“The Philosopher Kings” screenings at “100 Shows for Haiti” by state:

California:

Sun., Jan. 23, 2011, 3pm-9pm

The Hub, 4913 47th Ave., Sacramento, CA 95824

Screening of “The Philosopher Kings” and Q&A with Producer Greg Bennick
Vegan bake sale

RSVP on Facebook

Oregon:

Sun., Jan. 9, 2011 at 7 p.m.

Hollywood Theatre
4122 NE Sandy Boulevard
Portland, OR

Screening of “The Philosopher Kings” and discussion with Producer Greg Bennick, admission $6

RSVP on Facebook

Texas:

Sun, Jan. 16, 2011

The Naylair
10756 Limas
El Paso, TX 79935

Movie night benefiting 100 Shows for Haiti, admission $2

Washington:

Fri., Jan. 14, 2011

Wayward Vegan Cafe
5253 University Way NE,
Seattle, WA 98105

Spoken word & “The Philosopher Kings” screening with Producer Greg Bennick

Thurs., Jan. 23, 2011

The Space
729 Court C.
Tacoma, WA 98402

Screening of “The Philosopher Kings”  and Q&A with Producer Greg Bennick, admission $5

To top off the festivities Documentary Channel® is hosting a sweepstakes! Vote for your favorite documentary of the year (hint, hint, “The Philosopher Kings”) on Documentary Channel‘s Web site and your automatically entered to win some awesome prizes, including iPads, a BOSE CineMate, Flip Video HD camcorders, “Best of DOC 2010″ DVD packages, and much more! Best part is you can vote once a day until the contest ends on Jan. 5, 2011.

Be sure to vote and tell your friends and family about “The Philosopher Kings” TV broadcast this Thurs., Dec. 16 at 8 and 11 p.m. EST on the Documentary Channel®. If you can’t catch it on DISH Network (Channel 197) or DIRECTV (Channel 267) you can always grab the DVD in our store or download it on Netflix and iTunes. After seeing “The Philosopher Kings” take a moment to review it. We post all reviews on our Web site!

Happy viewing this Thursday and best of luck with the sweepstakes!

We’re proud to announce that “The Philosopher Kings” is now available on iTunes and Netflix instant streaming! If you already own it, please take the time to rate and/or review the film as it’ll help us get better placement and promotion. Many thanks everyone!

Pre-order The Philosopher Kings on iTunes now!

• Audio Commentary with Patrick Shen & Greg Bennick
• Deleted Scenes
• Q&A with Cast & Crew
• Audio Commentary with Composer, Nathan Matthew David
• Director’s Statement
• “Lessons from the Night” – the Sundance documentary short by Adrian Francis
• About Generosity Water Video
• Trailers for other Transcendental Media releases including the upcoming “La Source”

Thanks for supporting independent film. Save $$ and pre-order the Deluxe Edition DVD in our DVD store before September 6!

“The Philosopher Kings” was named Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Lighthouse International Film Festival. The festival, which is “dedicated to showcasing new and innovative films and fostering the next generation of filmmakers,” was held June 4 to 6 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, with “The Philosopher Kings” screening June 5 at Beach Haven School. Eight feature-length documentaries screened at this year’s festival, along with several narrative features, shorts, and student films.

In search of wisdom found in unlikely places, The Philosopher Kings travels the halls of prestigious colleges and universities across America to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the janitors. This thought-provoking, feature-length documentary weaves together the untold stories of triumph and tragedy from the members of society who are often disregarded and ignored, and seeks out the kind of wisdom that gets them through the day.

“Most of us know what it feels like to have something to say and no opportunity to share it. The Philosopher Kings reveals what happens when seemingly “ordinary” people, who have never had an opportunity to speak publicly, openly share their experiences and the things they care most deeply about,” says director Patrick Shen.

“In an institution of higher learning, custodians aren’t at the bottom of the academic ladder; they don’t even have a rung. But a new documentary film, [The Philosopher Kings,] aims to turn that hierarchy on its ear.” -Cornell Alumni Magazine

“‘If you can’t keep the house of God clean, you can’t keep no house clean,’ says one of the principals in Patrick Shen’s terrific documentary about janitors-yes, janitors.” -San Francisco Chronicle

PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 9, 2009 ― “The Philosopher Kings,” takes us on a journey through the halls of the most prestigious universities and colleges in the United States to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the janitors.

The 70-minute documentary weaves together thought-provoking stories of triumph and tragedy from the lives of eight university custodians who have lived life fully and deeply, yet who are amongst those millions of Americans who are often disrespected or invisible in our culture because of their job status. Director Patrick Shen explains, “This film shows us what wisdom can be found when people, who spend a good part of their lives listening and observing, get a chance to speak their minds.”

Luis Cardenas, a custodian at Caltech for 18 years, is one of the university janitors chosen to be in “The Philosopher Kings.” Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, Cardenas, tells his story, in Spanish, of having to cope with the loss of his right arm, which was the unfortunate outcome of a drunk driver’s collision.

Shen, founder of the Pasadena-based independent film company Transcendental Media, got the idea for “The Philosopher Kings” when filming his first feature length documentary “Flight From Death.” “While interviewing psychology professor Sheldon Solomon, he told me that he was a haircut away from a job with Princeton University, but he was turned down because of his appearance,” Shen explains. “He doesn’t look like your typical professor. He has long hair and wears tie-dye shirts.” Solomon, of Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), said in an on-camera interview, “I think there’s a lot of people with suits and ties and empty heads and that there’s a lot of janitors that if we bothered to listen to them we would find a keen understanding of the human condition way beyond what their station in life or their physical appearance suggests to us.”

“This made me think,” recalls Shen, “that perhaps we should be interviewing janitors instead of professors and quote-unquote philosophers.” So Shen and his co-producer, Greg Bennick, started phone-interviewing janitors around the country and eventually narrowed the selection down for what has culminated into the feature length documentary.

“The Philosopher Kings” had its world premiere at the 2009 AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival. In addition to Silverdocs, the film has screened at the San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival, the Calgary International Film Festival, the Orlando Film Festival, and London’s Raindance Film Festival, to name a few. The film is poised to play New York City’s Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and the Virginia Film Festival, among others. “The Philosopher Kings” is also currently screening at various universities and for labor groups across the United States. To view the full screening schedule, or to request a screening at your organization, visit www.philosopherkingsmovie.com.

“The Philosopher Kings” DVD was made available on Oct. 2, 2009 in recognition of National Custodial Worker’s Day. The film can be purchased online at www.philosopherkingsmovie.com.

About Transcendental Media
Transcendental Media (TM) is a Pasadena, Calif.-based independent motion picture company. With a vision “to agitate the sleep of mankind,” TM produces socially conscious feature-length films. TM became nationally recognized in 2005 with its critically acclaimed 7-time best documentary winner “Flight From Death: The Quest For Immortality” directed by Patrick Shen. TM was founded in 1999 by award-winning Director Patrick Shen. For more information, visit www.transcendfilms.com.

About Patrick Shen
Patrick Shen directs, co-produces, and co-writes documentary films with his team at Transcendental Media (TM). Prior to starting the independent motion picture company in 1999, Shen was second unit director of the Emmy-nominated documentary We Served With Pride. Previous to working on documentary films, Shen worked full-time on Emmy Award winning shows like Talk Soup and E! News at E! Entertainment Television. Shen resides in Pasadena, Calif. with his wife Karen and their one-year old son Lukas. For more information, visit www.patrickshen.com.
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