008

''Regardless of one's religious affiliation, the story of Helen Keller's life is inspirational and moving. Her desire to define herself not by her disability but by what lived in her heart speaks to all Gods, to all beliefs. As I have often said myself and which Helen so beautifully embodies, the handicaps do not reside in the eye or ear, they reside in the mind. Yet Helen's mind was unfettered from handicap. Instead it was Helen's beautiful mind which speaks to us all still and which serves to illuminate forever.'' — Marlee Matlin, academy award winner, recently in What the Bleep Do We Know!?

''Shining Soul: Helen Keller’s Spiritual Life and Legacy gives a beautiful and profound account of a woman who truly changed the world for the better. This documentary allows us to view the human body as a forever adaptable machine as one witnesses the lightening speed of the deaf/blind hand communication, and the human soul as an eternal living force that is consumed by child-like curiosity. That priceless ingredient of "curiosity" brings down all barriers, it enhances respect in all that one encounters and this is portrayed so eloquently throughout this documentary. This portrait of Helen Keller should be shown in every school, every workplace and in every home across the world no matter what our respective circumstances, intellect or beliefs. Helen's life is a gift to each and every one of us''. — Dr. Evelyn Glennie, OBE, musician, speaker

''The film depicts Keller as an inspirational historical figure, one who transcends her physical imperfections through her great capacity for joy and her desire to share her insights with the world at large. The film is well presented and includes much historical data of general interest.'' — LIBRARY JOURNAL review, March, 2006

''Congratulations on a job well done! I learned a lot from the program and was blown away with the Dr. Oliver Sacks interview. Just him talking about the lessons he draws from Helen Keller's cognitive development was fascinating.'' — Everett Edward Hale Magazine

''Shining Soul is beautifully executed and I’m glad to have it in our Archives''
— Jane Knowles, Archivist, Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College

To commemorate the 125th anniversary of Helen Keller’s birth on June 27, 1880, the Swedenborg Foundation commissioned Emmy Award-winner Penny Price to produce and direct a documentary exploring the last frontier of Helen Keller’s life, which has remained surprisingly unknown despite its paramount importance in understanding her phenomenal contributions and achievements. Her spiritual autobiography My Religion (now entitled Light in My Darkness) testified to her deep and abiding gratitude to Emanuel Swedenborg, whose spiritual theology inspired and informed her character and her life. Shining Soul: Helen Keller’s Spiritual Life and Legacy tells the story of how Keller encountered Swedenborg’s works, how she reacted to them, what they meant to her, and how they influenced her mission to live a useful life dedicated to improving the lives of other people, especially those suffering from society’s fears and prejudices against the severely disabled.

The one-hour documentary is comprised of archival footage, stills, historical re-enactments, and expert interviews with renowned writer and human-empowerment teacher Jean Houston; CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, Carl Augosto; the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest, Erik Weihenmayer; the first deaf Miss America, Heather Whitestone; scholars Roger Shattuck and Kim Nielsen; and Swedenborgian scholars, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Rose and Rev. Dr. Ray Silverman.

Keller’s life indeed proved an inspiration to almost everyone who met or learned about her—from the most severely disabled and socially deprived to the many luminaries who befriended her, such as Mark Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martha Graham, as well as American presidents and foreign heads of state. By her example, she demonstrated what was possible. Time named her among the one-hundred most influential people of the twentieth century. In the contemporary world, the majority who are acquainted with Helen Keller know her only through a superficial introduction to her in elementary or middle school or through seeing The Miracle Worker in the theatre or on film. Those who have deepened their knowledge of her are invariably astonished by emotional depth and richness, the staggering intellectual accomplishments of her life, and most of all by the courage of character that allowed her to triumph over the limitations of her sight and hearing disabilities. This new documentary explores the source of her inner strength.

The program was produced by The Swedenborg Foundation and Penny Price.
Penny Price, Producer/Director: Penny’s career as an award-winning produce/director, writer in television spans twenty-five years. She helped launch many national talk and magazine shows, including NBC Magazine, and Good Morning America. She has won both Emmy and Maggie Awards for her shows. In 2000, she produced and directed the multi-award-winning documentary Splendors of the Spirit for the Swedenborg Foundation.

''SHINING SOUL: Helen Keller’s Spiritual Life & Legacy''
DVD Color / 57 minutes / $24.95
UPC # 6-89076-76499-5

For more information contact:
Deborah Forman, Executive Director/Publisher
Swedenborg Foundation
800.355.3222 ext. 12
director@swedenborg.com
www.swedenborg.com


Click the link below for additional information:
http://www.swedenborg.com/Bookstore/Presentation.asp?qsContent=ProductProfile&qsPKeyProductID=180