Taos High Alumni Wins Spirit of Moondance Award at Festival

May 18, 2005 -- Leslie Brown (Walker), who attended Taos High School, class of 1986 won the Spirit of Moondance Award at the Moondance International Film Festival in Boulder, CO, which was held May 14th and 15th. The award specifically honors women filmmakers. It was a long trip from high school to the festival, with two husbands and three children later. Now in her thirties, Leslie Brown is an independent film producer. She began her film career in sales and marketing at Holy Cow! Visual Effects. She then moved behind the camera to film a human rights documentary in Europe, produce an educational television show for PARS-TV, a talk show on parenting, and direct two episodes of "Fitness and Health" for Florida's Sunshine Network.

At Taos High School, she focused on drama and performing arts. She later attended the University of Hawaii and studied dance and French. Then she went to a study abroad program in France at L'Institute Savoisienne d'tudes Franaise in Annecy, France and and continued her major in French at UCLA because she wanted make foreign films.

She has since moved heavily into film producing, getting several 35mm shorts under her belt, including the graduate film, Room 27, of Taron Lexton (Los Angeles Film School). She became inspired to produce something on a larger scale, which is why she became involved in Youth for Human Rights, International.

UNITED is a sensational short film in a music video format, that tells the story of an inner-city kid (Andr Boydon) who just wants to play basketball. But after a villainous thug (Erick Fort) bullies him off the court, he unifies the world to help him fight for his right to play. The short features cameos by soul legend Isaac Hayes, Jenna Elfman, Erika Christensen, and Catherine Bell.

It was produced by TXL Films, Inc. in association with Shuttleworth Leadership Society Int. (SLSI) for the benefit of Youth for Human Rights Int. who now uses it as a centerpiece for their global campaign for human rights education. While Brown remained in Los Angeles working on pre-production for the main body of the film, Lexton completely circumnavigated the globe filming across 14 countries in four continents gathering original footage for the film, with the help of over 2000 volunteers along the way. Most importantly, UNITED is a youth project. Taron Lexton was just 19 years old when he shot and directed UNITED, and the majority of the cast and crew were all teenagers or pre-teens.

UNITED first premiered inside the United Nations World Headquarters in New York City in August, 2004 to an audience that included numerous UN officials and human rights leaders from around the world. Dr. Pouran Ameli, President of the Iranian American Friendship Association was very instrumental in making this happen. Craig Mokhiber - the Deputy Director of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Headquarters, said, "This video is brilliant! An important contribution to human rights education." The film is now available with subtitles in 15 different languages.

UNITED has been accepted to more than 7 different film festivals so far, including the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, and the LA Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles. In addition to winning the Spirit of Moondance Award this past weekend, it has received accolades from numerous officials, including the Mayor of Los Angeles, James K. Hahn, and the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Brown was moved to produce UNITED, when Mary Shuttleworth, the founder of Youth for Human Rights and executive producer of the film briefed her on the fact that there are more than 27 million people in modern slavery today, in the form of indentured servitude and forced child prostitution. (From: "21st Century Slaves" National Geographic http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature1/ )

In her words, "As a parent I suddenly felt that all these children in the world were mine, and they were relying on me (solely) to make this film to wake people up. Every morning, tired as I was during production, I would look at the blank wall at the foot of the bed and imagine all these National Geographic images of children around the world looking at me, imploring me to be their voice; to tell the leaders of the world about their plight; and to complete my film."

"Also, I wanted to say that my grandmother, longtime resident Taoseo, Flo Walker, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, and I feel it is in my blood to do human rights work for mankind. As a filmmaker, I believe in what philosopher L. Ron Hubbard says, 'A culture is as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists.' I am an artist and I am dreaming of a great culture where children have the right to be human and live in a sane world."

For additional information or for copies of the music video, contact Leslie Brown at TXL Films (323) 663-3898 or visit www.TXLFilms.com. For downloadable copies of the booklet, "What are Human Rights"
visit www.youthforhumanrights.org.

Youth for Human Rights International is a not-for-profit corporation whose purpose is to educate youth in human rights so they become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

Contact Information:
Leslie Brown
TXL Films
(323) 663-3898

Taos High Alumni Wins Spirit of Moondance Award at Festival

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Taos High Alumni Wins Spirit of Moondance Award at Festival

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