Documentary Production and Distribution News

"XOXOSMS" is a 15-minute documentary that chronicles digital intimacy and love in the 21st century.

(New York, NY) -- �For anyone who has tried Internet dating, flirted online, or even spent a bit too much time on Facebook, XOXOSMS takes you there in a way that few other documentaries have.� - Cory Silverberg, About.com

On Valentine�s Day, Tuesday, February 14, 2012, filmmaker and activist Nancy Schwartzman will premiere her short documentary, XOXOSMS, followed by a live panel discussion on Ustream (www.ustream.tv/channel/XOXOSMS). This Valentine�s Day event is a digital take on �date night� that will examine 21st century romance through one young couple's experience of meeting and falling in love online.

The film premieres at 1pm ET/ 10am PT and will air continuously for 24 hours with the panel discussion airing at 6pm ET/3pm PT on Ustream (www.ustream.tv/channel/XOXOSMS). The live panel will explore the landscape of online interactions and answer the virtual audiences' questions and comments from Cinereach Ltd. in New York City.

The film follows the unlikely romance between a home-schooled Christian boy from small-town Illinois and a quirky New York City art student from South Korea. Their two-year relationship unfolds over email, chat and Skype...when they finally meet IRL, will they have a fairytale ending or will their relationship crash and burn?

�Gus and Jiyun [the protagonists] saved every chat and text they�d ever exchanged. I felt like I had stumbled on a box of modern day love letters! Through those chats and texts, the film gives us an intimate view of how technology is changing how people connect and stay connected,� says Director, Nancy Schwartzman.

The live panel will consist of a 45-minute conversation on dating, technology, and modern love with relationship experts Lena Chen of �Sex and The Ivy,� Twanna Hines aka �Funky Brown Chick,� writer for Ebony and Glamour, Melissa Gira Grant of The Guardian and The New York Observer, Samhita Mukhopodyay, editor of Feministing.com, and Melanie Wallner and Shreshth Dugar from student focused online dating platform, DateMySchool.com.

�So much exploration of online intimacy is really just code for cybersex. XOXOSMS stands out as a rare film about online relationships that isn't about sex [�] It is a very real story about the way millions of us are connecting online,� adds Cory Silverberg of About.com.

XOXOSMS was funded by Kickstarter and Cinereach, Ltd., played at New Orleans Film Festival, and slated for more festivals in the spring.





Resources:

www.xoxosmsfilm.org