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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                              For More Information Contact:

February 7, 2008                                                                                      Julie Rappaport 952.935.7905

                                                                                                                       julie@smokinyogi.com

“JUST BREATHE, PART I” SCREENING AT 13TH ANNUAL

INTERNATIONAL FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL (IFFF)

ABNORMALLY NORMAL’S Demo-pilot to screen in Los Angeles at Raleigh Studios, Home of the 2007 Golden Globe winning series “The Closer” and “Ugly Betty”

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Smokin’ Yogi Films enthusiastically and proudly announces its acceptance of “Just Breathe, Part I,” the demo-pilot for the episodic dram-edy Abnormally Normal, into the 13th Annual International Family Film Festival set for February 28-March 2, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA.

Screening times are Saturday, March 1 at 8:15pm and Sunday, March 2 at 12:30pm.  There will be a reception held after the Saturday evening screening at Raleigh Studios and a kick-off event following the Sunday afternoon screening for the Greater Los Angeles Divorce Support Meetup group at a nearby restaurant.  Details can be found on the Smokin’ Yogi company website at www.smokinyogi.com/film. 

Made on a mere $14, 000 budget, “Just Breathe, Part I” intertwines the production’s theme—a family doesn’t have to end just because a marriage does—with compelling, comedic, and sympathetic dialogue between a range of identifiable characters namely Max, Jenevive, and Judy—the husband, wife, and their daughter.

Max is on a flight home and Judy is off to school.  Jenevive anxiously struggles through the day as she writes Max a letter of divorce.  The letter brings us through the flashbacks of their rebellious engagement and their marital highs and lows.  Jenevive’s head-trip council deliberates her decision.  She fights between the realm of drowning and acceptance of a new consciousness, reminding her to “Just Breathe.”

Scheduled for February 28 - March 2 at Raleigh Studios on Melrose Avenue across from the Paramount Studio lot, IFFF celebrates its 13th year.  IFFF promotes socially responsible films and screenplays suitable for a general audience and expresses a fundamental respect for the positive values of life. 

Reaching over 6, 200+ families in the Los Angeles area, IFFF believes it is extremely important to restate the emphasis on the celebration of the family unit and that this social unit is the single most important human dynamic that most directly influences and impacts each human being’s personal odyssey through life. 

According to Chris Shoemaker, IFFF Executive Director, "Following the successful market for the independent family films screened at the last IFFF, it became apparent that the family film genre has come of age and is ready to hold its own in Hollywood." 

For more information on purchasing festival tickets to “Just Breathe” screenings, please visit http://www.iffilmfest.org/08films/JustBreathe.shtml.

About Smokin’ Yogi Films:

Smokin’ Yogi Films produces projects that are as intellectually significant as they are heart-warming and emotionally relevant.  Deeply committed to supporting the essence of storytelling as a healing practice, sharing stories that offer positive potentiality, and their mission of Tikkun Olam (a Jewish expression translating to “Healing the World”) the Twin-Cities based production company is dedicated to creating high-quality, unique, and forward-thinking film, literature, and communications. 

Season One of Abnormally Normal is currently in pre-production and is slated to launch August 2008 worldwide on the internet.

About ABNORMALLY NORMAL:

Jenevive and Max have always said that if they ever get divorced, they would do it different than most.  They would honor their sixteen-year marriage as well as their eight-year-old daughter Judy, by remaining family.  The story begins with Jenevive handing Max a “Dear John” letter of divorce.  Jenevive, Max and Judy are each uniquely faced with how to cope with the new dynamic, in the midst of a whirlwind of adverse situations dealt out by their community and the people they welcome into their lives.

The story is told through all of their perspectives, exploring their flashbacks and dreams and delving into the depths of their minds where their personal council of archetypes bicker and banter about which path to take in the current dilemma.  Angel shows up disguised as everyday people, guiding them with gentle philosophies.

Abnormally Normal is a Life affirming “dramady” that poignantly captures the unpredictable and ever evolving definition of family life.  This production’s theme is: A family doesn’t have to end just because a marriage does.

For more information about Smokin’ Yogi, please

visit www.smokinyogi.com or contact 952.935.7905. 

Email: info@smokinyogi.com    

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