Heartwarming Story 'My Pen Pal: An African Adventure' Released Worldwide

Janson Media today announced the release of the award winning documentary My Pen Pal: An African Adventure (1 x 37') to international Television, VOD, New Media, and Non-Theatric markets. Produced by Shaun Donahue Productions, My Pen Pal is the proud recipient of the Best Children's Film Award from the 2009 Ferndale Film Festival.

My Pen Pal: An African Adventure is a children"s documentary about a 10-year-old California girl who travels to Tanzania to meet her pen pal. Photographed in HD with the stunning East African landscape as the backdrop, My Pen Pal is a heartwarming story of travel, adventure and cultural exchange told from the perspective of a young girl, Megan, who is the host and narrator of the film.

In this documentary, Megan gets to meet her pen pal, Atnasia, in Tanzania during a 2007 trip to Africa with her parents. Megan has been writing to her pen pal for over a year. She and her family arrive in Arusha, Tanzania via Europe and set out on Safari with six other families in four Safari vans. Megan and her parents are sharing a van with a family from New Jersey with two girls about Megan"s age.

The first stop is the Tarangire National Park. The Safari vehicles have a pop up roof that lets the kids see lions, elephants and zebras and other wildlife up close. Then it"s on to an authentic Massai village where they enter a typical Massai home made of mud and cow dung. They are treated to a performance of the Massai jumping warrior dance.

Next, they head to the school to meet Atnasia. But when they arrive, they find that there is no school in session. Megan looks around the empty school grounds and discovers that it"s not like her school back home in a lot of ways. The kids are disappointed and the guides say they will try again tomorrow.

The following morning, they head back to the school and today the students are there. The principal takes them on a tour and shows them the school bell which is a gong hanging from a tree. There is no electricity or running water and the students share desks and books. After the tour, there is an assembly and the kids are called up one by one to meet their pen pals. All the names are called except Megan and another boy. A dramatic moment ensues while the teachers and parents try to figure out what went wrong. Finally, they find the last two names and Megan is called up to meet Atnasia. The pen pals speak different languages so they start out with hand games. Megan learns to count in Swahili. A basketball game really gets things going. However, too soon, it is time to say good-bye.

The Safari continues to the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti and the Mara River for more spectacular wildlife viewing. At the end of the nine-day trip they head to a grass airstrip on the savannah and board a small plane for Arusha. On the flight, Megan composes a letter to Atnasia: &'...meeting you is the highlight of my trip and the experience we shared will be in my heart forever. Love, Megan&'

Shaun Donahue Productions, Inc. Provides HDCAM, DVCPRO, HD, and Betacam equipped crews for television, documentary, DVD bonus material, and corporate production. Based in San Francisco, our Emmy Award winning crews cover all of Northern CA, including Fresno and Sacramento as well as Reno, NV. Our experience ranges from beautifully lit interviews to large multi-cam and commercial productions. We offer a full list of Bay Area contacts for convenient one-stop shopping as well as access to all acquisition formats.