Teddy Bear Films
Teddy Bear Films is dedicated to the fine art of story telling through documentary filmmaking.
A non-profit organization, it was founded in 1999 by Micha X. Peled when he was about to start a PBS documentary about Wal-Mart.
Micha was concerned about the litigious reputation of the world’s largest corporation. He chose this name for his new production entity, so that if he were sued, the press reports would announce that “Wal-Mart Sues Teddy Bear.”
This site is still under construction!
NEWS… NEWS… NEWS… NEWS… NEWS…
• Nov. '08 Dallas
Delinquent will be part of the official selection at the Dallas Video Festival.
• Sept. '08 Japan 
China Blue was released in Japan, starting in Tokyo and rolling out to 30 art house cinemas. Local distributor is Shin Nippon.
• Aug. 2008 - Beijing Olympics Aug.
Two days before the Games began, an underground screening of China Blue was arranged in a Beijing night club by Taco Ruighaver and Robert Van Der Doop of Media That Matters. They came all the way from Amsterdam just to screen the film when the eyes of the world media were on Beijing.
The police stopped the event in the most undramatic way - but disconnecting the power to the building. No photo opps of activists dragged away by cops. Everyone just filed out in the dark. The next day, with no journalists around, the police came and warned the owners to stick to their regular music program.
The Chinese government is still banning a film about the exploitation of their own people, a film that has shown in 33 countries, aired by 28 broadcasters and translated to 12 languages. (scroll down to middle of page)
Two days before the Games began, an underground screening of China Blue was arranged in a Beijing night club by Taco Ruighaver and Robert Van Der Doop of Media That Matters. They came all the way from Amsterdam just to screen the film when the eyes of the world media were on Beijing.
The police stopped the event in the most undramatic way - but disconnecting the power to the building. No photo opps of activists dragged away by cops. Everyone just filed out in the dark. The next day, with no journalists around, the police came and warned the owners to stick to their regular music program.
The Chinese government is still banning a film about the exploitation of their own people, a film that has shown in 33 countries, aired by 28 broadcasters and translated to 12 languages. (scroll down to middle of page)
• Aug. 08 - Germany
The Berlin-based NGO INKOTA has released in time for the Olympics a special edition (German sub-titles) of China Blue together with the German film distributor EYZ Media. This DVD's extras include the NGO's 30-sec. tv spots. Viewers can either order the DVD or opt for on-line Video On Demand.
The Berlin-based NGO INKOTA has released in time for the Olympics a special edition (German sub-titles) of China Blue together with the German film distributor EYZ Media. This DVD's extras include the NGO's 30-sec. tv spots. Viewers can either order the DVD or opt for on-line Video On Demand.
• June 15, 2008 - Tokyo
Shin Nippon Films picked up the Japanese rights for CHINA BLUE. Theatrical and DVD releases are planned for the Fall. Micha will go to Tokyo in Aug. to promote the release.
Shin Nippon Films picked up the Japanese rights for CHINA BLUE. Theatrical and DVD releases are planned for the Fall. Micha will go to Tokyo in Aug. to promote the release.
• May 08 - Global
The cable channels ERT in Greece and Globosat in Brazil picked up tv rights for China Blue. In Germany. EYZ Media expanded the contract for three more rights, including VoD and DVD, and DocuZOne signed for DVD rights in Austria.
• April 21, 2008
Ever since Micha made a fiction short last year rumors were abuzz that he was switching out of documentaries. Baseless as these rumors may be, the film itself is very real. DELINQUENT (18 min.) just won the Platinum Remi Award for Live Action-Narrative Short Films at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival.
Starring Cory Duval and Diane Gaidry, DELINQUENT was lensed by DP extraordinaire Mickey Freeman, Senior Editor Manuel Tsingaris (China Blue) brought in his magic, and Los-Angeles composer John Guth created the moody sound track. Gabriela Maltz Larkin produced. Micha Peled directed and wrote the screenplay.
• March 08' - USA
A viewer of China Blue referred us to this on-line retailer of fair trade goods. Thanx Rosie Shalf!
http://www.fairindigo.com/
A viewer of China Blue referred us to this on-line retailer of fair trade goods. Thanx Rosie Shalf!
http://www.fairindigo.com/
• Nov. - Dec. '07 MAR DEL PLATA AND AMSTERDAM
Micha Peled will be serving on the jury at the Mar Del Plata (Argentina) documentary film festival and two weeks later he will be on the jury for the Amnesty International Human Rights award at IDFA.
• Nov. ’07 IDFA, AMSTERDAM
The world's leading documentary film festival, IDFA, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a box set of 20 award-winning films, with China Blue in the line-up. The set will be released at the 2007 festival in November.
• Nov. '07 USA - MORE AWARDS
Recently garnered for China Blue:
• Cinemabiente Environmental FIlm Festival, Torino, Italy Special mention
• the American Assoc. of Anthropologists/Visual Anthropology Award of Excellence in Washington DC
• Columbus (Ohio) Int’l Film & Video Festival Silver Chris Award
• Oct. '07 NEW ZEALAND
China Blue will be screened in Wellington, New Zealand on Oct. 21st for a Labor Day celebration organized by local trade unions. The event will help raise money for a monument dedicated to workers who have lost their lives on the job.
China Blue will be screened in Wellington, New Zealand on Oct. 21st for a Labor Day celebration organized by local trade unions. The event will help raise money for a monument dedicated to workers who have lost their lives on the job.
• Oct. '07 INDIA
"Lend your eyes, lend your ears! The third people's film festival begins on 12 th Oct at 6 PM, Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar." At the capital of the state of Orissa, China Blue screens on Oct. 14, and will later take part in a tour of rural areas.
"Lend your eyes, lend your ears! The third people's film festival begins on 12 th Oct at 6 PM, Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar." At the capital of the state of Orissa, China Blue screens on Oct. 14, and will later take part in a tour of rural areas.
• July '07 USA
China Blue wins a national television award from the PBS documentary series Independent Lens. 28 films, over 4000 votes, more than 1900 were for China Blue:
INDEPENDENT LENS AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER
China Blue wins a national television award from the PBS documentary series Independent Lens. 28 films, over 4000 votes, more than 1900 were for China Blue:
INDEPENDENT LENS AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER
After 28 weeks of showcasing the best independent documentary and dramatic programming on public television, the audience has spoken...breaking a three-way tie.
And the winner of the 2007 Independent Lens Audience Award is...
CHINA BLUE!
CHINA BLUE takes viewers inside a blue jeans factory in southern China, where teenage workers struggle to survive harsh working conditions. Providing perspectives from both the top and bottom levels of the factory’s hierarchy, the film looks at complex issues of globalization from the human level.
Congratulations to Director/Producer Micha Peled for his enlightening and compelling film.
Get information on the business of blue jeans and read the filmmaker’s Q&A >>
This month China Blue also won a CINE Golden Eagle award and the 2007 Award of Excellence of the American Anthropology Association / Society for Visual Anthropology.
And the winner of the 2007 Independent Lens Audience Award is...
CHINA BLUE!
CHINA BLUE takes viewers inside a blue jeans factory in southern China, where teenage workers struggle to survive harsh working conditions. Providing perspectives from both the top and bottom levels of the factory’s hierarchy, the film looks at complex issues of globalization from the human level.
Congratulations to Director/Producer Micha Peled for his enlightening and compelling film.
Get information on the business of blue jeans and read the filmmaker’s Q&A >>
This month China Blue also won a CINE Golden Eagle award and the 2007 Award of Excellence of the American Anthropology Association / Society for Visual Anthropology.
July '07 BERLIN
After a successful run in June, China Blue moves to the ACUD cinema July 19 - Aug. 1st..
http://www.acud.de/
After a successful run in June, China Blue moves to the ACUD cinema July 19 - Aug. 1st..
http://www.acud.de/
* June ’07 BERLIN
China Blue screens at the home of the Teddy awards -- Berlin. It is booked for a week beginning June 28 at the local fsk cinema on Oranienplatz:
China Blue screens at the home of the Teddy awards -- Berlin. It is booked for a week beginning June 28 at the local fsk cinema on Oranienplatz:
• May '07 DONEGAL, IRELAND
China Blue was honored to feature on the poster of the Guth Gafa film festival in Ireland:
China Blue was honored to feature on the poster of the Guth Gafa film festival in Ireland:
Micha shared a panel on distribution with Jeff Gilmore, director of Sundance Film festival, and taught a master class about making documentaries on social issues for mainstream tv.
• CHICAGO AWARD
China Blue wins another award… A Silver Plaque Hugo Award in the 2007 Chicago International Television Competition. Justine Nagan of Kartemquin Films received the award for us, saying:
"This film shows us how the clothes that we buy get made in the Third World. It's not a pretty picture. The most common reaction we've received from viewers of China Blue is, 'What can we do about this?'
We dedicate this award to all the consumers who are desperately looking for clothes that were made without exploiting anyone on the other side of the world. Thank you.
Justine"
China Blue wins another award… A Silver Plaque Hugo Award in the 2007 Chicago International Television Competition. Justine Nagan of Kartemquin Films received the award for us, saying:
"This film shows us how the clothes that we buy get made in the Third World. It's not a pretty picture. The most common reaction we've received from viewers of China Blue is, 'What can we do about this?'
We dedicate this award to all the consumers who are desperately looking for clothes that were made without exploiting anyone on the other side of the world. Thank you.
Justine"
• Apr '07 NEW YORK
S4, the on-line fashion industry newsletter addressing trends in sustainability and style, features China Blue and an interview with Micha Peled in its current issue. Entitled Caught With Our Pants Down, the issue focuses on denim, taking a hardcore, in-depth approach beyond the market hype. The intro to the China Blue piece is the following dialogue:
“- Wow, boy, those are a great pair of jeans.
- Thanks, man.
- Who made them?
- Her name is Jasmine.”
• Apr. ’07 PBS NATIONAL AIRING
After the first broadcast of China Blue on PBS one viewer wrote, “I’ve never before thrown anything at my tv set in frustration, until I saw your film tonight…”
• March ’07 REIKJAVIK, ICELAND
The local Reikjavik Documentary Workshop hosted Micha for the weekend. By pure coincidence, the screening took place on the day that the Icelandic chapter of Amnesty International received a DVD of the film with a recommendation to organize a event…
• Feb. ’07 GERMANY
Micha did a two-week tour of Germany from Freiburg in the south to Kiel in the north, talking to audiences nightly. The tour was organized by the Inkota NGO together with the Clean Clothes Campaign. When people asked the perennial “What can we do?” question, this time the local activists were ready with an answer. They distributed postcards consumers can take to their favorite clothing stores, informing the staff they will only return to shop there when the retailer offers them sweatshop-free clothes.
S4, the on-line fashion industry newsletter addressing trends in sustainability and style, features China Blue and an interview with Micha Peled in its current issue. Entitled Caught With Our Pants Down, the issue focuses on denim, taking a hardcore, in-depth approach beyond the market hype. The intro to the China Blue piece is the following dialogue:
“- Wow, boy, those are a great pair of jeans.
- Thanks, man.
- Who made them?
- Her name is Jasmine.”
• Apr. ’07 PBS NATIONAL AIRING
After the first broadcast of China Blue on PBS one viewer wrote, “I’ve never before thrown anything at my tv set in frustration, until I saw your film tonight…”
• March ’07 REIKJAVIK, ICELAND
The local Reikjavik Documentary Workshop hosted Micha for the weekend. By pure coincidence, the screening took place on the day that the Icelandic chapter of Amnesty International received a DVD of the film with a recommendation to organize a event…
• Feb. ’07 GERMANY
Micha did a two-week tour of Germany from Freiburg in the south to Kiel in the north, talking to audiences nightly. The tour was organized by the Inkota NGO together with the Clean Clothes Campaign. When people asked the perennial “What can we do?” question, this time the local activists were ready with an answer. They distributed postcards consumers can take to their favorite clothing stores, informing the staff they will only return to shop there when the retailer offers them sweatshop-free clothes.
* Mar. '07 BOSTON - Local press greet China Blue opening enthusiastically. The Boston Phoenix gives the film four stars (its max). The Boston Globe, calling the film "sobering and sharp-tongued," makes an observation we haven't seen before. Commenting on the fact that the film's protagonists, teenage workers in a sweatshop jeans factory, manage to survive the difficult conditions, film critic Janice Page writes, "the film's approach is... centered on the kind of girls who would rather dance than despair... it's actually refreshing. Every injustice doesn't need to be presented as all-consuming, or the worst of its kind."
* Mar. '07 PORTLAND, OR - The Hollywood Theater reports that on Oscar night China Blue beat both Oscar nominees, Pan's Labyrinth and Volver, at their box office.
* Mar. '07 ICELAND - On Mar. 2nd Micha teaches a master workshop on documentary filmmaking at the University of Iceland. China Blue is screening on Mar. 1st at the Nordic House. Both events are organized by the Reykjavík Documentary Workshop.
* Feb. '07 GERMANY - China Blue is playing in theaters in 80 cities throughout the country, as part of a festival of films on work issues. In Berlin the film will have an additional two-week theatrical run in March. Micha did a two-week Germany tour talking to audiences and consulting activists of the Clean Clothes Campaign.
* Feb. '07 USA - A flood of reviews from around the country - View press quotes here.
* Jan. '07 USA - Dream Reviews Everywhere
Great press from Miami to Seattle, as China Blue openings roll out, calling it “heartbreaking,”” eye-popping,” “boldly essential,” and “compelling.” The most creative title award is shared by the Seattle Times. Your ticket to this documentary costs more than they earn in a day
and the New York Post Factory Girls Stuck in Denim of Thieves http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2003541123_china26.html http://www.nypost.com/seven/01262007/entertainment/movies/factory_girls_stuck_in_denim_of_thieves_movies_v_a__musetto.htm
But the best line is reserved to the New York Times review: “Mr. Peled doesn’t just record the girls’ indignities, he listens to their dreams.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/movies/26chin.html?_r=1&ref=movies&oref=slogin
and the New York Post Factory Girls Stuck in Denim of Thieves http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2003541123_china26.html http://www.nypost.com/seven/01262007/entertainment/movies/factory_girls_stuck_in_denim_of_thieves_movies_v_a__musetto.htm
But the best line is reserved to the New York Times review: “Mr. Peled doesn’t just record the girls’ indignities, he listens to their dreams.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/movies/26chin.html?_r=1&ref=movies&oref=slogin
* Jan. '07 USA
China Blue is opening in 17 venues around the country. It will be touring for the next couple of months. If you know of other indie theaters that project digitally, please let us know. For full list go to http://www.argotpictures.com/ChinaBlue.html
* Jan. '07 China Blue is on its 2nd month of daily showings in the Rialto Cinemas chain in New Zealand in a number of cities across the country.
* Nov. '06 Business Week confirms what China Blue exposed a year ago.
In its Nov. 27, 2006 issue, the magazine feature report entitled “Secrets, Lies, And Sweatshops” states: “American importers have long answered criticism of conditions at their Chinese suppliers with labor rules and inspections. But many factories have just gotten better at concealing abuses.” The article includes many shocking details and can be found at
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm
* Oct. '06 Vermont, U.S. - AWARD
The Vermont International Film Festival gave China Blue an Honorable Mention. From the judges statement:
China Blue is a compelling film that lets us live inside the world of the people - mainly young Chinese women - who make the majority of the jeans we all wear every day.
… The power comes from simply being able to be a daily part of these young women as they work and work - often not getting paid as the factory did not make quota - and then struggling to do their laundry or write a letter home between midnight at 7 am.
While not the worlds worst problem - the mere fact that likely every single person benefits from the labor and minimal salaries of these women makes the film important for all to see, especially teenagers.
China Blue is a compelling film that lets us live inside the world of the people - mainly young Chinese women - who make the majority of the jeans we all wear every day.
… The power comes from simply being able to be a daily part of these young women as they work and work - often not getting paid as the factory did not make quota - and then struggling to do their laundry or write a letter home between midnight at 7 am.
While not the worlds worst problem - the mere fact that likely every single person benefits from the labor and minimal salaries of these women makes the film important for all to see, especially teenagers.
* Sept. '06 CHINA: MOVIE BANNED
Journalist M. Wang reports that her article on China Blue for Popular Cinema, a Beijing film magazine, was taken out just 3 days before publication. China Film Bureau has put this film about the exploitation of China's workers on the banned film list.
• Sept. ’06 EUROPE: FOUR-COUNTRY SCREENINGS
China Blue opens digital screenings in theaters in Britain, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands. TheY are organized by CinemaNetEurope www.cinemaneteurope.com with partial funding from the EU’s MEDIA program.
For information about screenings in each country:
Britain – Docspace http://www.docspace.org.uk
Spain – Parallel40 http://www.eldocumentaldelmes.com/cat/index.htm
Austria – Docuzone http://www.docuzone.at/?id=63812 check out the poster they made for China Blue on their site, it looks great!
The Netherlands – Cinema Delicatessen http://www.cinemadelicatessen.nl/filmdetail.asp?filmid=113
• Sept. ’06 New Zealand: FIRST PARLIAMENT TO BUY DVD
A member of the New Zealand Parliament is the first elected official in the world to purcahse a copy of China Blue.
Vote for Sue Kedgley from the Green Party!
• Sept. ’06 London: During Fashion Week, Amnesty Int’l holds a special screening on Sept. 28, 2006.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=151
• Sept. ’06 Honolulu: GRAND PRIZE NOMINATION
China Blue is nominated for the grand prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The winner will be announced during the festival on Oct. 22, 2006.
• Aug. ’06 New Zealand: RECORD RECEPTION
A new record was achieved at the NZ premiere when Auckland’s Sky City theater sold out 750 seats. Additional screenings were added at the last minute in Wellington for patrons who had to be turned away. In addition, commercial screenings will follow, beginning at the Realto theater in Auckland.
• Aug. ’06 New Zealand:
After Micha’s appearance on Radio NZ as the featured guest on their national morning current affairs show the union of postal workers (“posties,” as they are called in Kiwi-land) organized a group outing to see the film. Their flyer began, “Now that our uniforms are made in China”… A clothing store chain in Christchurch is organizing a private screening for its 50 employees, so they know the real difference between the NZ-made and the imports… Micha’s one-day workshop at Unitec in Auckland on documentary filmmaking filled out with 50 participants and many more turned away.
• July ’06 ISRAEL: SCREENING BOMBED
After successful screenings at the Jerusalem Film Festival, China Blue was invited to screen at the cinematheques of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Tel Aviv screening garnered an invitation for Micha to come back and do a larger event with a panel. But the Haifa screening was scheduled for the day that city was first bombed by Hizbullah Katyusha rockets. The rockets hit the train depot (killing 8 employees) where Micha was scheduled to arrive a few hours later. Screening will be re-scheduled for a later date.
• Apr. ’06 Hong Kong: CHINA’S AUTHORITIES HARRASS FACTORY OWNER
Chinese-language newspaper The Daily Apple published a correction of its previous article about China Blue, which appeared at the Hong Kong Int’l Film Festival. The original article neglected to mention that the film described Lifeng, the jeans factory in which the story takes place, as actually better than most factories. The article brought furious Chinese government officials to the factory, accusing its owner, Mr. Lam, of collaborating with foreign media without a permit.
• Amsterdam: CHINA BLUE wins the Doen/Amnesty International Human Rights Award at IDFA (Amsterdam).
The jury president had this to say about the film:
"A crucially important documentary for our times. Told from the inside, this is an account of modern slavery in a global market. It shames us all. Blue jeans are the iconic style item of the departed century and perhaps the next one too. The Jury wish to applaud the integrity, resourcefulness and courage of the film makers who took us on a shocking journey - on that confronts us with the real human costs of our easy choices and our bargain hunting."
• Sept. ’06 EUROPE: FOUR-COUNTRY SCREENINGS
China Blue opens digital screenings in theaters in Britain, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands. TheY are organized by CinemaNetEurope www.cinemaneteurope.com with partial funding from the EU’s MEDIA program.
For information about screenings in each country:
Britain – Docspace http://www.docspace.org.uk
Spain – Parallel40 http://www.eldocumentaldelmes.com/cat/index.htm
Austria – Docuzone http://www.docuzone.at/?id=63812 check out the poster they made for China Blue on their site, it looks great!
The Netherlands – Cinema Delicatessen http://www.cinemadelicatessen.nl/filmdetail.asp?filmid=113
• Sept. ’06 New Zealand: FIRST PARLIAMENT TO BUY DVD
A member of the New Zealand Parliament is the first elected official in the world to purcahse a copy of China Blue.
Vote for Sue Kedgley from the Green Party!
• Sept. ’06 London: During Fashion Week, Amnesty Int’l holds a special screening on Sept. 28, 2006.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=151
• Sept. ’06 Honolulu: GRAND PRIZE NOMINATION
China Blue is nominated for the grand prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The winner will be announced during the festival on Oct. 22, 2006.
• Aug. ’06 New Zealand: RECORD RECEPTION
A new record was achieved at the NZ premiere when Auckland’s Sky City theater sold out 750 seats. Additional screenings were added at the last minute in Wellington for patrons who had to be turned away. In addition, commercial screenings will follow, beginning at the Realto theater in Auckland.
• Aug. ’06 New Zealand:
After Micha’s appearance on Radio NZ as the featured guest on their national morning current affairs show the union of postal workers (“posties,” as they are called in Kiwi-land) organized a group outing to see the film. Their flyer began, “Now that our uniforms are made in China”… A clothing store chain in Christchurch is organizing a private screening for its 50 employees, so they know the real difference between the NZ-made and the imports… Micha’s one-day workshop at Unitec in Auckland on documentary filmmaking filled out with 50 participants and many more turned away.
• July ’06 ISRAEL: SCREENING BOMBED
After successful screenings at the Jerusalem Film Festival, China Blue was invited to screen at the cinematheques of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Tel Aviv screening garnered an invitation for Micha to come back and do a larger event with a panel. But the Haifa screening was scheduled for the day that city was first bombed by Hizbullah Katyusha rockets. The rockets hit the train depot (killing 8 employees) where Micha was scheduled to arrive a few hours later. Screening will be re-scheduled for a later date.
• Apr. ’06 Hong Kong: CHINA’S AUTHORITIES HARRASS FACTORY OWNER
Chinese-language newspaper The Daily Apple published a correction of its previous article about China Blue, which appeared at the Hong Kong Int’l Film Festival. The original article neglected to mention that the film described Lifeng, the jeans factory in which the story takes place, as actually better than most factories. The article brought furious Chinese government officials to the factory, accusing its owner, Mr. Lam, of collaborating with foreign media without a permit.
• Amsterdam: CHINA BLUE wins the Doen/Amnesty International Human Rights Award at IDFA (Amsterdam).
The jury president had this to say about the film:
"A crucially important documentary for our times. Told from the inside, this is an account of modern slavery in a global market. It shames us all. Blue jeans are the iconic style item of the departed century and perhaps the next one too. The Jury wish to applaud the integrity, resourcefulness and courage of the film makers who took us on a shocking journey - on that confronts us with the real human costs of our easy choices and our bargain hunting."