RELEASES

MTV GOES INSIDE THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA IN “TRUE LIFE PRESENTS: RESIST THE POWER! SAUDI ARABIA” AIRING MONDAY, MAY 24TH AT 10PM ET/PT

05.18.10

MTV’s Emmy Award-winning series “True Life” teams up with Emmy and Academy Award nominated directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (LOKI FILMS) to conclude the season with the premiere of an eye-opening, 90-minute documentary, “True Life Presents: Resist the Power! Saudi Arabia” airing Monday, May 24th at 10pm ET/PT. The special takes viewers into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the largest producer of oil, where the sexes are separated, marriages are arranged, and women must wear long, black robes called abayas in public. MTV cameras capture unfiltered footage as young people tell four stories of rebellion from inside one of the world’s strictest societies, and as they fight to follow their dreams regardless of the consequences.

“This ‘True Life’ documentary is a great example of what the series does at it’s best – it uncovers stories of young people’s lives that, otherwise, our audience may never be exposed to,” said Dave Sirulnick, Executive Vice President of MTV News and Docs. “The special explores a culture quite different from what we experience in America - one where women are forbidden to drive, single men can’t enter the mall unless they are accompanied by a female family member as their guardian, and bands struggle to find venues that will allow them to play rock music. Despite stark cultural differences, the stories of these young Saudis who embody the courage, strength and perseverance to inspire change, should resonate with young audiences everywhere.”

The young people featured in “True Life Presents: Resist the Power! Saudi Arabia” are fighting for change within the country, where they face being ostracized for living outside of cultural and religious norms. In the documentary, a young man struggles against society’s view of marriage and relationships in hopes of arranging a face-to-face meeting with a young woman he met online, even though authorities forbid it; a rock band strives to play the music they love publicly, a risky step that could land them in jail and get their music censored forever; a 22-year old risks his own freedom by openly demanding that women are given a voice in government; and a young woman makes brightly colored abayas for women to wear, provoking the harsh judgment her conservative society.

For over 10 years, the MTV audience has connected to the diverse, boundary-pushing storytelling found on “True Life.” The documentary series airs raw, private scenes, giving unique perspective and insight into what it’s like to be a young person. In its return to a weekly timeslot this season, the episode “True Life: I Hate My Face,” – featuring two women battling with Body Dysmorphic Disorder – delivered the highest ratings for the franchise in nearly two years. This season “True Life” has examined a range of unexpected, compelling topics including “True Life: I have Digital Drama,” “True Life: I have a Traumatic Brain Injury,” and “True Life: I’m Hustling In the Hamptons,” to name a few.

“True Life,” explores topics relevant to young people by telling their stories through first-person accounts and delves into issues on cultural trends covering matters relating to lifestyle subjects such as health, sex drugs, spirituality, money and more. In 2009, “True Life” received a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Special Class Series category.

For more information or for a look at past “True Life” past episodes, head to http://www.mtv.com/shows/truelife/series.jhtml

“True Life Presents: Resist The Power! Saudi Arabia” is Executive Produced by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady of Loki Films. The “True Life” series is Executive Produced by Dave Sirulnick, Marshall Eisen, Betsy Forhan and Jim Fraenkel of MTV.

About LOKI FILMS
LOKI FILMS is a New York-based documentary film production company founded in 2001 by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Featured in Time Magazine as innovators of the documentary craft, the directing team has been lauded for gaining unprecedented access into hidden worlds and taking an honest approach to delicate subject matter. Both filmmakers are members of the Directors Guild of America as well as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. In 2007 Ewing and Grady were nominated for an Academy Award for “Jesus Camp,” a candid look at Pentecostal children in America. Previously, the team was nominated for an Emmy for “The Boys of Baraka,” a film about preteens struggling to make it in Baltimore city. Ewing and Grady recently completed “12th & Delaware” a provocative documentary on the raging abortion battle in America, which premiered in competition at Sundance Film Festival and will broadcast on HBO. They are also part the all-star filmmaker team that has adapted the bestselling book “Freakonomics” into a feature-length documentary which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures. In their television work, LOKI FILMS has taken on a vivid array of subjects, including the inner workings of Scientology, the criminally insane, ritualistic body piercing practices, Christian missionaries and even the plight of the aging rock star. Ewing and Grady’s projects have been seen on networks including CBS, A&E, PBS, Al Jazeera, Channel 4 and Canal Plus. To learn more about LOKI FILMS, please visit http://lokifilms.com

About MTV:
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 28 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries—giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24 and P12-34. Online, MTV.com averaged 24.5 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2010—up +8% from Q4/2009 and up +13% year-over-year. Average video streams for the first quarter of 2010 increased +8% from the Q4/2009 and is up +6% over the same time period last year. And MTV’s successful sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving young males, music fans, and college students like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in… http://www.mtvpress.com