Shine Global, the non-profit media company that produces inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children and their families, announces a freewheeling night of conversation between the multi-talented writer and actor John Leguizamo and Shine Global Co-Founder and Academy Award-nominated producer Albie Hecht. This special event will raise funds for upcoming Shine Global productions and will include an entertaining exploration of John Leguizamo’s multi-decade career and the challenges he faced rising  through the Hollywood ranks to become a Tony and Emmy winning actor and performer.  All guests will have the opportunity to participate in this interactive forum and ask questions throughout.

Since 2005, Shine Global has taken action on child labor, child abuse, and child soldiering, shared moving stories about the effects of war, parental incarceration, undocumented immigration, and homelessness on children, highlighted the power of music, dance, and sports to overcome intolerance.  In all its films, Shine Global celebrates children’s resilience. Shine Global gives voice to children and families by telling stories of their resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change.

If you can’t attend the event but would like to support Shine Global please join us by making a donation.

“In this day and age, we need more stories of hope to get us through the darkness and Shine Global lights the way,” said John Leguizamo. “Documentaries are my favorite genre and I’m a big fan of the top-quality films that Shine Global produces, like Inocente and Liyana, that tell the much-needed stories of kids facing incredible odds and the armor of resilience they have fortified themselves with to survive.”

“We’re very excited that John Leguizamo has agreed to what I am certain will be a very fun, fascinating conversation,” said Shine Global Co-Founder and Executive Director Susan MacLaury. “John first supported Shine Global’s films in 2012 as Executive Producer of our Academy Award-winning short documentary, Inocente, about a young, undocumented artist. Like Inocente, John immigrated to the US as a young child. His experiences growing up as one of the first Latino kids in his neighborhood helped him develop the resilience Shine Global’s film’s celebrate.”

Event Information

• August 20, 8-9pm ET
• Minimum Donation $20
• To purchase tickets visit https://bit.ly/JohnLegAug20

John Leguizamo (Actor, Playwright, Screenwriter, Stand-Up Comedian and Producer)

A multi-faceted performer, John Leguizamo has established a career that defies categorization. With boundless energy and creativity, his work in film, theatre, television, and literature covers a variety of genres, continually threatening to create a few of its own. Mr. Leguizamo received a Special Tony Award at the 2018 Tony Awards after wrapping an extended Broadway run of Latin History for Morons, his newest one-man show, delivering his take on 500 years of Latin History spanning the Aztec and Incan Empires to World War II.

Mr. Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown, a graphic novel adaption of his Broadway one-man show of the same name, was nominated for an Eisner award in 2016. He also released a comic book, Freak (Parts 1,2, and 3), available now on Amazon. Latin History for Morons was released on Netflix in November of 2018. Recent projects include the films Infiltrator, opposite Bryan Cranston and Diane Kruger, Nancy with Andrea Riseborough, Steve Buscemi, and Ann Dowd, and an Emmy nominated role in the Paramount Network television series Waco alongside Taylor Kitsch and Michael Shannon.

Mr. Leguizamo has garnered numerous awards and accolades throughout his career including an Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Special Tony Award, as well as nominations for Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy. Mr. Leguizamo’s film credits include, but are not limited to: Hangin’ with the Homeboys, Carlito’s Way, To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, Romeo + Juliet, The Pest, Spawn, Moulin Rouge!, Doctor Doolittle, Summer of Sam, Empire, Sueño, The Babysitters, The Happening, Miracle at St. Ana, Righteous Kill, The Lincoln Lawyer, and The Ice Age franchise. Mr. Leguizamo currently resides in New York City with his wife and two children.

Albie Hecht (Shine Global Co-Founder/pocket.watch Chief Content Officer)

Albie Hecht is a Co-Founder of Shine Global and the Chief Content Officer of pocket.watch a kids and family brand. He was recently the head of the HLN Network and prior to that, he was the CEO of Worldwide Biggies, a digital studio creating transmedia content for film and TV. Before creating Biggies, Albie was President of Film and Television Entertainment at Nickelodeon, where he developed Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and co-created and executive produced “The Kids Choice Awards.” As creator and President of Spike TV, Albie brought the UFC franchise to the channel. He won awards for his documentary “True Dads: the Story of American Fatherhood” with Bruce Willis. He produced the Oscar®-nominated animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Shine Global’s first film, the Oscar®-nominated feature documentary, War/Dance, the Oscar® winner Inocente, and 1 Way Up in 3D.

Shine Global is an award-winning non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by sharing their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about at-risk children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on capitol hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Our films have won more than 80 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award®-nomination for War/Dance, and a Webby-nomination for The Election Effect digital series. Virtually Free is the 14th film by Shine Global. Learn More at www.shineglobal.org