Please mark the following fundraiser screenings on your calendar:

NEW YORK
Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 1:30pm (after mass)
St. Raphael's Parish Center
W41 St. (bt 10/11 Ave), New York

NY Contact: Nick Krasnic

917-545-7329
CinemaDeArte@aol.com

CHICAGO

Sunday, November 28, 2004 at 6:00pm
Croatian Cultural Center of Chicago
2845 W Devon Ave Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Contact: Mijo Vodopic
mvodopic@hotmail.com

SAN PEDRO
Sunday, December 5, 2004 at 3:00pm (after mass)
Croatian Cultural Center of Los Angeles
510 West 7th Street San Pedro, California
San Pedro Contacts: Milan Vukovic and Jeff Bacic
milanvukovic@msn.com and jbacic1@yahoo.com

A prominent TV station will be there covering the San Pedro event to finish a story about the community coming together to support Brenda and her film! It is important to have a full audience for the press. We had 300 people in LA and we would like to match that number in San Pedro on December 5.

WINDSOR
Sunday, Decemer 12, 2004 (after mass) - In conjunction with the Parish's annual appreciation lunch!
St Francis of Assisi Church
1701 Turner Road Windsor, Ontario
Windsor Contact: Sonny Kekelj
skekelj@cogeco.ca

A very special thank you to Tom Rinear for sponsoring Brenda Brkusic's flight from Los Angeles to Chicago so that she will be able to attend the Chicago film screening! And a very special thank you to Michael Kustra and family for offering to host Brenda Brkusic in their home during the New York screening.

A note from Milan Vukovic:

This highly acclaimed film is truly the story of all Croatians and the Croatian National Association (Udruga) is proud to sponsor the showing of this film with the generous support of volunteers in each city . You will also be able to meet and speak to Brenda Brkusic in person in NY, Chicago and San Pedro. This is a fundraiser for Brenda to be able to continue promoting the film. If you think as highly of this film as we do your tax deductible donation will be gratefully accepted after the screening. For more information please visit the film's website www.freedomfromdespair.com

Please remember, if we support each other's events, not only will they be more profitable, they'll also be more fun! Zivili!!!

Milan Vukovic
President
Croatian National Association

A note from Brenda Brkusic:
I want to sincerely thank everyone for their continued support and encouragement as I work to get Freedom From Despair shown in the American mainstream media. Your attendance at this screening will be crucial in gaining the support needed to go further with promoting the film and will mean so much to me and to all the people who told their life stories in the film. In two years with little funds, I tried to make a film that all would be proud of - a film that tells the Croatian story in an easy to understand, professional and entertaining format. The film festival acceptances and the great newspaper reviews have been a blessing. Croatians have laughed and cried while seeing their own stories represented on the screen - the film is a rollercoaster of emotions that I know everyone will relate to in some way. I am ecstatic to share the film with you and ask for your support in making this journey a success. I look forward to meeting all of you.

With much love and respect,
Brenda Brkusic

FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR - starring Michael York, John Savage, Beata Pozniak and Dennis Kucinich. Music by Nenad Bach.

PRESS RELEASE: LA showings of "Freedom from Despair" a Success
http://www.CroatianWorld.net/CROWNframes.htm?/Letters/4765.htm

Hrvatsko Slovo Newspaper review of the film:
http://www.croatianworld.net/CROWNframes.htm?http://www.croatianworld.net/Letters/4653.htm

Kodak review of the film:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/students/beat/aug2004/aug_04_chapman2.jhtml?id=0.1.4.5.4.8&lc=en

BIOGRAPHY
BRENDA BRKUSIC
Producer, Writer, Director, Editor

Brenda Brkusic was born in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles on an academic scholarship from Chapman University, graduating with highest honors with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television Writing and Directing. At Chapman, she gained experience in production, as a post production supervisor, script supervisor, and dance choreographer on various short films. She wrote, produced, directed and edited her senior thesis documentary Freedom from Despair, shooting in California, Chicago and Croatia during the summer of 2003. Recognizing her efforts, Chapman Film School awarded her its Marion Knott Scholarship, which afforded her the opportunity to work one on one with Academy Award winning filmmaker David S. Ward. Since then, praise for this film has steadily grown. Brenda has been invited to her Alma Mater, Marymount College, to be a featured speaker in their leadership series, was hired to speak in a documentary class sponsored by the International Documentary Association at San Pedro High School, was featured on PBS television, Associated Press Video News, in the LA Times, won Best Documentary and Special Recognition honors at the Student Filmmaker Awards and the Dubrovnik International Film Festival, and been covered in multiple international newspapers and magazines. She is gaining a reputation as an important new voice and her writing about Croatia has been published in the Washington Times. Freedom from Despair was recognized by Amnesty International, as one of the most important documentary films this year, and invited to have a world premiere in their film festival at the Director's Guild in Hollywood. Another human rights organization, The Anti-Defamation League, has named the film a Finalist in their current compition. She continues to make her home in Los Angeless.