We’ve got some exciting news to announce come January around the Cyber Seniors film! Be sure to stay tuned and connected on social media as we countdown our BIG news with our favourite moments in the New Year.

Get’em while they’re hot! Cyber Seniors latest tech-funny tees are a perfect gift for that special grandparent, parent or young person in your life! I think we can all relate to its message 🙂  http://ow.ly/G6Z9P

Great piece from the Washington Post earlier this fall, on the rise being seen in social media among seniors. Cyber Seniors director, Saffron Cassaday happened to make a cameo in the piece!  Have a read : http://ow.ly/Ddsr4

Enter a quick video tech tutorial like this one, and you could win big! So easy, so why not?! See here for an example. Submit your video to info@cyberseniorsdocumentary.com

Hi there,

In case you missed out, Cyber-Seniors participated in a Twitter Chat the other week alongside some industry experts around online safety – Mentoring Up to Keep Cyber-Seniors Safe Online. Together with the National Cyber Safety Alliance; AT&T Security; Mentor Up; AARP; MediaSmarts; Western Union Consumer Protection and hosted by Stop.Think.Connect,  we chatted about some of the threats both seniors and millennials face while active online and what preventative steps we can take together to ensure cyber safety for the whole family!

So many great tips and advice were exchanged.

But not to worry, you can catch up on the whole conversation by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to travel down to Washington D.C. for the Family Online Safety Institute’s (FOSI) 8th Annual Conference. It was two days of insightful and educational panel discussions, workshops and presentations from industry leaders and influencers sharing their best practices and findings of technology and online safety.

Cyber-Seniors Documentary producer, Brenda Rusnak; director, Saffron Cassaday; and a star from the film, Max Shellenberg were part of am engaging Q&A discussion hosted by FOSI director of legal and policy, Jennifer Hanley.

While in D.C., the team was able to sit down for a great radio interview with Call for Action director, Shirley Rooker on Federal News Radio and also began planning and researching for their next documentary film, be sure to stay tuned!

Click here to watch the ‘Preview & Conversation’ discussion!

Check out some of the great pics captured from the presentation and in studio.

Virgil Films & Entertainment Will Release Acclaimed Documentary on Digital and VOD platforms

Autlook Acquires World Broadcast Rights
Passion River Will Distribute Public Screening and Education DVD Package

Toronto, Canada – October 29, 2014 – The production team behind CYBER-SENIORS today announced new distribution agreements to bring the critically acclaimed documentary directed by Saffron Cassaday to broadcast, digital and institution/education platforms. Virgil Films & Entertainment has acquired North American digital rights, with Autlook acquiring international broadcast rights. Passion River Films will distribute the Public Screening and Education DVD package worldwide.

Virgil Films & Entertainment President and CEO Joseph Amodei, Autlook CEO Peter Jager and Passion River Films Senior Director of Sales and Acquisitions Mathew Levy negotiated their respective deals with Brenda Rusnak negotiating on behalf of CYBER-SENIORS. The film completed successful theatrical runs in the United States via distributor Area 23a and in Canada via Best Part Productions earlier this year.

The directorial debut of Saffron Cassaday, CYBER-SENIORS is a humorous and heartwarming feature documentary adding to the important international conversation about the growing generation gap. Focusing on a group of senior citizens who take their first steps into cyber-space under the tutelage of teenage mentors, the film expertly renders a thought-provoking look at a spirited group of men and women who are enriched by digitally re-connecting with their families and each other. Finding their footing rather quickly, the group moves on to compete for the most YouTube views while swiftly building their online inventory of friends.

“When we started on this journey, we suspected that this subtle, sweet story could have a big loud impact,” commented CYBER-SENIORS producer Brenda Rusnak. “Now that we are seeing the Cyber Senior model working in dozens of communities and have had a strong theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada, we are happy to collaborate with our partners to bring this story to more audiences via traditional and non-traditional distribution,” she concluded.

CYBER-SENIORS director Saffron Cassaday commented, “After working as an actress for many years, I was searching for a compelling subject for my directorial debut. Observing the Cyber Senior program in action, I found the program and its participants were rife with drama, pathos and humor. Editing over 120 hours of footage into a feature length film was challenging, but I am so pleased with how the storyline took shape and with the critical and popular response.”

CYBER-SENIORS will be available on digital and Video On Demand platforms in late 2014 or early 2015.

For more information on CYBER-SENIORS, please visit: http://cyberseniorsdocumentary.com/
“Cyber-Seniors hits you in the feels….the talent that it took to balance all of these factors and to put forth a film so beautiful and meaningful is incredibly impressive. Saffron Cassaday is one to watch.” – Cat Edison, Screen Invasion

About Virgil
Virgil Films & Entertainment, formerly Arts Alliance America, was founded in 2003 as Hart Sharp Video by Joe Amodei to develop, acquire, market and distribute movies in the theatrical film, documentary, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with such high-profile entertainment brands as The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, ESPN, MLB Productions, Bombo Sports and Entertainment and Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets, among others.

About Autlook
AUTLOOK is a full-service sales agent, handling festivals, TV-, theatrical, educational, DVD- and digital sales worldwide.
We select around 25 TV-documentaries a year and up to six docs with worldwide theatrical potential.
AUTLOOK attends all important theatrical markets (Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Pusan, Locarno, Sundance, Hong Kong, Rotterdam, etc.) and all Doc markets (IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Leipzig, Visions du Réel, MIPTV, MIPCOM etc.).

About Passion River
Since 1998, Passion River Films has been devoted to acquiring, distributing and representing unique independent films and documentaries. Our award winning and festival favorite features have made their home on shelves of various notable film libraries and institutions. Our deep catalog represents films on nearly every topic including Multicultural Studies, Women’s Studies, Medical Studies and Advances, Religious and Spiritual studies, Environmentalism, Aging, Drug Addiction, Gay/Lesbian/Transgender, etc.

Press Contacts:
Murphy PR (US)
John Murphy / Russ Posternak
jmurphy@murphypr.com / rposternak@murphypr.com
212-414-0408

Yesterday, we had the wonderful opportunity of screening Cyber-Seniors at the Senior Living and Technology Fair held at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, ON.

Big thanks goes out to our partners at Peel Senior Link, City of Mississauga, Master- ASA , ETAG and everyone who attended. It was a great day of educating one another on how we as older adults can use modern technology to our benefit!

Check out some photos from yesterday’s event below:

As we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend, it is a reminder to give thanks for all of the blessings and good fortune we have received throughout our lives. It’s a time to focus on the people, places and things that provide us with such joy each day!

Here at Cyber-Seniors, we are so thankful for all of the support and encouragement we have received, especially over this past year as we screened the documentary across North America. Cyber-Seniors has become a great success and only continues to grow and we’d like to send a great BIG thanks to each of you: Our partners & sponsors, our volunteer mentors and engaged participants, our wonderful supporters and generous donors and of course our family and friends. Without the generosity and encouragement from each you, Cyber-Seniors would not have been possible.

Hi everyone,

The Cyber-Seniors family is sad to report the passing of Dan Rusnak, this past Monday, Oct. 6th. Dan, as many of you know, was a big part of the inspiration for the the film and grandfather to Cyber-Seniors founders, Macaulee and Kascha Cassaday, director Saffron Cassaday and father of Producer Brenda Rusnak. Dan was a family man, putting his wife, children and grandkids above all else. He had a wonderful spirit and a great sense of humour. In his memory, we thought we’d share this photo of Dan and his grand daughter, Kascha while on set filming Cyber-Seniors.

Dan and Kascha

If you’re interested in learning more about Dan Rusnak, please check out this link to his obituary that was published this week in St. Catharines, ON.