• 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!

This deleted scene from “The Philosopher Kings” featuring Oscar Dantzler of Duke University is just a glimpse of the 2+ hours of bonus features available on the soon-to-be-released Deluxe Edition. Special features added to this edition include deleted scenes, audio commentary with Patrick Shen and Greg Bennick and a sneak peak from Transcendental Media’s newest project “La Source” . On Labor Day, September 6th, “The Philosopher Kings”, will premiere on The Documentary Channel at 5:00 pm PST (8:00 p.m. EST) with an encore presentation at 8:00 pm PST (11:00 p.m. EST). The Documentary Channel is available to the 25+ million subscribers of the satellite television services DISH Network (channel 197) and DIRECTV (channel 267). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or sign-up on our mailing list to find out when you can pre-order the Deluxe Edition DVD.

Tune into The Story with Dick Gordon this Monday, August 2nd to hear Philosopher King Josue Lajeunesse talk about “The Philosopher Kings,” Haiti, and “La Source”, the new film from the producers of “The Philosopher Kings”. The Story can be heard on over 100 radio stations throughout the U.S. and online. Click here to find out where and when it airs in your area.

To learn more about Josue’s water project in La Source, Haiti and “La Source” the film, click here.

“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

When I adopted those words from Freud as my company’s vision statement years ago, I could have never guessed what incredible adventures it would lead to down the road. But as rewarding and fruitful as the work has been, the need for an awakening has gone unchanged.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, many of us experienced an awakening of sorts – our distractions became not so distracting all of a sudden, and our problems became small in comparison. The media was flooded with stories of the earthquake’s devastation and the dire need of aid to Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. I felt as though everyone around me struggled with what to do about our inaction. Many of us chose to donate and others even joined the relief effort. In fact, our very own Greg Bennick and a group of beautifully courageous individuals are en route to deliver food and medical supplies. Fans of “The Philosopher Kings” even aided through donations in Princeton custodian/Philosopher King Josue Lajeunesse’s efforts to bring his daughter Danielle, who had been left wandering the streets of Port au Prince for more than a week after the earthquake, back home to the U.S.

But now the tweets, Facebook posts, and conversations are thinning, and our attempts to rally the troops are growing more desperate. The world is falling back into its sleep state while the need for aid is still just as necessary today as it was on January 12.

In our effort to encourage us all to resist falling back to “sleep”, we’ve devoted our most recent newsletter to providing suggestions on how we can all take action and continue helping the people of Haiti and in other parts of the world. In addition, you’ll find more updates on Josue, his daughter’s return back to the U.S., and Greg’s trip to Haiti.

Best,
Patrick

Also, be sure to check out the latest edition of the Transcendental Media newsletter to find out about all the latest happenings with us and our films. What I’m especially excited about is our partnership with Generosity Water and our efforts to bring fresh water to Lasource, Haiti, an impoverished community of 3,000 that have no reliable access to clean, fresh water. For a limited time, we’re donating a portion of proceeds from ALL merchandise sold from The Philosopher King Store to Josue’s water project in Haiti via our partner Generosity Water.

Talk soon,
Patrick

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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See you in SD or SF!
Patrick