MICHAEL MANN CHRONICLES WAR PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR NEW HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES WITNESS

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2012 - Filmmaker Michael Mann and documentary director David Frankham will collaborate to produce a new limited documentary series, WITNESS, for HBO. The series will follow a new generation of young combat photographers into conflict zones in Mexico, Brazil, Uganda and Libya. By following these photojournalists' immersions, their relations with the people on the ground and their closeness in battle, WITNESS will show audiences why, when everyone else seeks cover, the war photographer stands.

"David Frankham and I share an admiration for combat photography that captures the universal - and sometimes the indescribable - in a single frame in the midst of chaos and danger," said Mann.

"WITNESS will not provide a historical context. The direction Michael and I took in creating WITNESS was to immerse the audience via intimacy with the photographer into the intensity of a situation as it's developing, as they risk their lives to capture one piece of the truth," said Frankham.

The first episode of WITNESS was shot in Juarez, Mexico. The next three are currently in production.

Michael Mann is an acclaimed filmmaker recognized for innovative and successful motion pictures and television. Mann directed the pilot for and is executive producing HBO's new series "Luck," a provocative drama set in the world of horse racing. Mann's first work in television was to direct and co-write 1979's "The Jericho Mile," which won four Emmys(R) and a Directors Guild Award. Mann's other work in television includes executive producing "Miami Vice" and "Crime Story." Mann made his feature directorial debut with "Thief," following it with acclaimed films such as "The Last of the Mohicans," "Heat" and "The Insider," which received seven Academy Award(R) nominations, "Ali," "Collateral" and "Public Enemies." Films he has produced include "Hancock" and "The Aviator," with 11 Academy Award(R) nominations and five wins.

David Frankham is an acclaimed documentary and commercial director. He has created commercials for such noted brands as NIKE, UPS, Adidas, FOX Sports, Fiat and Citicard as a director for Smuggler, a film, TV, commercial and music video production company.