News Release

Local angles: Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greenville,
Pembroke, Wilmington, Winston-Salem

Global child labor topic of lecture,
exhibit at UNC, plus film premiere

CHAPEL HILL — Filmmakers Len Morris and Robin Romano will discuss "Stolen Childhoods," their sobering documentary about global exploitation of child labor, on Sept. 21 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Morris, the film’s producer and director, and Romano, co-director and director of photography, will deliver this year’s Frank Porter Graham Lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall. Their documentary also addresses what can be done about the issue.

The lecture, free to the public, is sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. A public reception will follow the discussion.

Romano’s photo exhibit, "Stolen Childhoods and Child Labor," is on display at the Johnston Center through Sept. 30. He will attend a public reception at 4 p.m. Sept. 21 in the center’s Kresge Foundation Common Room (39).

In conjunction with the campus events, the documentary will have its North Carolina premiere Sept. 23 at the Chelsea Theater or the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill. Call the Chelsea at 968-3005 for a decision on the time and the theater.

On Sept. 20 at noon, Morris will discuss the film and the issue on North Carolina Public Radio – WUNC’s "The State of Things." The program rebroadcasts at 9 p.m.

Actress Meryl Streep narrates the film. It includes commentary by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who calls child labor "a slow death," and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who wonders if such exploitation is "a breeding ground for future terrorists."

The Frank Porter Graham Lecture Series honors the late U.S. Senator and president of the University of North Carolina, a champion of freedom, democracy and the disadvantaged. The series is made possible by a generous gift from Taylor McMillan of Raleigh, who graduated from UNC in 1960.

"‘Stolen Childhoods’ and the work of Morris and Romano embody the ideals that were so critically important to Dr. Frank Porter Graham," said Dr. Randi Davenport, executive director of the Johnston Center.

"Their work to illuminate the plight of the world’s most disadvantaged and dispossessed children is a perfect match with a lecture series intended to advance our understanding of poverty and those most affected by it," she said.

Filmed over a seven-year period, "Stolen Childhoods" shows children laboring like slaves in Africa, Asia and Latin America, despite laws against it in every country. The filmmakers balance Dickensian conditions with examples of effective international programs aimed at addressing the problem.

"Today, for 246 million children, life is nothing but work," Morris said. "These kids understand two things: one, that unlike other children, their childhoods don’t count; and two, that hard work is all they will ever know.

"The message of ‘Stolen Childhoods’ is very timely," he said. "Helping these children is an opportunity for us to help ourselves. The film asks us all to keep the promises the world community has already made: to provide universal education for all children, and to act against the poverty, profiteering and prejudice that produces this shameful waste of children’s lives."

Writing for The New York Times, Dane Stevens called the film "harrowing yet hopeful." LA Weekly said it is a "sober, smart documentary."

Morris has produced and directed documentaries for more than 20 years. His films explore difficult subjects including schizophrenia, environmental injustice, street children, hunger, apartheid and the Holocaust. His work has been broadcast on HBO, TNT, PBS and other cable and international networks.

Romano has worked in Canadian news programming and international documentary television. His most recent projects include "Death of a Slave Boy," a two-hour special shot in Pakistan for European broadcast, and "Globalization and Human Rights," hosted by Charlayne Hunter Gault for PBS.

Besides giving the lecture, Morris and Romano will meet with Carolina students and faculty in classes including "Globalization and the Transformation of Local Economies" and "The Idea of Childhood." They will explore topics including ethics and movie criticism and meet with student filmmakers.

A live Webcast will share the Sept. 21 lecture with students and faculty on the following campuses: East Carolina, Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State universities, the N.C. School of the Arts and UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Pembroke and UNC-Wilmington.

For more information, call the Johnston Center at (919) 966-5110.

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Johnston Center contact: Dr. Randi Davenport, (919) 843-7765 or rdavenpo@email.unc.edu

News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595