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ScaredSacred outperforms Hollywood blockbusters in Vancouver.

Vancouver BC - The theatrical premiere of the documentary, ScaredSacred was a huge success this past weekend, outperforming Hollywood blockbusters at the Cinemark Tinseltown in Vancouver. Evening shows over the opening weekend were close to sell out as audiences enthusiastically responded to the moving film, often spontaneously applauding as the credits rolled.

Award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper goes on a five-year odyssey to visit the Ground Zeros of the world, including: the minefields of Cambodia, war-torn

Afghanistan, the toxic wasteland of Bhopal, post-9/11 New York, Bosnia, Hiroshima, Israel and Palestine. While questioning if it's possible for humanity to transform the "scared" into "sacred," Ripper unearths unforgettable stories of survival, ritual, resilience and recovery. ScaredSacred has been an audience favourite at festivals all over the world and garnered numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The opening of the film on Friday, September 9th was accompanied by the launch of The Ground Zero Awareness Campaign, a grassroots-campaign inspired by the film. The launch featured keynote speeches by Joy Kogawa, author of Obasan, and Velcrow Ripper, the maker of ScaredSacred. The Vancouver Raging Grannies got the festivities rolling by entertaining the packed crowd with spirited songs of peace and protest. The campaign continued through the weekend with speakers from Amnesty International, spiritual organizations and performances by Poets Against War. Representatives from the War Resisters Support Campaign circulated a petition in the theatre lobby while a "Ground Zero Information Centre" was set up outside the theatre doors so audiences could continue to learn and embrace the issues after watching the film.

The film continues at Cinemark Tinseltown in Vancouver and will open at the Park Theatre, in Vancouver, on September 21. It also opens in Toronto at the Camera Bar & Media Gallery on September 30.