Starz acquires docs from Wiesenthal Center

BURBANK, Calif., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. cable television network Starz said Monday it has acquired five documentaries from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The documentaries are the Academy Award-winners "Genocide" and "The Long Way Home," as well as "I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal," "Unlikely Heroes" and "Liberation."

All five films are slated to air on Starz's IndiePlex channel Oct. 1. The network said the premiere date marks the anniversary of the mass, open execution of more than 1,000 of the remaining Jewish inhabitants of the German-controlled town of Luboml, Poland in 1942.

The documentaries are scheduled to air again in April 2010, alongside an array of feature films on Starz Cinema and Encore Drama, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Month.

"Starz acquired the documentaries at the suggestion of Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of Comcast Corp., who has long been associated with The Simon Wiesenthal Center," Robert B. Clasen, chairman and chief executive officer of Starz, said in a statement. "As a company, Starz applauds the efforts of the center and is honored to air programming that supports the legacy of Mr. Wiesenthal and the organization's commendable mission."

Wiesenthal was best known for his post-World War II pursuit of Nazi war criminals. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is home to the Museum of Tolerance.