"ABDUCTION" TO AIR ON BBC THIS MONTH!

“ABDUCTION” TO PREMIERE ON THE BBC

Washington, DC – An award-winning film about a Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean spies will receive its television premiere on the BBC later this month.

"ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story" is scheduled to air as part of the highly acclaimed “Storyville” on BBC FOUR on March 22nd at 10:30pm.

“We’re very pleased and excited to finally be able to show this film to people in the UK,” said Chris Sheridan, who directed the film along with his wife, Patty Kim. “The BBC is known for its high standards, so premiering the film on it will give the issue of the abductions an enormous amount of credibility.”

Nick Fraser, Series Editor of the Storyville strand said: "Megumi’s story is not only very moving, but a telling example of how people suffer when the interests of nations collide. Chris and Patty have successfully managed to make a film that’s both emotionally powerful, and profoundly important."

The film follows the family of Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean spies in 1977. The documentary shows how her family’s personal anguish turned into an international crisis. In 2002, the North Koreans admitted to kidnapping Megumi and 12 other Japanese citizens. Their fate is the subject of controversy in Asia affecting even the latest rounds of nuclear talks with North Korea.

Abduction opened in January, 2006 at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah and was awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary. It has since gone on to win five other awards as well as critical praise from the New York Times, Variety, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Sydney Morning Herald, CNN and many others. It has also been shown around the world at festivals and on TV including in Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany and Holland. The film is currently playing in theaters in Japan.

The film’s Executive Producer is the Oscar-winning director Jane Campion. ABDUCTION is also produced with the assistance of Fuji TV.

For further press information please contact BBC Publicist Marina Forsythe on 0208 752 7229 or visit www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/storyville/

For film info, visit www.abductionfilm.com