'Crossing Borders' Broadcast Across Middle East by Alhurra Television

Janson Media announced today that it has licensed the award-winning documentary Crossing Borders(1 x 72') to Alhurra Television, airing in the Middle East and Arabic speaking countries in Northern Africa. The film was recently featured by the Arabic channel during a special week of programming to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

Crossing Borders is a feature documentary that follows four Moroccan and four American university students as they travel together through Morocco and, in the process of discovering &'The Other,&' discover themselves. With group travels and frank discussions, the students confront the complex implications of the supposed &'clash of civilizations&' between Islam and the West. The relationships formed through shared experiences contrast sharply with the media-shaped views Americans and Muslims have of each other. Humor, honesty and a willingness to be challenged all bring individuals closer to each other and the relationships that develop disarm hidden stereotypes.

The relationship between the Muslim and Western worlds has been cast as a &'clash of cultures,&' a war between civilizations in which one is destined to prevail over the other. But is this so? What are the real attitudes and viewpoints of ordinary Americans and ordinary Muslims? Filmed in Morocco, Spain, the United States, Egypt, Palestine, Israel and Jordan, Crossing Borders aims to give a personal face to the &'other side&' through the experiences of American students studying abroad and their interactions with students in the moderate Muslim state of Morocco. By avoiding a focus on extremism, the film provides its audience with a sense of the millions of good-willed, &'ordinary citizens&' on both sides whose voices are often not presented by the media. The documentary aims to inspire audiences through practical examples of how to overcome the artificial separation between &'Us&' and &'Them.&'

The film is created to initiate dialogue and debate between students on university campuses in the USA, North Africa and Middle East via screenings and interactive websites. These direct conversations will become a tool used to deepen the understanding of complex issues pervasive in the current world situation.

Crossing Borders was produced by the non-profit organization for intercultural education, Crossing Borders Education. Founded by Arnd Wachter, CB-Education has served more than 3,200 American college students on its exchange programs since 2003. CB-Education aims to give a personal face to the &'other side&' through the experiences of American students studying abroad and their interactions with students in the moderate Muslim state of Morocco.

About Janson Media

Established in 1989, Janson Media is an independent content production, distribution and management company based in the United States, with a rights portfolio of over 1,500 hours of exclusive programming available for licensing to worldwide television, VOD, DVD/video, and emerging new media platforms. The company has licensed programming to virtually every country in the world, and its clients include nearly every major broadcaster or media company, as well as a wide range of DVD labels and distributors. Janson Media is also a publisher and manufacturer of award-winning DVDs.

About Alhurra

Alhurra (Arabic for &'The Free One&') is primarily news and information network. Alhurra hosts a number of discussion programs that examine political and social issues of interest to the audience in the Middle East, airing viewpoints not often discussed freely in the region. The network also provides information on a variety of topic such as health, science, technology and sports and entertainment news. Recent surveys by ACNielsen and other international research companies show that Alhurra has consistently averaged approximately 26 million weekly viewers for the last three years. Alhurra broadcasts on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites in the Middle East. It is operated by the non-profit corporation &'The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.&' (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters. For more information on Alhurra visit www.alhurra.com.