Press Release

PARK CITY, Utah and SAN MATEO, Calif. – January 22, 2008 – Jaman.com, the leading online destination for quality independent and international film, today announced the exclusive online premiere of Punching at the Sun, a film Variety calls “distinctive, original and iconoclastic.”  Through Jaman, award-winning independent films that may not get picked up for traditional distribution, can now find a global audience.

This emotionally-charged film by Tanuj Chopra tracks the rage and redemption of a South Asian teen in Queens grappling with the loss of his brother.  The Village Voice hails that Chopra's first feature “…has a tenderness and intimacy that recall recent small-scale NYC triumphs like Our Song and Raising Victor Vargas, not to mention a dazed summer-in-the-city energy proudly lifted from early Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese.” Punching at the Sun was an official selection at the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals in 2006 and winner of the “Best Narrative Film” at the 2006 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

“The reality is that remarkable, independent films like Punching at the Sun often suffer from severely limited distribution,” said Jaman’s CEO Gaurav Dhillon. “Jaman is bridging this gap between independent filmmakers and film watchers, making superior content available to a world of people hungry for great films.”

With less than 1% of all films securing U.S. theatrical distribution, filmmakers are looking to Jaman to give their films global, online distribution.  Successes are being found in movies like Amu, another exclusive online premiere, which within weeks rose to become the top-downloaded film on Jaman and has now been viewed in more than 60 countries.
“It is an exciting time in the history of cinema as we re-write the rules and let the market and the people choose the films they love,” said Punching at the Sun writer and director Tanuj Chopra.

“Jaman’s mission is to entertain and in the process, we contribute to a loftier aim – the democratization of film distribution.  World audiences of movie lovers, not just the major studios, are choosing tomorrow’s hot, up-and-coming film makers and actors.”

With the addition of Punching at the Sun, Jaman adds to its prestigious film collection built in partnership with premier libraries such as Dreamachine, Trust Film, Fortissimo Film, Celluloid Dreams, Fortune Star, Celestial Pictures and Vanguard.  Works from some of the world’s newest and most brilliant filmmakers are now available for download online:

• Kevin Bacon’s directorial debut Loverboy (Sundance) with Kyra Sedgwick
• Migration, a short to raise HIV/AIDS awareness by acclaimed Indian director Mira Nair of Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake fame
• Hong Kong twin-brother powerhouse Danny and Oxide Pang's first co-written/co-directed film Bangkok Dangerous
• Kore-Eda Hirokazu’s Afterlife (Cannes/Sundance/Toronto)
• Dardennes Brothers’ La Promesse (Cannes/Toronto)
• Bollywood Oscar entry Paheli

Punching at the Sun writer and director Tanuj Chopra will be honored Wednesday, January 23rd, at a party at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. 

About Jaman

Jaman.com is revolutionizing the way people discover, enjoy and share movies all over the world. The company is pioneering entertainment on the Internet by delivering hi-def films to a growing online community of fans and filmmakers. Jaman.com is based in San Mateo, California and is backed by luminaries in technology and media (more at www.jaman.com/about). Join Jaman, Join the World(TM).