FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT:

Jane Feldman, 917-710-5546,  janefeldmanphoto@gmail.com

PBS / MPT Broadcast Premiere 

Keeper of the Flame, A film about “Mr. Human Rights,” Jack Healey

6:30 pm EST, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

“I still don’t think I’ve heard a more emotionally impressive speaker on [human rights].” 

- GRAMMY Award-winning musician and humanitarian activist Peter Gabriel

Washington, DC, November 8, 2023:  KEEPER OF THE FLAME chronicles the revolutionary work of activist Jack Healey, who is widely known for bringing human rights to the global stage through music while Director of Amnesty International USA. The feature-length documentary produced by Amy Poncher includes powerful interviews with human rights allies; renowned musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Wynton Marsalis; comedian and actor Dick Gregory; and the Honorary John Lewis, which help weave together more than half a century’s worth of Healey’s relentless and successful fights for justice.

In his own words, Healey details his traumatic upbringing as the youngest of 11, raised by a single mother after his father’s death. After flunking out of high school, he joined the seminary, became a priest, and then a Franciscan monk. It was the beginning of a path littered with moments that “lit him on fire” toward his world-altering career in human rights activism.

From Healey’s transformational work organizing the star-studded “Conspiracy of Hope” and “Human Rights Now!” concert tours, to the March on Washington, to working with such Civil Rights leaders as Father James Groppi and Fannie Lou Hamer, to organizing the World Hunger Run, to directing the Peace Corps in Lesotho, to spearheading Amnesty’s explosive growth in the 1980s, and his current efforts (at age 85) as founder and director of the Human Rights Action Center (HRAC) working to gain clemency for imprisoned Native American activist Leonard Peltier, Keeper of the Flame keeps you locked in and inspired.

The stories told are remarkable - almost unbelievable. Healey recounts how a car bombing in Washington, D.C. led him to organize a humanitarian concert to taunt defeated Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. He reminisces about first meeting his wife, and fellow human rights activist Feryal Gharahi, whose words, “Your job is to lower the pain level of the world,” stunned and propelled him. He recalls enriching chance encounters, like one in Sudan, when he met the only other person locked out of the conference they were supposed to be attending: John Lewis.

As Lewis recalls, “Jack has an unbelievable energy, commitment, and dedication for making things better for humanity.” Keeper of the Flame showcases Healey’s unique ability to turn “lightbulb moments” into genuine action. He draws poetic parallels between the universal power of music and human democracy and expresses the aspirational side of human rights, rather than just counting the dreadful numbers of innocent people tortured, killed, and kidnapped by governments around the world.

Keeper of the Flame will be broadcast at 6:30 PM, December 10, on Maryland Public Television (MPT) and will be distributed nationally by American Public Television (APT) and Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Check your local listings or contact your local public television stations for air dates. Also in December, Healey will release the second edition of his memoir, Create Your Future (with cover art by Shepard Fairey.) He hopes to inspire the understanding that we’re collectively responsible for creating our future – “for ourselves, our families, our communities and our world.” To schedule interviews, contact Jane Feldman at 917-710-5546 and janefeldmanphoto@gmail.com .

Download PDF of Press Release (November 10 2023)

Director: Nick Wong

Producer: Amy Poncher

Executive Producer: Mark Cuddy

Starring: Jack Healey, John Lewis, Dick Gregory, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Wynton Marsalis, Reginald Petty and Jessica Neuwirth

Editor: Laurel Metzler

Associate Editor: Sam Barden

Special Thanks to Jimmy Miller, Jae Choi, Tom Freston, Greg Darneider

US Distribution: American Public Television (APT)

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