Rogers OMNI.1 to Present World Television Premiere: The Shoeshine Boy (English language version)

31 May 2006

Rogers OMNI Television is pleased to announce the world television premiere of independently produced documentary The Shoeshine Boy to English language audiences as part of OMNI's Signature Series. The hour long production will launch in English on OMNI.1, Saturday, June 3rd at 9PM with an encore presentation on OMNI.1, the following day (Sunday, June 4th) at 8PM.

Through extensive use of archival footage, present-day interviews and re-enactments featuring many of the original protagonists (such as David Crombie, Mayor of Toronto in 1977, and Paul Godfrey, at the same time, Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto) The Shoeshine Boy recalls the 1977 murder of 12-year old shoeshine boy Emanuel Jaques and how the crime changed "Toronto the Good" - and the local Portuguese community - forever. In deference to its subject, The Shoeshine Boy launched first to Portuguese speaking viewers earlier this month.

"Even after almost 30 years, the memories and emotions surrounding the tragic death of Emanuel Jaques remain; I had never realized before how deeply this event affected the City of Toronto and the Portuguese Community in particular," says Bill Moniz, director-producer of The Shoeshine Boy, host of the Portuguese language version of the documentary and founder of Vista-Global Productions, the company behind it. "I am now more convinced than ever that The Shoeshine Boy needed to be done and am forever grateful to OMNI Television for understanding the importance of telling this story and providing 100% funding; I hope this documentary will help bring closure to the many who were touched by this horrific crime."

With inescapably evocative imagery, The Shoeshine Boy covers the 12 day period from Emanuel Jaques' disappearance, July 28th 1977, through to the surrender of one suspect, the apprehension of three others and his funeral, described by media at the time "as one of the largest ever seen in Toronto." Among the many powerful scenes re-lived by archival footage in The Shoeshine Boy is the first public protest rally - and largest to date - ever organized by the local Portuguese community; thousands of people calling for justice within a week of the funeral.

"Few events in Toronto's history have so mobilized a community, rallied action and generated real social change as the crime portrayed in The Shoeshine Boy," says Madeline Ziniak, Vice President and Station Manager of OMNI Television. "We appreciate the profound sensitivities attached to this story and applaud Bill Moniz and his team for their respectful and balanced treatment of its retelling."

In response to the tragic summer of 1977, the City of Toronto initiated a clean-up of its downtown core and targeted renewal projects that identify the city today. The Portuguese community of Toronto was served a resounding wakeup call and became further unified and strengthened in the process. But while the community and the city go on with their lives, the Jaques family still carries the pain of young Emanuel's murder and prefers to remain out of the public eye - a reminder of how devastating the death of a child can be.

For his first documentary project as an independent producer, Moniz assembled some topnotch talents to complement his extensive experience in television and close work with the Portuguese community of Toronto; key collaborators on the project included:

- Dale Brazao, script writer and host of the English language version

of The Shoeshine Boy - now one of Canada's most distinguished

investigative reporter/photographers, he was assigned the Emanuel

Jacques story when it first broke in 1977; he currently works with

Toronto Star and is the only Canadian of Portuguese descent to hold

high-level investigative responsibilities with a major national

newspaper;

- Jeff Halligan, director of photography on The Shoeshine Boy - an

award-winning videographer with more than 20 years of work experience

in a wide range of national and international productions, among them

the anti-racism documentary A Courage to Stand;

- Leor Herman, technical director - senior editor and TD with a leading

provider of post-production services for the television industry and

various multicultural productions ;

- Steve D'Angelo, music composer - principal of an independent studio

and the writer of numerous award winning commercials for major

national clients as well as the themes and scores for many animated

television series.

During The Shoeshine Boy David Crombie, Mayor of Toronto at the time of Emanuel Jaques' murder sums up the lasting impact of the crime: "We came to an end of an era; it was a significant signpost of understanding diversity in this city. We learned... with certain historical moments, how you deal with matters of not only individual loss, but deal with matters within a culture, within ethnicities, can allow you to still continue on."

The Shoeshine Boy was exclusively funded through OMNI's Independent Producers Initiative, a $32.5 million independent production fund. This seven-year funding commitment by OMNI was initiated and made available for independent producers to create third-language/ethnocultural programming. The documentaries will be broadcast in their original language and transcreated into English as well as a range of other languages.

About Rogers OMNI Television:

Rogers OMNI Television is a free over-the-air system consisting of four regional broadcasters covering nine markets in British Columbia (Victoria, Vancouver, and Fraser Valley), Manitoba (Winnipeg), and Ontario (Ottawa- Gatineau, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area). All Rogers OMNI Television stations are owned and operated by Rogers Communications in the Rogers Media division, and have the collective mandate to reflect Canada's diversity through the airing of inclusive and accessible programming. In addition to specializing in Canadian multicultural, multilingual and multi-faith programming, OMNI TV also carries well-known American and International series and films.

About Vista-Global Productions/Bill Moniz:

Vista-Global Productions Inc. is a Canadian company dedicated to the production of high-quality television programs, such as documentaries, series and specials. Prior to founding Vista-Global, Bill Moniz built up a wide and varied body of work over more than 16 years of television production and multicultural programming experience. As senior producer of Portuguese language news and public affairs programming at CFMT/OMNI-TV, he held responsibility for a live daily newscast and a variety of weekly television shows, some of which he also hosted and story produced. Portuguese speaking viewers will remember his work on documentary specials such as Porto 2000, an on-location celebration of the City of Porto as the capital of European culture; Expo '98: a Dive into the Future, a highlight of the last worldfair of the 20th century; Pier 21 and 50th Anniversary of Portuguese Immigration to Canada, about the experiences of pioneer immigrants, and Macau in Transition, bilingual (Portuguese and Cantonese) coverage of Macau's return to Chinese rule. Other credits include Canada Contacto, produced by OMNI Television for worldwide broadcast via Radio Television Portugal International; current affairs programmes Actualidades and Hora-H, and the weekly entertainment show Lamiré.

For further information: OMNI-TV Media Contact: Sandy Zwyer - Programme Information Coordinator, (416) 260-3590, sandy.zwyer@rci.rogers.com; Andrea Gagliardi - Director, Public Relations, (416) 260-3803, andrea.gagliardi@rci.rogers.com; Vista-Global Media Contact: Bill Moniz - Executive Producer, (416) 918-8654, billmoniz@rogers.com

Source: newswire

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