Pivot Expands Documentary Focus; Debuts Two Films Spotlighting Refugee Crisis In Syria, ‘Salam Neighbor’ and ‘This Is Exile: Diaries Of Child Refugees’

Los Angeles, CA – December 14, 2015 — Today, Participant Media announced that Pivot has acquired television rights to air two documentaries focusing on the refugee crisis that has resulted from the civil war in Syria. Salam Neighbor, from the directors of Living On One Dollar, and This is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees, both make their U.S. television premiere during Pivot’s “Stand Up For Justice” month. Starting January 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, until February 20, World Day of Social Justice, Pivot programming will explore themes of social justice, inequality, and political conflict in our society.

Premiering January 20, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET, Salam Neighbor follows two American filmmakers as they head to the edge of war, just seven miles from the Syrian border, to live among 85,000 refugees in Jordan’s Za’atari camp. As the first filmmakers allowed by the United Nations to register and set-up a tent inside a refugee camp, Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple plunge into the heart of the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis. Salam Neighbor uncovers the inspiring stories of individuals rallying against all odds to rebuild their lives, to fight to keep their families together and to choose peace over violence at any cost. Salam Neighbor was directed and produced by Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci. Mohab Khattab and Salam Darwaza of 1001 MEDIA also serve as producers. Austin Hearst, Bryn Mooser, Jeff Klein, Jonathan Bing, and Michael Lang serve as executive producers.

Premiering on January 27, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET, from Emmy®-award winning director Mani Y. Benchelah and produced by Make Productions in partnership with Save the Children, This is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees paints an intimate portrait of child refugees forced to flee the violence of Syria’s civil war. More than half of Syria’s refugees are children and have intimately experienced the brutality and painful insecurity of war. Narrated entirely by the Syrian children themselves, This is Exile plunges audiences into the heartbreaking lives of these young individuals. Sian Kevill and Sarah McDonald serve as executive producers for MAKE Productions.

Participant Media will support these documentaries with social impact opportunities for viewers to take action around the refugee crisis, offering a way to help and create change.

“Stand Up For Justice” month, featuring curated programming Wednesdays at 7 p.m. ET and Sundays at 10 p.m. ET, will also feature award-winning socially relevant films such as Crash, Amistad, A Place at the Table, The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz and Hotel Rwanda.

Crash (airing January 18) and Amistad (airing January 24) explore race issues in the U.S., while Hotel Rwanda (airing February 7 and 20) examines the strife and journeys of those across our borders. Important documentaries airing during “Stand Up For Justice” month include: A Place at the Table explores sustainable food systems; The Internet’s Own Boy, which tells the story of Internet activist Aaron Swartz; and It Happened Here, a film that explores the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. All three documentaries will air on Pivot on January 18.

About Participant Media
Participant Media (http://www.participantmedia.com/) is a leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, Participant combines the power of a good story well told with opportunities for viewers to get involved. Participant’s more than 70 films, including Spotlight, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, He Named Me Malala, The Look of Silence, CITIZENFOUR, Food, Inc., and An Inconvenient Truth, have collectively earned 37 Academy Award® nominations and eight wins. Participant has also launched more than a dozen original series, including “Please Like Me,” Emmy® Award-winning “Hit Record On TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” and “Fortitude,” for its television network, Pivot (http://www.pivot.tv/). Participant’s digital hub, TakePart (http://www.TakePart.com), serves millions of socially conscious consumers each month with daily articles, videos and opportunities to take action. Follow Participant Media on Twitter at @Participant and on Facebook.