PRESS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FATIMA WASHINGTON’S NEW INDIE FILM “THE DADDY BOX” PROMOTES ACTIVE FATHERHOOD, BRIDGES CULTURAL DIVIDE
Sunday, April 17th Hollywood Benefit To Promote Documentary

19.4 million U.S. children live without their biological fathers (US Census, March 2002). On Sunday, April 17, 2005 from 5pm to 9pm, celebrities will gather at King King Hollywood, 6555 Hollywood Blvd to raise money for completing THE DADDY BOX, an independent documentary that looks at absentee fatherhood and its impact.

THE FILM
Set within the African-American community, THE DADDY BOX underscores American writer/director Fatima Washington’s search for the Moroccan father she never met.

“I became involved with this project the day I was born, the day my father named me,” explains Fatima. “Six weeks later he disappeared, leaving no one to explain these words: Emira Fatima Hajaj.”

The film begins in Oakland, CA where Fatima sorts through the fragmented racial and cultural identity of her childhood. Without her Moroccan father, Fatima had to face growing up in an African-American family with siblings and a mother she barely resembled, and a community that revealed no hint of her Moroccan ancestry.

As a little girl, Fatima grappled with questions like “Why don’t I look like my family members? Who is my father? Who is this man that gave me North African features?” THE DADDY BOX tracks her quest to find the father who linked her to a culture that he wasn’t around to explain, and poignantly documents her shedding years of shame surrounding her ethnicity.

Much like this year’s Academy Award®-nominated documentary “Hardwood,” THE DADDY BOX deals with father absence … but goes one step further. THE DADDY BOX exposes the religious and cultural complications of father absence. Fatima must consider whether she would be Muslim or Christian had her father remained an active part of her life. Would she even be living in America? How would her views on the Iraqi conflict perhaps be different?

“I have wanted to explore and embrace my Arab identity, but in a post 9/11 America, I have been reluctant to do so,” admits Fatima. “I rarely want to answer questions about my name’s origin. To do so feels like a confession of some deep sin.”

GALA
“This celebrity benefit is about artists supporting artists,” says Fatima. “We’re getting this film into the community to emphasize the significance of fathers.” Bill Bellamy will emcee an evening of spoken word, comedy and singing.

Hill Harper (“CSI:NY”), and Golden Brooks (“Girlfriends”) will perform spoken word poems. Emerging comedian Royale Watkins (“Built to Last”) will deliver a comedy set on fatherhood, which Writer/Director Reggie Bythewood (BIKER BOYZ) calls ‘reminiscent of Bill Cosby’s early comedy on fatherhood.’ R&B singer Kim Hill, formerly of the Grammy Award® winning Black Eyed Peas, will perform.

Gala tickets are priced at $25. Larger donations are encouraged. Tickets can be purchased online at www.southstreetstudios.com/thedaddybox. Southwest Airlines, Crustacean Restaurant, the Alonzo Mourning Charities, The Paint Shop Beverly Hills, Honey Shine Foundation, Lightning Media, the Glore Group, Soul Scents, and celebrity dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu are all promotional partners for this benefit.

OUTREACH
THE DADDY BOX is fiscally sponsored by Women Make Movies, a 501©(3) non-profit. The film’s producers have launched outreach partnerships with Take Wings Foundation (www.takewings.org) and B-Dads (www.bdads.org), in an effort to promote its message of active fatherhood. Additional information about the film and how one can donate can be found by visiting www.southstreetstudios.com/thedaddybox.

For more information about this benefit, or to schedule an interview with Fatima Washington or one of the celebrity guests, please call convergenz/solutions at 818 761 5688 or e-mail info@convergenz.com.