(For Immediate Release – Monday, May 16, 2005) Toronto, Ontario - On Sunday, June 19 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT PENIS DEMENTIA: The Search for the Perfect Penis will debut on Discovery Health Channel. The one-hour documentary, produced by Judy Holm and Michael McNamara for Markham Street Films, is a fearless and uninhibited quest for honest and surprising answers in a search for the perfect, modern penis.
Humans have long been obsessed with the penis. It is an undeniably unique and interesting piece of biological engineering - a multipurpose organ with three primary functions: urination, procreation and sexual pleasure. PENIS DEMENTIA: The Search for the Perfect Penis is an amusing, irreverent and insightful hunt for seminal answers to penetrating questions with help from doctors, sex experts, and actual penis users.
“While making PENIS DEMENTIA, we realized that part of the obsession and trepidation with penises has more to do with what it has come to represent, rather than what it actually does. As a main signifier of maleness, the penis has come to represent social and sexual power. And for just as many men, at some time in their lives, it may function in a less than perfect manner and be either a source of pleasure, pride or great anxiety,” says the film’s director Michael McNamara.
PENIS DEMENTIA examines such aspects of the penis as purpose, health issues and common myths. Through animation, archival health films and personal accounts, PENIS DEMENTIA is a stimulating and witty investigation of a subject that has been kept behind closed drawers for far too long.
PENIS DEMENTIA is the second in a series of funny, provocative films about the body. The first was 2004’s FLATLY STACKED - an investigation of the tribulations and triumphs of flat-chested women in a big-chested world. Three more are in the works: StTACKED LIKE ME , A IS FOR ASS , and MOUTH: An Oral History.
PENIS DEMENTIA: The Search for the Perfect Penis was produced in association with Discovery Health Channel, Life Network and Canal Vie.
Markham Street Films Inc. is a production company based in Toronto, Canada, specializing in documentary and feature films. Formed in 2002 by partners Judy Holm and Michael McNamara, Markham Street Films has originated such distinct documentaries as the Gemini Award nominated WRINKLE, and produced HEARING VOICES: The Lives and Times of Rich Little (CBC), 2004 Gemini winner RADIO REVOLUTION: THE RISE & FALL OF THE BIG 8 (History Television), GENUINE ARTICLE: The First Trial (The Documentary Channel) MEET THE SUMDEES (Vision TV) and PENIS DEMENTIA: The Search For the Perfect Penis (Discovery Health Channel & SBS Australia). Markham Street Films is currently producing a number of new television documentaries including 100 FILMS & A FUNERAL (The Documentary Channel) and SHRINES & HOMEMADE HOLY PLACES (Vision TV) as well as the fictional feature films VICTORIA DAY, SLEEPYHEAD and THE RETURN OF THE FABULOUS SEVEN.
www.markhamstreetfilms.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Markham Street Films Inc. Tel. 416-536-1390 info@markhamstreet.com
Tammy Chadwick, Discovery Health Channel Tel. 902-423-8066 tammy.chadwick@allianceatlantis.com
