BABAK TOURS THE WORLD WITH APPLE by sara sefeed

NEW YORK, August 31st, 2005 – Following a successful presentation at the Apple Store in Soho, Babak and Friends – A First Norooz has been invited to appear in select Apple Stores around the world. Presenters for these events include the movie's producers and writer/director Dustin Ellis. The Babak and Friends Apple presentations feature a behind-the-scenes look at animation, highlighting character design, treatment work, storyboarding, mixing, and much more. These various stages of animation have been completed by the filmmakers on Apple hardware and software. The Apple presentation is facilitated through the “Made on a Mac” series, which is an event where artists showcase their work at the Apple Theatres.

With the Apple tour, Babak is scheduled to visit two major locations in Los Angeles, in addition to screenings in San Francisco, Toronto and Chicago through the end of the year. London, and a few other cities are in the works. “We are very excited about the opportunity to showcase our hard work in this fun and inviting environment to such a wide audience. The reception has been nothing short of outstanding,” says Aly Jetha, the executive producer of the film.

In addition to the World tour with Apple, the 30-minute animation has been well received at many international film festivals. The film has already been accepted at the Tahoe Reno Film Festival, the Great Lakes Independent Film Festival, ARPA International Film Festival, and the Westwood International Film Festival. The makers of the film, Norooz Productions, are very excited about the concept they brought to life only 6 months ago. Sources report that the company is working on additional bi-lingual storybooks and a second Babak and Friends story to be released in time for the Persian New Year in 2006.

In addition to Apple being a great store, it is also one of the seven S's that go on the Sofreh Haftseen.

Babak and Friends Apple Tour Dates:

Apple Store – The Grove - 7:00 PM Thursday, September 1

Apple Store – Santa Monica - 5:00 PM Saturday, September 17

Apple Store – Chicago - 7:00 PM Thursday, September 22

Apple Store – Toronto – 7:00 PM Sunday, October 30

Apple Store – San Francisco - 7:00 PM Friday, November 18

Apple Store – London - TBA

Babak and Friends – International Film Festivals :

•  Kid's First – Q3 – will tour over 50 US cities, playing in children's museums and fairs

•  Tahoe Reno Film Festival – August 24 - 28

•  International Family Film Festival – Sept 23 – 29 – Santa Clarita, CA

•  Great Lakes Independent Film Festival – Sept 22 – 25 – Eire, PA

•  ARPA International Film Festival – October 5 – 10 – Hollywood, CA

•  Westwood International Film Festival – Sept 30 – October 13 – Los Angeles – CA

For more information on the adventures of Babak and Friends, visit their website www.babakandfriends.com.