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April 15, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Robert Emery's The Genocide Factor Wins Best Documentary Award at Houston International Film Festival

A groundbreaking American historical documentary on the history of genocide from biblical times to the present has received the Special Jury Award for Best Documentary Film in the prestigious Houston International Film Festival, the 3rd oldest film festival in North America. The Awards Gala was held at 7pm on Sunday, April 14th, at The Intercontinental Grand Ballroom of Houstons Intercontinental Hotel.

The Genocide Factor: The Human Tragedy, a four-part mini-series which will air on PBS stations nationwide in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 9th) and Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24th), has been a labor of love for its creator, Robert Emery, for over three years. Emery, who is already the recipient of over 75 industry awards for his work as a filmmaker, began work on The Genocide Factor well before the human rights crisis in Kosovo filled front pages. A total of 85 interviews were conducted with scholars, experts, government officials, and, most importantly, with surviving eyewitnesses. Over 1000 photographs were gathered, as well as more than 130 hours of video and film documentation.

A segment has been added, focusing on the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C., but The Genocide Factor's remarkable timeliness isn't the result of opportunism or macabre marketing. "The Genocide Factor got made primarily because I've never understood why people kill each other," says Emery. "Why do they do that?"

The 35th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival was celebrated from Friday, April 5th through Sunday, April 14th, 2002. The Festival presented 56 new USA Independent and foreign films, plus 136 shorts. More than 35 nations were represented.

WorldFest was founded in August 1961 as a film society and became a competitive international film festival in April 1968. Over 450 international filmmakers attended the 10-day event.

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