NEW YORK, NY, March 21, 2012 – Film Annex, online film distribution and financing platform, has recently launched (G.I.V.E.), Global Initiative for Veteran Entrepreneurship, to support and empower veterans who fought in the war in Afghanistan. The project’s mission is to re-introduce the veterans to society and help them make their business ideas a reality by having them use the Film Annex platform and find investors for their business plans.
The initiative was set off when the Film Annex production team flew to North Carolina to interview eighteen marines who were deployed in Afghanistan. Film Annex President Francesco Rulli chose to focus on the marines’ future and aspirations rather than their experiences in the war by asking them questions about their business goals. The marines joined the conversation with enthusiasm and talked about their ideas, some of which included a recreational gym, a tattoo parlor, and a chocolate business in Afghanistan. The eagerness and the determination were visible in the words and faces of the marines during the interviews, and this keen participation fueled (G.I.V.E.) to be an inspiring initiative.
Currently, Film Annex is mentoring the veterans and hiring them as writers for its platform. The veterans are writing about their business ideas as well as their experiences in the war and the present social and political situation in Afghanistan. In addition to getting exposure with their blogs, the veterans are also using their Film Annex Web TVs to promote their videos and generate advertising revenues.
“(G.I.V.E.) advocates that veterans have the necessary skills and vision to be given distinct business opportunities due to their experience in the war, knowledge of different cultures, peace-keeping efforts, perseverance, supreme time management skills, and hard work,” said Francesco Rulli about the initiative. “The goal of (G.I.V.E.) is to eliminate the “broken hero” image of the veteran and portray him as who he really is: A hard-working, skillful, and determined individual who has great ideas and wants to contribute to society.”
While traditional media outlets often position veterans as the victims of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and flames political debate between politicians, intellectual, writers, and the business community, (G.I.V.E.) extends a hand to the veteran and actually listens. With (G.I.V.E.), veterans have the opportunity to start their own businesses and make their military experience a valuable asset instead of being labeled as the victims of a system. Film Annex’s mission is to help these veterans promote their ideas and find investors for their business plans.
About Film Annex
Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 300,000 registered users and over 30 million videos a day and 12 million unique visitors a month. The company creates free Web TV channels for content providers and supports them financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high- quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com.
CONTACT:
Eren Gulfidan
Film Annex
eg@filmannex.com
