Associated Producers’ acclaimed documentary “Sex Slaves” garners an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism

NEW YORK CITY (September 28, 2007) – Toronto based film production company Associated Producers has just won an Emmy Award from The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for the documentary Sex Slaves. This investigation into the multi-billion dollar world of sex trafficking of women from the former Soviet Union has garnered many international awards including a British Broadcast Award for Best Documentary in the U.K., and an Edward R. Murrow Award in the U.S.

The award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism was handed out to Producer/Director Ric Esther Bienstock and fellow producers Felix Golubev and Simcha Jacobovici at a ceremony in New York. The awards ceremony took place at the Sheraton hotel in New York City and was attended by more than 1000 prominent members of the news and documentary industry. Ted Koppel was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award.

Sex Slaves aired on Frontline on Feb.7, 2006 to the highest ratings since the Iraq war. The film premiered on the CBC and Channel 4 in the UK and has since aired in over 30 countries.

"My aim was to put a human face on this headline grabbing story", says Bienstock (the film’s producer/director/wrtier). "It was a challenging film to make, and I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve been able to bring the tragedy of human trafficking to a prime-time audience. And now to be recognized by my peers in the industry is truly an honour."

Sex Slaves has screened at over 20 international film festivals and has already garnered numerous international awards including the British Broadcast Award for Best Documentary, a Royal Television Society Award, a Gracie Award and Best of the Festival at the U.N. Documentary Film Festival. The film was most recently awarded the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club of America. The film was also nominated for the British Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Sex Slaves was written and Directed by Ric Esther Bienstock, and produced by Bienstock, Felix Golubev and Simcha Jacobovici. Executive Producers are Simcha Jacobovici and Brian Woods. Produced for PBS by David Fanning and Ken Dornstein.

For more information on the film or Award, please contact: Shauna Jaeger at Associated Producers. sjaeger@apltd.ca or 416.504.6662 x 294.