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<span style="text-align:-webkit-auto;font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Hello,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;text-align:left;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><b style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-weight:normal"></b></p>
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</span></b></b></b></b></b></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><b style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-weight:normal"></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;display:inline!important">
<b style="font-weight:normal"><b style="font-weight:normal"></b></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;display:inline!important"><b style="font-weight:normal"><b style="font-weight:normal"><b style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;font-weight:normal"><b style="font-weight:normal"><b style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">I'm a native of Champaign, a graduate of the University of Illinois, </span></b></b></b></b></b></p>
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<span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">and a graduate student in the Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University. My colleagues and I have been making a film for the past year and it is nearing the end of production. It deals with refugee resettlement work in North Carolina. Please contact me if you are interested in an interview, I would love to share more about the project.</span></p>
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<b style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Nick Gooler</span></b></p><p style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium"></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;text-align:left;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">
<b style="font-weight:normal"></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;display:inline!important"><b style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><a href="http://www.theonewhobuilds.com/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">www.theonewhobuilds.com</a></span></b></p>
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<b style="font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><a href="tel:217-649-7992" value="+12176497992" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">217-649-7992</a></span></b></p><p style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium">
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<b style="font-family:Times;font-size:medium;font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline"><br></span></b></div>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:</span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">July 18, 2012 </span><br>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:right;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">CONTACT: Nick Gooler</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align:right;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="mailto:ngooler@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">ngooler@gmail.com</a></span></p>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">CHAMPAIGN NATIVE PUTS REFUGEES ON THE BIG SCREEN</span></p>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">WINSTON-SALEM - A new documentary directed by a Champaign native and University of Illinois graduate exploring the efforts of refugee resettlement workers in North Carolina is nearing the end of production. Roughly 8,000 of Greensboro, North Carolina’s citizens are refugees from all over the world. Each month, North Carolina African Services Coalition, led by Dr. Omer Omer, works to resettle refugees in the Greensboro area, helping them start a new chapter of their lives in America. The efforts of this team have been documented in the recently filmed half-hour documentary THE ONE WHO BUILDS, directed by filmmakers Peter Carolla, Hillary Pierce, and Nick Gooler, a Champaign native and University of Illinois alumnus. </span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The film focuses on Dr. Omer A. Omer, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Executive Director of North Carolina African Services Coalition who was forced to flee Sudan following the 1989 coup d'etat that put controversial Sudan president Omar Al Bashir in power. A TV news reporter at the time, Omer’s politics conflicted with that of the new Islamist regime and, fearing imprisonment and torture, fled to the UK and eventually the US. Now more than twenty years later, Omer works tirelessly to help those whose shoes he was once in. He leads a diverse team to do this work and is known as someone who does not let societal boundaries such as race or religion get in the way of building relationships. </span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“People are surprised to find out just how many of their neighbors are refugees,” said co-director Nick Gooler. “Even in a small town there can be hundreds or even thousands of people who have fled to the U.S. looking for a better life.” The film seeks to encourage people across the country to discover more about their neighbors and volunteer in their local refugee and immigrant communities. Roughly 10% of Champaign County’s population is made up of refugees and immigrants.</span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">THE ONE WHO BUILDS began shooting in September 2011 and wrapped production this past June. Now in post-production, the filmmakers are launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds for things like sound sweetening and color correction as well as an original score composed by University of North Carolina School of the Arts Music Composition masters student Drew Denton. </span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Filmmakers Peter Carolla, Nick Gooler and Hillary Pierce are third year MFA students in Wake Forest University’s new Documentary Film Program. Collectively they’ve made several short films, worked in the film industry on features and TV, collaborated on independent films in Rwanda, Chile and Costa Rica and have worked and taught alongside documentary legends Albert Maysles (GREY GARDENS) and Peter Gilbert (HOOP DREAMS). Nick Gooler graduated from the University of Illinois in 2010 with a degree in Gender and Women’s Studies.</span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The film is scheduled to be completed by October 2012 and a Greensboro premiere will soon follow. The filmmakers plan to submit to film festivals in addition to launching a community screening initiative nationwide. The Kickstarter campaign runs from July 17th to August 17th. </span><br>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Visit</span><a href="http://www.theonewhobuilds.com/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;text-decoration:none;font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">www.theonewhobuilds.com</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> and</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/theonewhobuilds" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"><span style="vertical-align:baseline;font-size:15px;white-space:pre-wrap;text-decoration:none;font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">www.facebook.com/theonewhobuilds</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> for more information. Follow on twitter @theonewhobuilds.</span><br>
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