A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

Dear Friends,

With the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina fast approaching and political leaders in Washington embroiled in an increasingly bitter debate about the role government should play in our lives, now is a good time to reflect on what each of can us can do for the good of the country.

When it comes to the nation’s costliest disaster that occurred on Aug. 29, 2005 when Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, as “A Bridge Life” chronicles, individuals stepped up to do what governments–both federal, state and local–often could not. Strangers aided strangers, whether rescuing people from floodwaters, providing food and water, or just a roof over their head.

wo Cousins Entertainment is pleased to announce that this very special, award-winning film is now available for download via iTunes for only $5.99! Just click on the following link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/a-bridge-life/id423421120

If you haven’t watched it, as we look back at how the Gulf Coast is still coming back from oblivion and remember other terrible catastrophes that have occurred around the country and world (the Joplin, Missouri tornadoes, flooding in Australia, the Japan earthquake/tsunami/Fukushima), now would be a good time to do so. $5.99 is a good deal. Of course, you can also purchase the DVD for as low as $19.99. It includes a slew of bonus features including “Scenes From the Astrodome” and an interview with former FEMA director Michael “heckuva job Brownie” Brown and also makes a great gift for the family!

http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Life-Finding-Our-Home/dp/B003VE9WZG

We need your continued support to help get “A Bridge Life” out to the masses. That includes persuading Netflix to carry more independent films including this one (right now, Netflix execs are concentrating on streaming deals with the big Hollywood studios). So if you have a Netflix account, make your voice heard by saving “A Bridge Life” to your queue. It only takes a second!

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A-Bridge-Life-Finding-Our-Way-Home/70144636

Please forward this message to all your friends. And remember, fate is what you make it.

Warmly,

Josh Grossberg
Director-Producer
A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

I’d like to give a big thanks to the sold-out crowd of 160 people or so who came out to Temple Beth Orr on Tuesday evening to watch A Bridge Life.  The evening was a great success!  Not only did we sell about 40 or so DVDs, but we also had a delightful and informative Q&A after the screening that was attended by myself as well as the film’s Good Samaritans, Dan Sheffer and Heidi Scott.  And you, the audience, was one of our best ever!  You can read about the screening in the Broward Times.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2010/12/josh_grossberg_entertainment_writer_filmmaker.php

Don’t forget–Not only is A Bridge Life screening on the Documentary Channel in December and beyond, but it’s also now available on DVD via this site, Amazon and major retail outlets like Barnes N’ Noble, Borders and Best Buy.  It makes a wonderful Christmas or Hannukah gift, so tiz the season, BUY NOW!

Also, please save A Bridge Life to your Netflix queue if you haven’t already.  Because Netflix is doing a lot of streaming deals with the major studios, they are not picking up as many of the smaller films so we need at least a few thousand people to reserve the movie in their queue in order for them to buy it.  If you have a Netflix account, click on this link here to do so and most importantly tell all your friends!

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A-Bridge-Life-Finding-Our-Way-Home/70144636

Last but not least, below are some photos from Tuesday night.  I hope you enjoy them.

Happy Holidays!

Josh

p.s. A BIG THANK YOU is in order to Trudy Aaronson for organizing such a wonderful event.  Thanks Trudy!

[Show as slideshow]

Dear Friends,

Last night was the world television premiere of A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home on the Documentary Channel.  It was a spectacular success.  About 70 of us gathered at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club, which graciously provided us with a space to watch the film on DirecTV and Dish.  The movie kicked off at 8 p.m. followed by a great Q&A.  To all those who came out, thanks from myself and the team at Two Cousins Entertainment for making the evening so special.  You can read about it in an NBC blog here.

http://tiny.cc/ckajn

The DVD is now available for pre-order so please click on the DVD link on the index above and just follow the directions.  The DVD hits stores on October 12th.  We also need your help in getting the film out to the big box retailers so if you could please go to imdb to rate the film, and add A Bridge Life in your netflix queue, you’d be doing us a real favor.  I’ve included links below for each.  Please do so.

Here’s the Netflix link:

http://tiny.cc/93s8e

Here’s imdb:

http://tiny.cc/umb7d

Again, thanks for supporting A Bridge Life.  You’ve helped us show that one person can indeed make a difference when it comes to helping others in need.  That’s an idea we could all use a little more of in this world.  And we’re spreading it.

All the Best,

Josh Grossberg

Director

My team and I are very excited to announce A Bridge Life will be making its World Television premiere on the Documentary Channel on Monday, August 30th at 8 p.m. ET with an encore presentation at 11 p.m. !

The date  coincides with the 5th anniversary of the disaster so it’s shaping up to be a memorable and poignant night not only as we’ll be bringing you a riveting never-before-heard story about Katrina’s aftermath, but also as we look ahead at what lies in store for the Gulf Coast in the wake of the BP oil catastrophe.

The Documentary Channel is on Channel 197 on the Dish Network and Channel 267 on DirecTV.

http://www.documentarychannel.com/providers.php

I know many of you have Time Warner Cable or Comcast.  Please call your local cable provider and ask them to add the Doc Channel, which is currently in 25 million households nationwide.  The channel is currently in talks with Time Warner so if we’re lucky, they may add the channel to its roster later this month before A Bridge Life‘s premiere.

If not, I’ll be hosting a viewing party here in New York on that night: Details TBA.  And a special edition DVD including lots of extras, such as an interview with former FEMA head Mike “heckuvajob Brownie” Brown will be available for pre-order beginning Aug. 29 via the Channel’s Doc Store and A Bridge Life’s site.  The DVD ships Oct. 12.

http://documentarychannel.com/store/index.php?main_page=index

www.abridgelife.com

On a side note, speaking of this Website, we’re currently working on a major redesign that will go live on Aug. 29 so be on the look out for that as well.

Thank you as always for your continued support!

Josh Grossberg
Director-Producer
A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

We are thrilled and delighted that A BRIDGE LIFE: FINDING OUR WAY HOME, has been confirmed as an Official Selection for programming into The 43rd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film and Video Festival! It has been scheduled to screen on SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010 @ 5PM. Furthermore, we have also been nominated to receive one of the prestigious REMI awards in its feature film category. Go team!

All My Chicago Peeps,

Just a reminder that “A Bridge Life” is having its Chicago premiere at the Peace on Earth Film Festival next Saturday, February 27th in the Chicago Cultural Center’s historic Claudia Cassidy Theater (address: 78 East Washington St.).  Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend as I’ve a close friend’s wedding to go to, but do come out and support the film and let your friends know about it.  I hope to get out to Chitown sometime in late spring.

Thanks for supporting “A Bridge Life!”

Josh

“A Bridge Life” continued its winning streak, earning its fourth festival prize last week. This time it was singled out by the Canada International Film Festival which bestowed it with the Rising Star: Excellence in Filmmaking Award.  The festival takes place in Vancouver in late March.  They really like us over there. My “Bridge Life” team and I very much appreciate the ongoing recognition (Buyers, take note).

Hi Everyone,

“A Bridge Life” had its Canadian premiere last Saturday night at the Victoria Film Festival and received a strong reception.  I’d like to thank all those who came out and especially the wonderful staff of the VFF for screening our film.  If you haven’t been, Victoria on Vancouver Island is just a fantastic city!

Next up is the Peace on Earth Film Festival in my old hometown of Chicago.  We’ll be screening at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, February 27th in the Chicago Cultural Center’s historic Claudia Cassidy Theater (address: 78 East Washington St.).  Admission is free so to all my friends in Chitown, come on out!  I’m very excited about this particular festival as it was founded with the express purpose is to showcase films that offer challenging perspectives on war, the environment, world politics and our way of life.  Aside from “A Bridge Life,” there a whole host of great, enlightening films they’re programming so if you live nearby, please gather up all your friends and check it out!  But most importantly, see “A Bridge Life!”

Hi Everyone,

I got back from the Naples International Film Festival a few days ago and I’m just now catching up.  I want to thank everyone on the NIFF staff for the amazing time had down there.  A Bridge Life screened on Friday and Saturday and received a wonderful response, so much that on Sunday while I was on my way to the airport I learned we won the Neapolitan Award!!!  The honor is one of eight handed out by the Naples Festival.  The Neapolitan Award is extra special however since it’s chosen by the Naples Daily News and honors a film that embodies the spirit of charity, generosity and community.

That same day, I also learned we won the “Spirit of the Independents” Award at the Ft. Lauderdale Int’l Film Festival, where we screened a couple of weeks ago.  Two awards in one day!!!  Not bad at all.  I’m extremely proud of our team and how well we’re doing on the festival circuit.  We’ve managed to take home kudos in three out of four festivals that we’ve been in and the momentum keeps building!

We want to keep it going so we could use your help.  Tell your friends, family, acquaintances, business associates, strangers, anybody and everybody to become a fan of A Bridge Life on facebook and spread the word.  Or better yet, they can email their local film festivals and demand they screen the doc.  The more buzz we get, the greater chance we have of getting A Bridge Life on TV before millions of people!

Naples was the last festival for 2009 but I guarrantee ther will be more to come.  We’ve got Full Frame Documentary Festival, one of the most prestigious in the country, in our sites for June. There’s also Worldfest Houston in April, Gasparilla Film Fest in Tampa in March and Berlin in February.  Keep your fingers crossed and keep sending us your positive vibes.  Because at the end of the day, it’s all about paying it forward, and by doing supporting this film, you can inspire others to help make a difference.

Cheers!

Josh

Read Rachel Galvin’s review posted November 4, 2009 on independentstreak.ning.com, an online magazine for the filmmaking community! Here is a little taste, “…This film makes the watcher think. It also tells this story in a brand new way, keeping it interesting by not only offering interesting commentary by the families and those who helped, but also by…” (click here for full article)