Alaska Far Away: The New Deal Pioneers of the Matanuska Colony

FREE SCREENING: San Francisco Filmmakers Announce Local Debut of Award-Winning New Deal Film Seen Everywhere But Here

WHAT: Juster Hill Productions has announced that their award-winning documentary film, ALASKA FAR AWAY: THE NEW DEAL PIONEERS OF THE MATANUSKA COLONY, will make its San Francisco debut at a free screening on Friday, June 15, at 7:00 PM.
Since its debut in 2008, Alaska Far Away has been an audience favorite at 16 film festivals in the U.S. and Northern Ireland, as well as at over 300 other live screenings, plus 467 public television broadcasts on 156 different channels from New York City to Los Angeles in 42 states,.

But this will be its first public screening in San Francisco.

ALASKA FAR AWAY poses the intriguing question: What if you had a chance to start your life over - in Alaska? In 1935 Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal gave 202 families from Depression-ravaged Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan an extraordinary opportunity: the chance to start over on the Alaskan frontier. Alaska Far Away tells the story of this bold government experiment, and the families who found themselves thrust into the national spotlight along the way.

The Matanuska Colonization Project of 1935 was among the most unusual and controversial of the many New Deal programs designed to help ordinary citizens devastated by the Great Depression. It generated a whirlwind of publicity and controversy at the time, not only as a very expensive federally-funded social experiment, but also as one of the last pioneer movements in America.

Narrated by legendary actor Peter Coyote, with musical score by San Francisco favorite Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn, and featuring exclusive interviews with many of the original colonists, this renowned film is a true American adventure story from our not-so-distant past.

Filmmakers Paul Hill and Joan Juster, both residents of San Francisco, will introduce the film, and host a Q&A after the screening.

DATE: Friday, July 15, 2016
TIME: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Times include introduction and Q&A. Alaska Far Away is 91 minutes long.

Doors open at 6:30 PM
WHERE: Premiere Theatre, Letterman Digital Arts Center,

1 Letterman Drive, San Francisco, CA 94129
COST: Admission is free, but reservations are required.

To reserve tickets, go to Eventbrite: http://alaskafaraway.eventbrite.com

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