"BLAIR WITCH" DIRECTOR TO SPEAK AT PITT

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 23 -- Pitt Program Council will feature Eduardo Sanchez, director of "The Blair Witch Project," Monday, Oct. 18, at 8:30 p.m. in the University of Pittsburgh William Pitt Union (WPU) Assembly Room, 3959 Fifth Avenue.

Sanchez will hold a media availability at 7:45 p.m. in the WPU Ballroom. The media also are invited to the 8:30 p.m. lecture. Photos, video and audio taping are permitted only during the first five minutes of the lecture.

A Haxan Film released by Artisan Entertainment, "The Blair Witch Project" is about three young filmmakers who hike into Maryland's Black Hills Forest to shoot a documentary film on a local legend and are never heard from again. One year later, their footage is found. Shot for approximately $30,000, the film earned about $48 million in its first week of distribution.

Sanchez, the film's co-writer and co-director, was born in Cuba and has lived in Spain, Washington, D.C. and Florida. He studied television at Montgomery College in Maryland, where he directed "Video All," a feature length project shot on video. He went on to earn his B.A. in film from the University of Central Florida, where he met the co-director and producers of "The Blair Witch Project." He also wrote and directed "Gabriel's Dream," a feature length film shot on 16mm. Sanchez is currently finishing his sixth screenplay and is developing several projects at Haxan Films.

Tickets are available at the WPU ticket office. They are $3 for Pitt students and $10 for all others including CGS students. For more information call 412-648-7900.

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