PARK CITY, UTAH- Workhouse Publicity announced that it has been selected by WHIRLIGIG FILMS as the agency of record for domestic publicity for the World Premiere of the feature film Shelter, winner of the Emerging Narrative Work-in-Progress Completion Award at the 2003 IFP/New York Market to be screened in competition at the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival. Screenings will be held at the Treasure Mountain Inn located at 255 Main Street, Park City, Utah held on Monday, 19 January 2004 at 12:30pm and Thursday, 22 January 2004 at 8:30pm. Written and Directed by Benno  Schoberth, Shelter stars Ray Santiago  (Girlfight, Pinero), John Rafael Peralta (Third Watch, 100 Centre Street) and Marilyn Soto Santiago (Land of Opportunity) and centers around three destitute inner-city teens who break into a secluded beach house and create a makeshift family in this unfamiliar and magical setting. But when jealousies erupt the alliances of two brothers and their pregnant friend are put to the test. The film will also be showcased at the Berlin Market in February 2004 as well as the 2004 Cinequest Film Festival (www.cinequest.org).

Workhouse Publicity invites your press coverage to screenings of Shelter at the Treasure Mountain Inn located at 255 Main Street, Park City, Utah held on Monday, 19 January 2004 at 12:30pm and Thursday, 22 January 2004 at 8:30pm. Select Media who wish to obtain credentials must send a request on media outlet letterhead indicating review assignment and what type of coverage request (i.e. interview, photography, etc). Requests should be faxed to Workhouse Publicity at 212. 334-1919 or via email should be sent to the attention of Workhouse Publicity, CEO Adam Nelson at nelson@workhousepr.com. If you have additional questions please contact us directly at Workhouse Publicity New York offices 212. 334. 8006 or via Park City cell 917. 930. 5802

Now scheduling interviews based on Cast availability at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
• Monday , January 19th 2pm-4pm
• Tuesday, January 20th 2pm-4pm
• Wednesday, January 21st 2pm-4pm
• Thursday, January 22nd 2pm-4pm

2004 Slamdance Film Festival
Los Angeles - The Slamdance Film Festival 2004 (www.slamdance.com) feature competition section is limited specifically to first-time filmmakers working with limited budgets who have not yet found U.S. distribution. Many of the films in the non-competitive section are also directed by first-time filmmakers. Slamdance 2004 has invited 18 feature films to compete at the tenth annual festival. Eleven of the Competition Features screening this year are fictional narratives and seven are documentaries. In addition to the 18 feature length films, 13 of which are premieres. The festival is headquartered at the Treasure Mountain Inn (255 Main Street) and will take place January 17-24, 2004, in Park City, Utah - coinciding with the Sundance Film Festival. For the first time, the 2004 Slamdance Jury will be separated into a Documentary section and a Narrative section. Documentary Jury members include: Robert Koehler (Variety film critic); Mark Neale (director, William Gibson ); and Penelope Spheeris (The Decline of Western Civilization ); Narrative Jury members include: Charles Lyons (filmmaker, journalist); Mark Pellington (director, The Mothman Prophecies ); Anthony Russo (director, Welcome to Collinwood ); and Gabe Wardell, Programmer, Silver Docs and Slamdance Head Projectionist. The World Premiere of Benno Schoberth's Shelter will be held at the Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main Street, Park City, screening times are Monday, Jan. 19 at 12:30 PM and Thursday, Jan. 22 at 8:30PM.

Synopsis
Shelter opens in Brooklyn's Bedford Stuyvesant where a reclusive 16-year-old RAY (Girlfight, Pinero) tends his bedridden mother. When she dies, Ray desperately turns for help to his friend, MARIA (Marilyn Soto Santiago), who lives with her sister in the same tenement building. Maria's tense living situation and her own emotional instability are further complicated by a pregnancy she tries to conceal. Together Maria and Ray embark on a search for Ray's brother, SPIDER (John Rafael Peralta), an 18-year-old male hustler living with other teen-age squatters. Spider introduces Ray to his world of tricks and sugar daddies. But as his brother tags along, it soon becomes apparent that the responsibility for Ray is more than Spider had bargained for. When Maria's problems with drugs get her thrown out of her sister's apartment, she too finds herself homeless. She turns to Spider for help only to find out that he, in an act of desperation, has abandoned Ray. The two set out on a frantic search. They find Ray lost and frightened in a deserted Times Square alley. In a stolen car, unable to turn back, the three drive aimlessly into the night. At daybreak, they find themselves stranded on a desolate beach in a world of natural beauty that is both breathtaking and unfamiliar. They happen upon a secluded beach house that has been boarded up for the winter. With nowhere else to go, they break in and set up housekeeping. In this strange and wonderful setting, devoid of external stresses, they attempt to form a surrogate family and create the safety and comfort of a “home” they have never known. As Maria's pregnancy advances, she cocoons herself with Ray in a make-believe world of “playing house.” Soon, however, jealousies erupt and the makeshift “family” begins to crumble. Spider's discovery of Maria's pregnancy is the final straw. He gives Ray an ultimatum – either stay with Maria or return with him to the city. The film culminates in a devastating scene in which Maria gives birth, forcing Ray, for the first time in his life, to decide his own fate.
Drama, Color (Kodak), Super 16mm with planned blow-up to 35mm. USA; World Premiere, Narrative, 2004 Running Time: Approx. 80 min. All rights available. Winner of the Emerging Narrative Work-in-Progress Completion Award at the 2003 IFP/New York Market , Shelter will be showcased at the Berlin Market in February 2004 as well as the 2004 Cinequest Film Festival (www.cinequest.org). For more information please visit www.shelterthemovie.com.

Contacts
Press Contact:
Adam Nelson
CEO Workhouse Publicity
(212) 334. 8006 office
(917) 930. 5802 Park City cell
nelson@workhousepr.com

Sales:
Steven Beer
Greenberg Trauig, LLP
(212) 801. 9294
(917) 741. 6700 Park City cell

For more details please contact:
Whirligig Production, Ltd.
Producer
Lynn Cassaniti
(212) 925-5717

Director
Benno Schoberth
(718) 383-1865
Email: Whirligigfilms@aol.com