HBO2 Announces 2011 Weekly Wednesday Documentary Series Lineup

HBO2 continues its provocative Wednesday night documentary series in the first half of 2011, showcasing a diverse lineup of new films. Presentations include Havana Marking's SILENCING THE SONG: AN AFGHAN FALLEN STAR, Jose Padilha's SECRETS OF THE TRIBE and Nic Dunlop, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern's BURMA SOLDIER.

Upcoming HBO2 documentaries include (in chronological order):

JFK: IN HIS OWN WORDS (presented Jan. 19), a special encore presentation of the 1988 Emmy(R)-winning special, commemorates the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Directed by Peter Kunhardt, this intimate and revealing film features rare footage and audio, much of which was seen and heard for the very first time in the documentary, giving an enthralling look at a President who remains one of America's most revered figures.

SILENCING THE SONG: AN AFGHAN FALLEN STAR (debuting Jan. 26) revisits Setara, a young Afghan woman featured in the acclaimed 2010 HBO documentary "Afghan Star." When she was voted off Afghanistan's version of "American Idol," Setara danced exuberantly across the stage and her head scarf fell to her neck, an extremely dangerous act for a woman in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Within days, the country was in an uproar, with many people saying Setara "deserves to be killed." In this new film, director Havana Marking continues Setara's story as she deals with ever-present threats to her safety, a new husband and a baby on the way.

WHEN STRANGERS CLICK: FIVE STORIES FROM THE INTERNET (Feb. 14), debuting on Valentine's Day, is a new film from Oscar(R)-nominated director Robert Kenner ("Food, Inc."). Finding love has never been easy, but it's also never been easier. Online dating sites thrive on the promise that dates and mates are just a "click" away, but are they? The documentary tells the sometimes-startling stories of five people whose lives were transformed in unexpected ways by online encounters.

QUADRANGLE (Feb. 16) is an unconventional look at two conventional couples who swapped partners and lived in a group marriage in the early 1970s, hoping to pioneer an alternative to divorce and change the way people live in the future. Directed by Amy Grappell.

SECRETS OF THE TRIBE (March), a 2010 Sundance Film Festival selection, illuminates the world of anthropology and the practices of those who have studied the Yanomami, the most-observed indigenous people in the world. Directed by Brazilian Jose Padilha (HBO's "Bus 174"), the film is a behind-the-scenes look at a scientific community torn apart by infighting and accusations of scandalous ethical lapses.

THE DARKNESS OF DAY (March), directed by Jay Rosenblatt, is a haunting and compassionate meditation on suicide, composed entirely of found 16mm footage that had originally been discarded. Stories include a poignant double suicide of an elderly American couple and a Japanese teenager who jumped into a volcano.

EARTH MADE OF GLASS (April) examines the repercussions of the 1994 Rwandan genocide from political and personal perspectives. The film details Rwandan president Paul Kagame's role in rebuilding the wartorn country into Africa's biggest success story, underscoring the international political tumult he and the nation still face. This touching documentary also tells the multigenerational story of genocide survivor Jean Pierre Sagahutu, who is haunted by his father's unsolved murder and teaches his own son about the atrocities and making peace with the past. Directed by Deborah Scranton.

INGELORE (May), commemorating Mother's Day, focuses on Ingelore Honigstein, a deaf Jewish woman born in 1924 Germany, who offers a unique perspective on the Holocaust as she recounts her dramatic escape to America. Directed by her son, Frank Stiefel.

BURMA SOLDIER (May) tells the story of Burma (aka Myanmar) through the life of one man and his family. Myo Myint joined the Burmese Army at 17 and played a role in the brutal military regime that has run the country for 45 years. But when he lost a limb to a land mine and was sidelined by the army, he began a process of change that led him to join the democracy movement. Directed by Nic Dunlop, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern.

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