‘Crocodile in the Yangtze’ Secures Educational Distribution, Kicks Off University Screening Tour

--Film Chronicling Alibaba vs eBay Battle for China Market Headed to Stanford, Harvard, USC, UW, Babson, NYU & Kellogg; More Schools Being Added

--Film Provides Valuable Learning Tool for Students of Entrepreneurship, Asian Studies and Information Technology

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Taluswood Films announced today that it has secured North American educational distribution for its debut production, Crocodile in the Yangtze, with the world’s leading educational film and video distributor, Films Media Group. The announcement comes as the film kicks off a national university screening tour today at the University of Washington’s EntrepreneurWeek 2012 Conference.

“every e-commerce enterprise should study it frame-by-frame.”

An independent documentary written, directed and produced by a former insider at China’s Alibaba Group, Crocodile in the Yangtze: The Story of a Westerner Inside China’s Alibaba.com takes audiences behind-the-scenes of the Chinese Internet startup that challenged – and beat – eBay in China. Starting with its sold-out premiere this April at the Sonoma International Film Festival, the film has traveled to nine film festivals across North America, garnering critical acclaim and several awards including both the Audience Award and Jury Award for “Best Documentary” at the San Francisco United Film Festival.

“As a former educator myself, I created Crocodile in the Yangtze with the student audience in mind so that it could serve as a powerful learning tool for students from a broad range of disciplines,” said Porter Erisman, the film’s Director. “Having worked inside China’s first global Internet company for eight years, I felt I had witnessed an inspiring story from the unique perspective of ‘an American fly on a Chinese wall.’ So I designed the film to give students a front-row seat to the social, political and economic changes and conflicts that arose when the Internet brought China face-to-face with the West.”

Crocodile in the Yangtze has garnered critical acclaim for both its entertainment and educational value. Voice of America calls the film “a fascinating study in the world of business.” Libertas Film Magazine says, “every e-commerce enterprise should study it frame-by-frame.” Inc. Magazine calls the film “Gripping…Emotional…It’s like the real-life version of The Social Network. Only in Mandarin!”

After its October 15 University Premiere at UW’s EntrepreneurWeek 2012, Crocodile in the Yangtze will travel to the University of Southern California for an October 19 screening co-organized by the USC US-China Institute and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The film then travels to the world’s number-one ranked entrepreneurship program at Babson College in Boston, for an October 22 screening set to introduce Babson’s “Asia Entrepreneurship Forum 2012.” Additional screenings are planned at Stanford, Harvard, NYU, Kellogg and Berkeley, with more screenings being added each month. At each of the screenings in the 2012-2013 academic year, the film’s Director, Porter Erisman, will be on-hand for Q&A.

Crocodile in the Yangtze will be distributed by Films for the Humanities & Sciences, a subsidiary of Films Media Group, widely recognized to be the largest distributor of educational films and video. The film will be available for purchase by academic institutions and libraries in North America by the end of 2012 on the Films Media Group website: www.films.com.

To view the film’s trailer and learn more about the film, visit www.crocodileintheyangtze.com.

Request a Screening

To request a screening at your university, contact:

Porter Erisman

Director, Crocodile in the Yangtze

Email: [e-mail]

About Taluswood Films

Taluswood Films is an independent film production company founded by Porter Erisman in 2009. The company’s debut production is the award-winning documentary Crocodile in the Yangtze: The Story of A Westerner Inside China’s Alibaba.com.

About Films for the Humanities & Sciences

As the leading provider of media for higher education, Films for the Humanities & Sciences creates and distributes world-class academic content for discerning educators. Films for the Humanities & Sciences is widely recognized as having the broadest and deepest range of content available.