Award-Winning Documentary to be Screened at New Orleans Film Fest

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Contact: Carolyn Mitchell
Senior Lecturer, UTEP Communication Department
915/747-6292

Contact: Erica Martinez or Donna Dennis
University Communications
915/747-5526

Sept. 1, 2003

Award-Winning Documentary to be Screened at
New Orleans Film Fest
-UTEP’s ‘And the Wheels Turned’ Garners Recognition-

Cotton Productions’ award-winning documentary “And the Wheels Turned: The 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship” has been selected to be screened at the prominent 15th Annual New Orleans Film Festival Oct. 9-16.
More than 500 films were submitted, but only 81 were selected to be judged.

UTEP's 44-minute documentary is told by the team's players, who were interviewed and photographed at last year's team reunion. Former UTEP Basketball Coach Don Haskins started five black players in the March 19, 1966, game against Kentucky – the first time blacks started in a college game lineup. Third-ranked Texas Western College stunned top-rated Kentucky, 72-65, in the title game.

The New Orleans Film Festival has grown into an important vehicle for exhibitions and premieres of local, regional, national and international independent films and videos.

Each year, this exciting event showcases the best new American and foreign films, including premieres of major feature films and short works. The festival presents awards in five categories: narrative feature, narrative short, documentary, experimental and animation.

Cotton Productions also recently won first place for the documentary at the 2003 Chamizal Independent Film Festival. Cotton Productions is a student/faculty organization in UTEP’s Department of Communication.
For information, log on to www.neworleansfilmfest.com