CUT PRODUCER STRIKES DEAL WITH ABC
Australian radio documentary will use film excerpts
Media contact: Wendy Schneider, 608-239-5771 (or) btype35@aol.com
CUT, a new documentary film on the too-often secret topic of self harm, will get an international boost next month as filmmaker Wendy Schneider has authorized an Australian radio documentary producer to broadcast excerpts.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation producer Jane Shields got wind of CUT while researching for a
50-minute program to air July 23 on ABC Radio National, and Schneider agreed to provide some audio from interviews she conducted with teens in recovery. The broadcast is available online or via podcast at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/. There is also a transcript available online.
“My objective for the program is to demystify self-harm by exploring the issue from a number of perspectives - including the perspective of those who've suffered through this,” said Shields. “It's quite a misunderstood phenomenon. I hope that my program, as the film, will be able to educate people and remove some of the pre-conceived ideas that surround it.”
“A growing awareness that began on a grassroots level has started to reach an international community of individuals who self harm,” Schneider said. “Jane’s project and numerous others like it will create pockets of education that are more accessible than before.”
CUT, currently in production, will feature interviews with teens in recovery as well as the professionals dedicated to helping them. The film will also include Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson, who once suffered from self-harm.
About the Filmmaker
New York native Wendy Schneider started as a bike messenger for a multimedia production company at 17 years of age. Eight years later, she was creative director of audio production, creating projects for major corporate clients that included the National Geographic Society and the International Center for Photography.
In 1989, she produced her first audio documentary to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the deaths of civil rights activists Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney for People for the American Way. That experience led her to eschew the corporate life and move to the Midwest to attend the University of Wisconsin in 1990; she has lived in Madison ever since.
Schneider is currently owner and chief engineer at Coney Island Recording Studios, producing for independent record labels and regional artists. She is also founder of Sparkle Dog®, a company formed to produce “Storyscapes®,” narratives for children set to original music on CD, as well as accompanying educational materials.
CUT is her first film.
