National Geographic Channel and 21st Century Fox Announce Girls Education Initiative Tied to the Exclusive Broadcast Premiere of He Named Me Malala, Monday, Feb. 29
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 18, 2016 /3BL Media – More than 60 million girls are out of school around the world. It’s time to take action. Today, the National Geographic Channel (@NatGeoChannel) and 21st Century Fox (@21CF), in partnership with the Malala Fund (@MalalaFund), announced they would launch a social initiative to raise awareness for girls’ right to education and safe schools for every child. Timed to the exclusive global broadcast television premiere of Academy Award® winner Davis Guggenheim’s feature documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA, the initiative will engage audiences through social platforms and drive a charitable donation to the Malala Fund of up to $50,000 from 21st Century Fox.
Starting today, Feb. 18, NGC will launch a highly visible campaign on its Facebook and Twitter platforms encouraging users to Stand #withMalala and show their support for girls’ education. Inspired by Malala’s mission, Campfire, a creative agency based in New York City, designed a social activation that shows the loss incurred when girls don’t have access to education. The activation focuses on a custom Facebook application that allows fans to transform their profile picture into a yearbook photo. The yearbook photo then adds animation that dissolves female users’ photos from the page. This powerful visual metaphor sheds light on the 60 million girls out of school worldwide and inspires people to learn more about Malala’s mission.
For every person who participates from today through March 10, 21st Century Fox will donate $1 to the Malala Fund. A $1 donation will also be made for every tweet using the hashtag #withMalala during this time period, for a total donation of up to $50,000. More information and instructions on how to create the Facebook video can be found at www.supportmalala.com.
HE NAMED ME MALALA will premiere commercial free on Monday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo MUNDO in the U.S., with a global rollout planned within a week in 171 countries and 45 languages.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The documentary offers a look into Malala’s life both before and after the attack. She was 15 at the time of the incident, when she was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education. The shooting sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. Malala miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “Waiting for Superman”) examines how Malala, her father, Zia, and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. The film delivers an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl’s life — from her close relationship with her father, who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the United Nations to joking around at home with her parents and brothers.
HE NAMED ME MALALA was released theatrically by Fox Searchlight Pictures, in association with Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Participant Media, with National Geographic Channel. The film is produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Davis Guggenheim. Executive producers are Mohamed Al Mubarak and Michael Garin from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Jeff Skoll from Participant Media and Shannon Dill.
About National Geographic Channels
The National Geographic Channels form the television and production arm of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and the National Geographic Society. As a global leader in premium science, adventure and exploration programming, the Channels include: National Geographic Channel (NGC), Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Additionally, the Channels also run the in-house television production unit, National Geographic Studios. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with entertaining, innovative programming from A-level talent around the world, and with profits that help support the society’s mission. Globally, NGC is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages, and Nat Geo WILD is available in 131 countries and 38 languages. National Geographic Partners is also a leader in social media, with a fan base of 250 million people across all of its social pages. NGC contributes over 55 million social media fans globally on Facebook alone. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and www.natgeowild.com.
About 21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is the world’'s premier portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets, spanning six continents across the globe. Reaching more than 1.8 billion subscribers in approximately 50 local languages every day, 21st Century Fox is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FXM, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FOX Sports, Fox Sports Networks, National Geographic Partners, STAR India, 28 local television stations in the U.S. and more than 350 international channels; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and a 50 percent% ownership interest in Endemol Shine Group. The cCompany also holds a 39.1 percent% ownership interest in Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, which serves 21 million customers across five countries. For more information about 21st Century Fox, please visit www.21CF.com.
About Image Nation Abu Dhabi
Since launching in 2008, Image Nation Abu Dhabi has become one of the leading content creators in the Middle East. The company produces filmed content across a wide range of platforms, with a particular focus on audiences in the UAE and Gulf region. Image Nation seeks to fulfill four key commitments: developing Emirati filmed entertainment, growing the local film and television industry through training and internship programs, supporting Abu Dhabi entities in creating content to meet strategic and marketing objectives and co-producing an aggressive slate of international films through several strategic partnerships.
About Participant Media
Participant Media (http://www.ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant’s more than 60 films include “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Syriana,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Food, Inc.,” “Waiting for ‘Superman’,’” “The Help,” “Contagion” and “Lincoln.” Participant launches campaigns that bring together government entities, foundations, schools and others to raise awareness and drive people to take action on issues from each film or television show. Pivot (http://www.pivot.tv/), the company’s television network, is available nationally in 47 million homes, with a diverse slate of talent and a mix of original series, acquired programming, films and documentaries. TakePart (http://www.TakePart.com) is Participant’s digital news and lifestyle magazine and social action platform for the conscious consumer. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network and television network, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.
About Parkes/MacDonald
Parkes/MacDonald Productions was founded in 2005 by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald to develop and produce feature film and television projects. Previously, Parkes and MacDonald served as the founding presidents of Dream Works SKG motion picture studio; during their 12-year tenure, they led the studio to three consecutive Best Picture Oscars. Films produced or executive produced by Parkes and& MacDonald include “Gladiator”; “Men in Black I,” “II” and “III”; “Flight”; “Minority Report”; “The Mask of Zorro”; “Catch Me if You Can”; “Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events”; “The Terminal”; “Road to Perdition”; “The Ring”; “The Kite Runner”; and Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller, “Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,;”, among many others. In total, films produced or executive produced by Parkes and MacDonald have earned in excess of $6 billion in the worldwide box office. Their 2015 slate includes NBC’s critically acclaimed “The Slap,” the NBC pilot “Warrior,” “Rings” for Paramount Pictures and “Keeping up With the Joneses” for Fox. Upcoming productions include the live-action “Barbie” film for Sony scheduled for production in late 2015/early 2016.
In 2012, Parkes/MacDonald teamed with Image Nation Abu Dhabi to form Parkes & MacDonald/Image Nation. HE NAMED ME MALALA is the first film financed by this new partnership.
About the Malala Fund
The Malala Fund is a nonprofit organization that empowers girls globally through education to achieve their potential and be agents of change in their communities. Co-founded in 2013 by student, education activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and her father and teacher, Ziauddin Yousafzai, the Malala Fund invests in and advocates for girls’ secondary education and amplifies the voices of adolescent girls globally.
About Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both finances and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of 21st Century Fox.
