OWN to air ro*co documentaries

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network says it is teaming up with ro*co productions to identify select documentaries to air on its new U.S. television channel.

The announcement was made Wednesday by OWN Chief Executive Officer Christina Norman.

Ro*co productions is a division of ro*co films international, which has distributed the acclaimed documentaries "Born into Brothels," "The Garden," "Jesus Camp," "No End in Sight," "Promises," "Regret to Inform," "Street Fight" and "The Weather Underground. "

The partnership is intended to result in a documentary film club: a multi-platform experience including a prime-time monthly documentary film series airing on the channel, an online community experience and exclusive footage on OWN.tv, as well as the opportunity for some documentaries to be presented as a nationwide theatrical screening event, the network said.

"OWN's commitment to self-discovery provides the ideal platform to elevate documentary films and the real, compelling stories they tell," Norman said in a statement. "Partnering with ro*co productions, OWN will deliver the very best documentaries to our audience and give them ways to connect through stories that move them."

"There is a wide-ranging audience hungry for access to profound documentaries of substance and originality," added Annie Roney, the founder and managing director of ro*co films international. "Our partnership with OWN will bring these films to a broader audience, but it doesn't stop there; community discourse and engagement is encouraged and supported as soon as the final credits roll."