Shine Global
Encyclopedia
Shine Global Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit film production company that was founded in 2005 by Susan MacLaury
, a licensed social worker and health professor at Kean University
, and her husband, Albie Hecht
, an entertainment executive and founder of Worldwide Biggies
. Shine Global produced War/Dance
, a 2007 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary.
. Shine Global’s mission states that they are dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children worldwide through the production of documentary films and other media that raise social awareness and effect political change.
Since their founding in 2005, Shine Global has partnered with non-governmental organizations worldwide to produce films about children that reveal amazing stories and inspire change.
tells the story of three northern Ugandan children who grew up in the war zone. It is a powerful story of triumph through music and dance despite horrific circumstances. War/Dance debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
where it won the Documentary Directing Award and went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2007.
War/Dance was produced in partnership with Fine Film Productions, Rogues Harbor Studios, and distributed by ThinkFilm
and Image Entertainment
.
, Shine Global’s Executive Director, Susan Maclaury, and the original War/Dance film crew in the summer of 2008.
Finally, the people of Uganda, were able to watch War/Dance. Approximately 7-10 thousand people came to see the film in the Patongo camp making a lasting impression on the entire crew as well as Rose, Nancy, and Dominic.War/Dance Returns premiered on the Sundance Channel in May of 2009.
’s Harvest of Shame
, filmed 40 years ago, and reveals that little has changed over the past 4 decades in the lives of migrant farm workers in America.
The Harvest, however, is told from a child’s perspective as we meet 4 of the more than 400,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 who labor in fields and factories to feed us, lacking the protections offered by the Fair Labor Standards Act that all other American children enjoy.
In 2009, Eva Longoria
signed on as an Executive Producer of the project. The Harvest premiered at the IDFA festival in Amsterdam in November 2010 and will premier in the US in early 2011.
Shine Global has also recently partnered with The Harvest of Hope Foundation, a migrant farm workers organization based out of Florida that works to support migrant farm workers all over the country.
Susan MacLaury
Dr. Susan MacLaury is a professor in the Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Health at Kean University, a licensed social worker, and an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated producer....
, a licensed social worker and health professor at Kean University
Kean University
Kean University is a coeducational, public research university located in Union and Hillside, New Jersey, United States. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its...
, and her husband, Albie Hecht
Albie Hecht
Albie Hecht is the CEO of Worldwide Biggies, founder of Spike TV, and a former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment.Hecht oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and the live-action show All That at Nickelodeon...
, an entertainment executive and founder of Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies is a digital entertainment studio that creates original multimedia outlet entertainment products for a diverse age range of consumers, including computer generated features, hi-definition movies and television series, direct to DVD series, and broadband and mobile content aimed...
. Shine Global produced War/Dance
War/Dance
War/Dance is a 2007 American documentary film written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine and produced by Shine Global's Susan MacLaury, a professor at Kean University, and Albie Hecht...
, a 2007 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary.
History
Shine Global Inc. was founded in 2005 by husband and wife Albie Hecht and Susan Maclaury after learning about the plight faced by thousands of children in the war zone of northern UgandaUganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Shine Global’s mission states that they are dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children worldwide through the production of documentary films and other media that raise social awareness and effect political change.
Since their founding in 2005, Shine Global has partnered with non-governmental organizations worldwide to produce films about children that reveal amazing stories and inspire change.
War/Dance
Shine Global’s first film War/DanceWar/Dance
War/Dance is a 2007 American documentary film written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine and produced by Shine Global's Susan MacLaury, a professor at Kean University, and Albie Hecht...
tells the story of three northern Ugandan children who grew up in the war zone. It is a powerful story of triumph through music and dance despite horrific circumstances. War/Dance debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
where it won the Documentary Directing Award and went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2007.
War/Dance was produced in partnership with Fine Film Productions, Rogues Harbor Studios, and distributed by ThinkFilm
THINKFilm
THINKFilm is a privately held production and distribution company founded in September 2001. It has been a division of David Bergstein’s Capitol Films since 2006. Bergstein also serves as the company’s chairman...
and Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
.
War/Dance Returns
War/Dance returns is the 15-minute follow-up documentary to War/Dance. It depicts the journey back to the Patongo camp by the director of War/Dance, Sean FineSean Fine
Sean Fine is a documentary filmmaker whose War/Dance about child soldiers was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2007.- Biography :...
, Shine Global’s Executive Director, Susan Maclaury, and the original War/Dance film crew in the summer of 2008.
Finally, the people of Uganda, were able to watch War/Dance. Approximately 7-10 thousand people came to see the film in the Patongo camp making a lasting impression on the entire crew as well as Rose, Nancy, and Dominic.War/Dance Returns premiered on the Sundance Channel in May of 2009.
The Harvest
Shine Global has currently finished production of its second feature length documentary, The Harvest, which revisits Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
’s Harvest of Shame
Harvest of Shame
Harvest of Shame was a 1960 television documentary presented by broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow on CBS that showed the plight of American migrant agricultural workers. It was Murrow's final documentary for the network; he left CBS at the end of January 1961, at President John F...
, filmed 40 years ago, and reveals that little has changed over the past 4 decades in the lives of migrant farm workers in America.
The Harvest, however, is told from a child’s perspective as we meet 4 of the more than 400,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 who labor in fields and factories to feed us, lacking the protections offered by the Fair Labor Standards Act that all other American children enjoy.
In 2009, Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
signed on as an Executive Producer of the project. The Harvest premiered at the IDFA festival in Amsterdam in November 2010 and will premier in the US in early 2011.
Partner Organizations
Since their founding in 2005, Shine Global has partnered with several organizations to make their films possible. Profits from their productions go back to local advocacy organizations that help the children that Shine documents. Shine Global partnered with AMREF during the production of War/Dance to aid the people of Uganda on the ground.Shine Global has also recently partnered with The Harvest of Hope Foundation, a migrant farm workers organization based out of Florida that works to support migrant farm workers all over the country.