Kevin Cooper's The Painter Focuses on Stopping Inner City Youth Violence at UrbanWorld Film Festival

Writer and director Kevin Cooper has announced his new film The Painter will be featured at the upcoming UrbanWorld Film Festival on Friday, September 20, 2013 at 5pm and Saturday, September 21, 2013 at Noon at the AMC 34th Street 14. The event will feature films and other presentations meant to help in the prevention of violence and other bring awareness to other important charities and causes.

The Painter was brought to the event by Kevin Cooper in cooperation with the non-profit organizations UCAN and Youth Guidance to help in the prevention of inner city violence against youth, and the film takes an accurate look at how the epidemic is affecting young adults and our future. The presentation will feature real children from high risk areas brought to the event to share their stories. Read on for more details to learn more about the charities and film.

“Youth Guidance is honored to partner with Amarok Productions on “The Painter,” a short film that creatively and poignantly shines a spotlight on the devastating impact of youth violence,” said Youth Guidance CEO, Michelle Adler Morrison. “The opportunity to audition for roles in this important project provided [our youth] with a transforming, once-in-a-lifetime experience they aren’t soon to forget.”

UCAN’s continuing vision and mission – to build strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education and empowerment - made their partnership a perfect fit. “We love the passion of De and Kevin for their film and the desire to tell the story of those impacted by violence, and are thrilled that our youth had the opportunity to become involved,” said Claude Robinson, UCAN EVP External Affairs & Diversity.

Amarok has a slate of films in a various stages of development. “Finn,” a film about living life to its fullest, will reunite the Coopers and the star of “I Heart Shakey,” Rylie Behr. Amarok is producing the feature film “Precious Mettle” starring Paul Sorvino “Goodfellas”), which is in post-production and scheduled for a 2014 release.

For more information on the film, check out the official The Painter website.