“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story” available on hoopla digital as the film arrives in theaters on September 25th
Powerful film details the journey of Lizzie Velasquez as she evolves
from cyber-bullying victim to anti-bullying activist
HOLLAND, Ohio (Sept. 25, 2015) – hoopla digital (hoopladigital.com), the category-creating mobile and online service for public libraries, today announced that the inspiring Cinedigm documentary, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, will be available on its service beginning September 25, 2015 – the same day as the film’s theatrical release. The heart-wrenching film, produced and directed by Sara Hirsh Bordo, details the emotional journey of Lizzie Velasquez as she transitions from cyber-bullying victim to anti-bullying activist.
“We are honored to share Lizzie Velasquez’s story of resilience and courage with our public library partners and their patrons across North America. This is a powerful film and patrons of our library partners can watch it on the hoopla app and online the same day it arrives in theaters,” said Jeff Jankowski, owner and founder of hoopla digital.
Born with a rare syndrome that keeps her from gaining weight, a teenage, 60lb. Velasquez discovered a cruel YouTube video targeting her; titled “The World’s Ugliest Woman,” the video was seen by 4 million viewers and drew numerous bullying comments. The film chronicles unheard stories and details of Lizzie’s physical and emotional journey up to her multi-million viewed TEDx talk, and follows her pursuit from a motivational speaker to Capitol Hill as she lobbies for the first federal anti-bullying bill.
A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story debuted at SXSW earlier this year where it won an Audience Award. To date, the film has won a total of 9 awards at 8 festivals.
“We are thrilled that hoopla digital is supporting A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story in such a big way,” said Jill Newhouse Calcaterra, EVP Corporate Communications and Marketing/Cinedigm. “We want this very inspiring and important film to be seen by audiences everywhere, and with hoopla digital’s support we are able to make that possible for libraries and their patrons across the country.”
To watch A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story on hoopla digital, library card-holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or IOS device or visit hoopladigital.com. The service is only available to patrons of participating public libraries.
hoopla digital partners with public libraries across North America to provide patrons with mobile and online access to more than 380,000 movies, music albums, TV shows, audiobooks, eBooks and comics. All content is available to patrons for instant streaming or downloading to their smartphones, tablets, or desktop browser with simple access through a library card.
The service has partnerships with more than 800 library systems across North America including The Seattle Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Salt Lake County Library, and Miami-Dade Public Library System, to name a few.
About Cinedigm
Cinedigm is a leading independent content distributor in the United States, with direct relationships with thousands of physical retail storefronts and digital platforms, including Wal-Mart, Target, iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon, as well as the national Video on Demand platform on cable television. The company’s library of films and TV episodes encompasses award-winning documentaries from Docurama Films®, next-gen Indies from Flatiron Film Company®, acclaimed independent films and festival picks through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and Tribeca Films and a wide range of content from brand name suppliers, including National Geographic, Discovery, Scholastic, NFL, Shout Factory, Hallmark, Jim Henson and more.
Additionally, given Cinedigm’s infrastructure, technology, content and distribution expertise, the Company has rapidly become a leader in the quickly evolving over-the-top digital network business. Cinedigm’s first channel, DOCURAMA, launched in May 2014, and is currently available on iOS, Roku, Xbox and Samsung, with additional platforms currently being rolled out. Cinedigm launched CONtv, a Comic Con branded channel in partnership with WIZARD WORLD, on March 3, 2015. The Company’s third OTT channel, DOVE CHANNEL, launched on September 15, 2015 and is a digital streaming subscription service targeted to families and kids seeking high quality and family friendly content approved by Dove Foundation.
Cinedigm™ and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp™ are trademarks of Cinedigm Corp. [CIDM-G]
About hoopla digital
hoopla digital is a category-creating service that partners with public libraries and universities across North America to provide online and mobile access to thousands of Movies, TV Shows, Music, eBooks, Audiobooks and Comics. With hoopla digital, patrons can borrow, instantly stream and download free dynamic content with a valid library card. All content is accessible via hoopla digital’s mobile app and online at www.hoopladigital.com. hoopla digital is a service of Midwest Tape – a trusted partner to public libraries for over 25 years.
For more information, please contact 800-875-2785 (US) or 866-698-2231 (Canada).
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Passion Hemphill
MWW for hoopla digital
Phone: (312) 981-8541
Email: phemphill@mww.com