HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK CITY – (July 1, 2008) – From Chapman University, to the Halls of Congress, the European Union, and a high-profile position as channel manager of KOCE-TV’s OC Channel – 27-year-old filmmaker, activist, humanitarian, and businesswoman, Brenda Brkusic, has been making headlines in Orange County.

The Ninth Annual Orange County Arts Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements of the county's creative community for 2007-2008, will be presented September 24th at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Annual award recipients from over 30 arts organizations and individuals will be revealed at the event. KOCE-TV’s Brenda Brkusic is nominated for the Outstanding Individual Artist Award. The Helana Modjeska Cultural Legacy Awards will be presented to Artist Greg MacGillivray, filmmaker; Artistic Visionary John Koshak, Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra Emeritus; and Community Visonaries Phil and Mary Lyons at a fast-paced, entertaining and stimulating evening.

In October of ‘07 Brenda was a leader in the OC Channel launch at KOCE-TV, and with this new channel, she is changing the way Orange County receives news and information. Brenda develops programming for the channel that is “all Orange County, all the time.” Viewers will find OC documentaries, news and public affairs programs about the vibrant people and places that make up Orange County. The channel also includes live traffic cameras, current time and temperature and breaking news headlines twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The channel can be seen over the air on 50.2, on Cox Communications 810, on Verizon Fios 870 and in the next few months it will be added to Time Warner Cable.

Brenda is also responsible for the award-winning documentary Freedom from Despair, which reveals the shocking truth about the suppression and abuse of the Croatian people and their struggle for freedom from Communist Yugoslavia. She completed the film while a student at Chapman University and it aired to millions of people on KOCE-TV in January ’08. The film stars famous actors Michael York and John Savage and includes interviews with 2008 US Presidential Candidate Representative Dennis Kucinich. The film has won dozens of awards, including the CINE Golden Eagle Award, which was previously won by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Ken Burns. She has also been honored by U.S. Congress on the Congressional Record at the US House of Representatives for her hard work promoting human rights with the film, and in October of ’07 she was invited to present Freedom from Despair to the European Parliament at the European Union. In addition, she has been recognized by Amnesty International and the Anti-Defamation League.

Aside from managing a TV channel and producing film tours across the globe, Brkusic regularly speaks to students and Rotary about leadership and the filmmaking process. She donates a portion of the proceeds from her film sales to charities in war-torn areas of Croatia, and is an active supporter of Adopt-a-Minefield and Artists for Amnesty International.

OC Metro’s “40 under 40” recognizes 40 of Orange County’s most successful, young individuals under 40-years-old. The publication, which boasts a circulation of more than 70,000 copies and readership in excess of 344,000, publishes this listing annually, and this year named Brenda to the list in its April 24, 2008 issue.

Mel Rogers, KOCE-TV president and general manager, said “I have never seen a first project that came close to the quality of Freedom From Despair,” Rogers said. “In addition to being a talented story teller, Brenda demonstrated a stunning tenaciousness in pursuing every detail of her gigantic project — a lengthy documentary about a politically charged subject that must be shot in a foreign country with insufficient resources. There have been a few times in my career when I have been fortunate to employ and encourage the development of a rising star. Brenda is the latest of those stars. Brenda’s outstanding achievement, including her award-winning documentary, philanthropic efforts and business success, continue to inspire and educate the Orange County community. We are pleased that she has been recognized, and believe strongly that she has a bright future ahead.”

Brenda splits her time between filmmaking, managing and developing the OC Channel and her business Istina Productions, a film production and distribution company that she opened in August ’07. Brenda is also started co-producing a new film this year entitled Mia: A Dancer’s Odyssey about the life of famous ballerina Mia Slavenska, set to be narrated by famous actress Blythe Danner.

Brenda’s achievements this year include:

• Opening a film production company, Istina Productions
• Launching and managing the new OC Channel at KOCE-TV
• Traveling to Brussels, Belgium to present Freedom from Despair to the European Union
• Airing the award-winning film Freedom from Despair on KOCE-TV
• Being recognized by OC Metro as a successful individual under 40-years-old
• Producing a new film entitled Mia: A Dancer’s Odyssey

Individual tickets will for the Orange County Arts Awards go on sale September 2, 2008. Please call 714-556-5160 or email scasey@artsoc.org for further information on sponsoring a table or purchasing tickets.

About KOCE-TV
KOCE-TV, located in Huntington Beach, produces Orange County’s only nightly news show, Real Orange – now celebrating its 10th year – as well as Inside OC, the only news and analysis show about Orange County business and politics. KOCE-TV has been lauded for its outstanding service to the community and is the recipient of 25 Emmy Awards and 26 Golden Mike Awards. The station’s staff of producers, writers, directors and reporters thoroughly understands the people, places and issues that define Orange County.

KOCE-TV is the sixth-most watched PBS station in America with an estimated 5.8 million viewers* monthly. KOCE’s award-winning programming offers the fifth-largest county in the nation a long-standing community hub for local news, culture and features, and broadcasts the best available national PBS programs to the entire Southern California five-county region. Known for its outstanding dedication to education, KOCE Classroom serves more than a half million K-12 students. A national Roper poll recently ranked PBS as number one in public trust for the fourth consecutive year.** The winner of hundreds of awards including Emmys and Community Service Awards, KOCE continues to be a vital community resource and connector for Southern California. For more information, please visit www.koce.org.

* Nielsen Station Index 2007
** Reported by the GfKRoper Public Affairs & Media poll (2007)

About Arts Orange County
Arts Orange County (Arts OC) was established in 1995 as the nonprofit, countywide arts council of Orange County, California. It serves as a resource and advocate for the arts community, as a catalyst for leadership on arts issues, and as a sponsor of programs and services which enhance public awareness of arts activities and promote the development of the arts and arts education in Orange County. It serves as the state-local partner with the California Arts Council and is the official local arts agency of the County of Orange. In September 2005, Arts OC and the Imagination Celebration of Orange County merged and now operate as Arts Orange County. The Imagination Celebration was originally envisioned by and is held in agreement with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In Orange County, the Imagination Celebration enters its 21st year and has played a major role to spark imagination and creativity in an entire generation of Orange County children.

Press Contact: Todd Frandsen 714.861.4337 tfrandsen@koce.org