Indie studio Halo-8 Entertainment is unveiling the digital movie portal Televandalism.com, a new effort to bridge the gap between controversial films and inquisitive audiences. Halo-8 began development of the portal when retailers including Amazon.com and movie theaters including the Laemmle Grand theater in LA pulled the critically-acclaimed, award-winning documentary "Your Mommy Kills Animals" from shelves, screens, and websites in advance of its nationwide release. The portal has launched in beta-mode with instant-digital access to a range of Halo-8 titles including the embattled animal-rights documentary.

"'Your Mommy Kills Animals' has been on the receiving end of a smear campaign to question its credibility and its very right to exist," said Matt Pizzolo, President of Halo-8 Entertainment. "After dozens of critics lauded the documentary for its unbiased approach, a Washington lobbyist apparently admitted to funneling money into the film before suing the filmmaker over the final product's lack of bias. The money trail is still unclear to me, but what is crystal clear is that this film deserves to be seen. Despite the manufactured controversy supposedly coming from activists, the SHAC7, who are profiled in the film, told me through a representative that even they want the film released. We want viewers to ultimately decide the film's merit, not special interest groups, and so we developed this new means of bringing the film to audiences."

Your Mommy Kills AnimalsThe incendiary film became even more controversial when it was discovered that director Curt Johnson (2006 Academy Award Winning "Thoth") received production funds from a well-known lobbying group generally perceived as an enemy to animal-rights activists. Although the revelation came as a shock to Halo-8, they chose to stand by the film based on its substance.

Animal rights activist Josh Harper, who is currently in prison for his role as a member of the so-called SHAC7, had this to say on his May 4, 2008 blog posting: "I'd just like to thank the Center for Consumer Freedom for funding the documentary promoting animal rights militancy. Suck it, Berman!"

According to official court documents, the film's director Curt Johnson was sued in United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Virginia by Richard Berman of The Center For Consumer Freedom. In the court's Memorandum Opinion, Judge T.S. Ellis III decided that Johnson has all the rights necessary to release his film. Nonetheless, a campaign of Cease & Desists sent to movie theaters, video wholesalers, and retailers has intimidated many into pulling the title.

Inspired by a post-9/11 FBI alert identifying animal rights activists as the number one domestic terror threat, Johnson sought out embattled activists and their detractors to determine the actual danger posed by the movement. Johnson interviewed the SHAC7, young activists who violated federal anti-terrorism laws by encouraging direct action protests via their website. The freedom of speech issue surrounding the SHAC7 trial serves as the lightning rod of "Your Mommy Kills Animals," drawing in a spectrum of commentators with numerous points of view and passionate ideologies.

Televandalism.com (www.televandalism.com) is a subscription-based digital portal that offers users instant-digital access to films, lifestyle shows, and comic books. Halo-8 has made most of its library exclusively available for streaming and download via the site.

Halo-8 Entertainment (www.halo8.tv) is devoted to supporting the unique visions of bold artists by widely releasing provocative media through a combination of grassroots outlets and major studio distribution. Recent releases include the award-winning, controversial thriller THREAT (which Urb Magazine said "makes KIDS look like an after-school special"), the punk documentary N.Y.H.C. (which Cinematical called "smashing... a terrific, well-told, engaging story"), and the award-winning protest film EXIST (hailed as "uncompromising… impressive" by Variety).