Five Sisters Fun Facts
An extraordinary story about a family working together creatively:

• Two of the FIVE SISTERS went to Yale, two to Harvard, one to Denison and then formed a movie production company after years of doing other things. Everyone wears at least two hats: production and finance; directing and producing; acting and directing, etc.
• The sisters continue to support each other's having separate work, and the family believes strongly in having interests and involvement outside of the film business. The youngest sister, Charity, for instance, continues to teach in the LA city school system.
• Their mother went to film school (the oldest student at the time to go to AFI), where she began to win awards for her screenwriting. One of the scripts she wrote was set in Buffalo (where the five sisters grew up). The five sisters optioned the script, and their company produced it -- MANNA FROM HEAVEN.
• Their father retired from the University (SUNY) at Buffalo to join his daughters' production company. He produced MANNA along with his daughters.
• The sisters are doing another unusual thing as a family -- they will be on the road together for the next year to promote their film. They will be traveling in a vehicle called THE MANNA VAN, carrying the film with them from city to city.
• MANNA FROM HEAVEN is the third feature film by Five Sisters Productions in six years. The stellar cast and the heartwarming story about rediscovering hope at any age is a proven crowd-pleaser with audiences, and also a winner with industry luminaries like Liz Smith and Ain't It Cool News.
• Their first film, the romantic comedy JUST FRIENDS, is currently playing on AMC and on the WE Channel, and their film TEMPS is being developed into a TV series.

Filmmaker/sister Gabrielle and the Rotary Clubs
Gabrielle (who directed MANNA FROM HEAVEN with her sister Maria) won an Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship from the Amherst South Rotary Club. She went to Toulouse, France, where she studied film. As she says, "The Rotary scholarship changed my life. I ended up studied film, and it has put me in the direction I am now. My sisters and I believe strongly in running a socially responsible business, and we are interested also in giving back to the community (as with our connection with Habitat for Humanity on this film). I credit the values of and experience I had with the Rotary Clubs as influencing me with their ethics and sense of community responsibility. Three Rotary members in particular in Amherst, Reed Taylor, Jay Beck and Larry Green, introduced me to these ideals, and I am grateful to them and the Rotary Clubs of the district (which covers Buffalo and part of Canada) for having given me a remarkable and life-changing opportunity.

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