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ZAP MAMA and LOVE, LABOR, LOSS Present The WOMAN Tour

Artist Zap Mama Reunites with LOVE, LABOR, LOSS for The “WOMAN” Tour

Helping to Raise Awareness of Women’s Health in the Developing World

New York, NY – Musical visionary, Marie Daulne and her group, Zap Mama is joining forces with Governess Films’ LOVE, LABOR, LOSS to form, ‘The Woman Tour’, a 16-date North American tour with film screenings and educational symposiums at select universities involving the film director (Lisa Russell MPH), global women’s health experts and public figures who are advocating for iincreased support for reproductive health and ssafe motherhood programs. Each date culminates with a live full-band performance by Zap Mama.

Zap Mama is a Grammy-nominated artist whose music has been defined as “soul music for the Diaspora”. Marie Daulne was born in the Congo but left at the age of 3 when war and strife uprooted her family. Now living in Europe, Marie has become a strong advocate for women in Africa and pays homage to her African roots via her “vocal phenomenon” and has been able to share her philosophy about global citizenship and the strength and empowerment of women. Her latest album, Ancestry in Progress (Luaka Bop/V2 Records) features prominent U.S. artists including Erykah Badu, Common, and Talib Kweli, amongst others.

Directed by international health specialist, Lisa Russell, and co-produced with communications specialist, Carrie Svingen, LOVE, LABOR, LOSS’ 15-minute advocacy film profiles women in Niger, West Africa living with obstetric fistula – a relatively unknown but prevalent childbearing injury that has physically and socially debilitated over 2 million women in the developing world. Named by the United Nations in 2005 as one of the “Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About”, obstetric fistula is both preventable and curable however lack of awareness and funding is keeping women from getting the help they need.

“Our goal with The “WOMAN” Tour is to bring together a community of artists, activists and individuals who recognize and celebrate the strength, beauty and power of women from all regions of the world in an effort to separate their spirit from the harsh images we think of when we think of women in the developing world,” states Lisa Russell, Director. “We believe that the mediums of music and film illuminate that goal and can also help soften the barriers that make discussing something like fistula and women’s reproductive health so difficult.”

The “WOMAN” Tour will launch in Seattle on September 15th with a special breakfast event hosted by local agency, PATH and will involve a panel discussion including the artists, Seattle’s Director of the Mayor’s Office of Film and Music and global women’s health experts. The Tour will continue on with screenings at select colleges, so far including UCLA, Claremont College, Boston University, Dominican University of California, George Washington University and others. The Tour will wrap in New York on October 5th.

For more information, please visit www.thewomantour.com or www.zapmama.be Or contact:

lisa@governessfilms.com

Current sponsors of the tour include leading global women’s health agencies including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), EngenderHealth, the International Center for Research on Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Tanzania-based NGO:Women’s Dignity Project and the One By One Project. Other participating agencies and universities include: PATH, Planned Parenthood’s VOX Groups, UCLA, Claremont College, Boston University, George Washington University, Earthdance Festival.

Additional sponsorships and events are still being solicited (please contact Lisa Russell at lisa@governessfilms.com.)

TOUR DATES

September

15th SEATTLE, WA
16th PORTLAND, OR
17th EUGENE, OR
18th LAYTONVILLE, CA
19th SAN RAPHAEL/SF, CA
21st SAN DIEGO, CA
23rd LOS ANGELES, CA
24th AUSTIN, TX
26th BOULDER, CO
28th NEW ORLEANS, LA
29th ATLANTA, GA
30th WASHINGTON, DC

October

2nd PHILADELPHIA, PA
3rd BOSTON, MA
4th NEW YORK, NY
5th NEW YORK, NY

Starts	9/15/2005
Ends	10/5/2005
Issues	Economic Justice, Health/Health Advocacy, International, Poverty, Women's Health, Africa
Homepage	www.thewomantour.com
Contact	lisa@governessfilms.com