GOLDEN GLOBE AND EMMY WINNER KYRA SEDGWICK TO MAKE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH "STORY OF A GIRL," FOR A 2017 PREMIERE ON LIFETIME

Lifetime's Broad Focus Drives Hiring Women to Direct 30% of Network's Movies and 40% of Scripted Series Episodes

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 18, 2016) - Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actress Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) will have her directorial debut with Lifetime's Story of a Girl, based on the novel of the same name by Sara Zarr. The feature film is a powerful coming-of-age story about a teen who must deal with the ramifications of a sex video that goes viral. Segwick's husband, Kevin Bacon, is also set to star. Production begins this September in Vancouver for a 2017 debut on Lifetime following the film's festival run.

When a sex video of 13-year-old Deanna Lambert and Tommy, her older brother's best friend, hits the Internet, her life of carefree innocence is changed forever. Three years later, Deanna is still dealing with the fallout of the video, including being branded the school slut and bearing the burden of the daily taunts from her classmates. Her home life is even more troublesome as her father's anger and disappointment over the incident has left him unable to look her in the eye. Ready to move on, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by the mistakes of her past.

Story of a Girl is produced by Kikkosview.Sedgwick produces and directs script written by Laurie Collyer (The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe) and Emily Bickford Lansbury (Work of Art: The Next Great Artist) who also produces. The film is also produced by Liz Levine and Adrian Salpeter of Random Bench (Toad Road). Ross Katz (Lost in Translation) is executive producer. Sedgwick is represented by CAA, Impression and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams.

Broad Focus is Lifetime's major initiative to provide women with more opportunities to write, direct and produce content for the network. This year to date, Lifetime has hired women to direct 30% of its movies and 40% of its scripted series episodes. This is compared to the industry average of 9% of feature films directed by women and 12% of episodic television. Women also constitute 59% of the network's movie and scripted series writers and 43% of its executive producers.

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Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. The critically acclaimed UnREAL, Devious Maids, Project Runway, Dance Moms, Bring It!, The Rap Game and Little Women franchises anchor the network's programming, in addition to its over 25 original movies annually that continue to define the TV movie genre. In 2015, Lifetime launched Broad Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers to make its content which totals over 450 original hours. Lifetime's Fempire positions the network as a curator of feminist content and conversations, as well as a place where women connect, learn and are entertained. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.