MacArthur Foundation Renews Support for American...
3
For Immediate Release Contacts: POV Communications: [email protected], 212-989-7425 Cathy Fisher, [email protected], Brian Geldin, [email protected] POV online pressroom: www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom MacArthur Foundation Renews Support for American Documentary | POV Three-Year Grant Will Support Award-Winning PBS Documentary Series POV, Its Digital Innovations and National Community Engagement Campaigns And the WORLD Channel Series AMERICA REFRAMED New York, NY – Jan. 28, 2016 – The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has renewed its support of American Documentary | POV with a grant of $2.25 million over the next three years. The funds will support the POV (Point of View) documentary film series on PBS and its community, education and digital innovation campaigns, along with the fledgling AMERICA REFRAMED series on WORLD Channel through 2018. Produced by American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) and beginning its 29th season on PBS in June 2016, POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and the recipient of a 2013 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Co-produced by the WORLD Channel and AmDoc and beginning its fourth season in February 2016, the Emmy®-nominated AMERICA REFRAMED is a year-round documentary showcase that explores the changing contours of America’s diverse communities. POV Digital re-imagines nonfiction storytelling for the Web by organizing Hackathon incubator labs and co-producing Emmy-nominated shorts projects. “MacArthur has been an indispensable supporter of POV since the series’ very first broadcast in 1988,” said Justine Nagan, executive director, AmDoc/executive producer, POV. “For 28 years, American Documentary has been dedicated to informing and inspiring the American public with nonfiction stories that resonate deeply and have lasting impact. Like POV, AMERICA REFRAMED could not have launched without MacArthur’s early and ongoing support of new voices in public media. This grant will allow us to keep innovating and exploring on television, on the Web, in the classroom and in local communities to bring vital, engaging nonfiction stories to the American public.” POV premieres 14 to 16 feature-length documentaries every year from June to October and creates additional opportunities for viewers to explore the films and the issues through its wide-ranging community outreach and educational activities. POV offers original online programming, including digital documentaries made in collaboration with organizations such as The New York Times and interactive projects seeded at POV’s ongoing Hackathon labs, which use technology to experiment with new forms of nonfiction storytelling. Since its first broadcast on PBS, Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker’s American Tongues, POV has presented more than 400 documentaries by established and emerging directors—from Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker to Stephanie Wang-Breal and Joshua Oppenheimer—that tell personal stories, explore contemporary issues and sometimes push the boundaries of the documentary genre itself. In
Transcript of MacArthur Foundation Renews Support for American...
ForImmediateReleaseContacts:POVCommunications:[email protected],212-989-7425CathyFisher,[email protected],BrianGeldin,[email protected]:www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom
MacArthurFoundationRenewsSupportforAmericanDocumentary|POV
Three-YearGrantWillSupportAward-WinningPBSDocumentarySeriesPOV,
ItsDigitalInnovationsandNationalCommunityEngagementCampaignsAndtheWORLDChannelSeriesAMERICAREFRAMED
NewYork,NY–Jan.28,2016–TheJohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundationhasreneweditssupportofAmericanDocumentary|POVwithagrantof$2.25millionoverthenextthreeyears.ThefundswillsupportthePOV(PointofView)documentaryfilmseriesonPBSanditscommunity,educationanddigitalinnovationcampaigns,alongwiththefledglingAMERICAREFRAMEDseriesonWORLDChannelthrough2018.ProducedbyAmericanDocumentary,Inc.(AmDoc)andbeginningits29thseasononPBSinJune2016,POVisAmericantelevision’slongest-runningindependentdocumentaryseriesandtherecipientofa2013MacArthurAwardforCreativeandEffectiveInstitutions.Co-producedbytheWORLDChannelandAmDocandbeginningitsfourthseasoninFebruary2016,theEmmy®-nominatedAMERICAREFRAMEDisayear-rounddocumentaryshowcasethatexploresthechangingcontoursofAmerica’sdiversecommunities.POVDigitalre-imaginesnonfictionstorytellingfortheWebbyorganizingHackathonincubatorlabsandco-producingEmmy-nominatedshortsprojects.“MacArthurhasbeenanindispensablesupporterofPOVsincetheseries’veryfirstbroadcastin1988,”saidJustineNagan,executivedirector,AmDoc/executiveproducer,POV.“For28years,AmericanDocumentaryhasbeendedicatedtoinformingandinspiringtheAmericanpublicwithnonfictionstoriesthatresonatedeeplyandhavelastingimpact.LikePOV,AMERICAREFRAMEDcouldnothavelaunchedwithoutMacArthur’searlyandongoingsupportofnewvoicesinpublicmedia.Thisgrantwillallowustokeepinnovatingandexploringontelevision,ontheWeb,intheclassroomandinlocalcommunitiestobringvital,engagingnonfictionstoriestotheAmericanpublic.”POVpremieres14to16feature-lengthdocumentarieseveryyearfromJunetoOctoberandcreatesadditionalopportunitiesforviewerstoexplorethefilmsandtheissuesthroughitswide-rangingcommunityoutreachandeducationalactivities.POVoffersoriginalonlineprogramming,includingdigitaldocumentariesmadeincollaborationwithorganizationssuchasTheNewYorkTimesandinteractiveprojectsseededatPOV’songoingHackathonlabs,whichusetechnologytoexperimentwithnewformsofnonfictionstorytelling. SinceitsfirstbroadcastonPBS,LouisAlvarezandAndrewKolker’sAmericanTongues,POVhaspresentedmorethan400documentariesbyestablishedandemergingdirectors—fromChrisHegedusandD.A.PennebakertoStephanieWang-BrealandJoshuaOppenheimer—thattellpersonalstories,explorecontemporaryissuesandsometimespushtheboundariesofthedocumentarygenreitself.In
additiontofeature-lengthfilms,POVpresentsshorts,includinganimationsfromtherenownedoralhistoryprojectStoryCorps,alsothewinnerofaMacArthurAward.TwofilmmakerswhosefirstfeaturedocumentarieswerebroadcastonPOV—LauraPoitrasandNataliaAlmada—receivedMacArthur“geniusgrants”in2012.Poitras’filmsforPOVincludethePeabodyAward-winningFlagWars(producedandco-directedwithLindaGoodeBryant),theOscar®-nominatedMyCountry,MyCountryandtheSundanceaward-winningTheOath.POVhasbroadcasteachofAlmada’sfeaturedocumentaries:AlOtroLado(TotheOtherSide),ElVelador(TheNightWatchman)andtheSundanceaward-winningElGeneral.In2005,POVpremieredfirst-timefilmmakerMarshallCurry’sOscar-nominatedStreetFightandithasbroadcasteachofhisdocumentariesinthedecadesince,includingRacingDreams,theOscar-nominatedIfaTreeFalls:AStoryoftheEarthLiberationFrontandPointandShoot.POV’s2016seasonwilllookatblackmaleachievement,theemotionalsideofinteractivegamesandthecrisiscausedbydrugcartelsontheU.S.-Mexicanborder,amongothertopics.TodLending’sAlltheDifference,partoftheCorporationforPublicBroadcasting’spublicmediainitiativeAmericanGraduate:Let’sMakeItHappen,followstwoyoungAfrican-Americanmenintheirpursuitofhighereducationandabetterlife;DavidOsitandMalikaZouhali-Worrall’sThankYouforPlayingexploreshowcreatingavideogamehelpsafamilythroughalife-alteringcrisis;andBernardoRuiz’sKingdomofShadowstakesanunflinchinglookatthepersistentU.S.-Mexicandrugwar.Thefilmswillbeaccompaniedbyfreeonlinestreamingandthein-depthwebsites,nationwidescreeningsandcomprehensiveeducationalmaterialsthathavebecomePOV’shallmarks.SeasonfourofAMERICAREFRAMEDbeginsTuesday,Feb.2,2016withDanielleBeverly’sOldSouth,aportraitoftwocommunitieslivingononeblockinGeorgia.Steepedinhistory,eachofthesecommunities—oneblack,onewhite—strivestokeepitslegaciesrelevantinachangingAmericanSouth.HostedbyjournalistNatashaDelToro,AMERICAREFRAMEDcuratesadiverseselectionoffilmsemployinginnovativeandartisticapproachestostorytellingfromemergingandveteranfilmmakersalike.
****
TheMacArthurFoundationsupportscreativepeopleandeffectiveinstitutionscommittedtobuildingamorejust,verdantandpeacefulworld.InadditiontoselectingtheMacArthurFellows,theFoundationworkstodefendhumanrights,advanceglobalconservationandsecurity,make
citiesbetterplacesandunderstandhowtechnologyisaffectingchildrenandsociety.Moreinformationisatwww.macfound.org.
POVispublictelevision’spremiershowcasefornonfictionfilms.Since1988,POVhasbeenthehomefortheworld’sboldestcontemporaryfilmmakers,celebratingintriguingpersonalstoriesthatsparkconversationandinspireaction.Alwaysaninnovator,POVdiscoversfreshnewvoices
andcreatesinteractiveexperiencesthatshinealightonsocialissuesandelevatetheartofstorytelling.Withourdocumentarybroadcasts,originalonlineprogramminganddynamiccommunityengagementcampaigns,wearecommittedtosupportingfilmsthatcapturetheimaginationandpresentdiverseperspectives.POVfilmshavewon34Emmy®Awards,18GeorgeFosterPeabodyAwards,12AlfredI.duPont-ColumbiaUniversityAwards,threeAcademyAwards®,thefirst-everGeorgePolkDocumentaryFilmAwardandthePrixItalia.ThePOVserieshasbeenhonoredwithaSpecialNews&DocumentaryEmmyAwardforExcellenceinTelevisionDocumentaryFilmmaking,threeIDAAwardsforBestCuratedSeriesandtheNationalAssociationofLatinoIndependentProducers(NALIP)AwardforCorporateCommitmenttoDiversity.Learnmoreatwww.pbs.org/pov.
POVCommunityEngagementandEducation(www.pbs.org/pov/engage)POV’sCommunityEngagementandEducationteamworkswitheducators,communityorganizationsandPBSstationstopresentmorethan650freescreeningseveryyear.Inaddition,wedistributefreediscussionguidesandstandards-alignedlessonplansforeachofourfilms.Withourcommunitypartners,weinspiredialoguearoundthemostimportantsocialissuesofourtime.POVDigital(www.pbs.org/pov)Since1994,POVDigitalhasdrivennewstorytellinginitiativesandinteractiveproductionforPOV.ThedepartmentcreatedPBS’firstprogramwebsiteanditsfirstweb-baseddocumentary(POV’sBorders)andhaswonmajorawards,includingaWebbyAward(andsixnominations)andanOnlineNewsAssociationAward.POVDigitalcontinuestoexplorethefutureofindependentnonfictionmediathroughitsdigitalproductionsandthePOVHackathonlab,wheremediamakersandtechnologistscollaboratetoreinventstorytellingforms.@povdocsonTwitter.AmericanDocumentary,Inc.(www.amdoc.org)AmericanDocumentary,Inc.(AmDoc)isamultimediaartsorganizationdedicatedtocreating,identifyingandpresentingcontemporarystoriesthatexpressopinionsandperspectivesrarelyfeaturedinmainstreammediaoutlets.AmDocisacatalystforpublicculture,developingcollaborativestrategicengagementactivitiesaroundsociallyrelevantcontentontelevision,onlineandincommunitysettings.Theseactivitiesaredesignedtotriggeraction,fromdialogueandfeedbacktoeducationalopportunitiesandcommunityparticipation.AmDocisa501(c)(3)not-for-profitorganization.MajorfundingforPOVisprovidedbyPBS,TheJohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundation,theJohnS.andJamesL.KnightFoundation,CorporationforPublicBroadcastingandNationalEndowmentfortheArts.AdditionalfundingcomesfromNancyBlachmanandDaviddesJardins,BerthaFoundation,TheFledglingFund,MargueriteCaseyFoundation,EttingerFoundation,NewYorkStateCouncilontheArts,NewYorkCityDepartmentofCulturalAffairsinpartnershipwiththeCityCouncil,AnnTenenbaumandThomasH.Leeandpublictelevisionviewers.POVispresentedbyaconsortiumofpublictelevisionstations,includingKQEDSanFrancisco,WGBHBostonandTHIRTEENinassociationwithWNET.ORG.
InSeasonFourofAMERICAREFRAMED,viewerswillbeimmersedinpersonalstoriesfromthestreetsoftownsbigandsmalltotheexurbsandcountryroadsthatspanthespectrumofAmericanlife.Thedocumentariesinviteaudiencestoreflectontopicsasvariedasculture,
healthcare,politics,gunviolence,religionandmore.Severalepisodeswillfeaturearoundtablediscussionwithspecialguestcommentatorsandfilmmakers.In2015,AMERICAREFRAMEDwonaGracieAwardforOutstandingSeriesandwasnominatedforanEmmyAwardaswellasanIndependentDocumentaryAssociationAwardforbestcuratedseries.Initsfirstseason,AMERICAREFRAMEDreceivedfive2013CINEGoldenEagleAwardsandoneImagenAwardsnomination.
Media Sponsor:
