Bhutto Producer Mark Siegel Reflects on Benazir Bhutto

Mark Siegel, co-producer of the documentary Bhutto, discusses his relationship with the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. The film, which aired last season on Independent Lens, earned a Peabody award earlier this month. Siegel and filmmaker Duane Baughman will accept the prestigious award on May 21 in New York.

Tags: Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto, ITVS, mark siegel, Pakistan, PBS, Peabody Awards

Three ITVS Programs Win Peabody Awards

Bhutto, My Perestroika, and Who Killed Chea Vichea were among the ITVS programs to earn the George Foster Peabody Awards this year. Administered by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Peabody is one of the most prestigious honors in electronic media.

Congratulations to the filmmakers on this incredible achievement! This brings the total of Peabody awards for ITVS films to 22.

Bhutto by Duane Baughman, which aired on Independent Lens, takes an intimate look at one of the most fascinating and important world leaders of our time, Benazir Bhutto.
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Tags: Bhutto, journalism, my perestroika, PBS, Peabody Awards, Who Killed Chea Vichea?

Last Call to Apply for a U.S. INPUT Producer Fellowship

The deadline for applications to attend the 2012 INPUT in Sydney, Australia is Tuesday, April 2, 2012.

A limited number of INPUT 2012 Producer Fellowships will be awarded to U.S. public media producers to attend INPUT in Sydney, Australia on May 7 – 12, 2012. For more information about the U.S. INPUT Producer Fellowship application process, visit U.S INPUT managed by SCETV at or contact the U.S. INPUT National Coordinator Amy Shumaker.  

INPUT is the International Public Television Screening Conference, an annual international forum for television professionals to discuss and challenge the boundaries of television in the public interest. Learn more about the INPUT 2012 conference here.

This project is made possible by funding from the Corporation for Public for Broadcasting.

Tags: INPUT, ITVS, public media, scetv

SCETV to Award Producer Fellowships to Attend INPUT 2012 in Sydney

A limited number of INPUT 2012 Producer Fellowships will be awarded to U.S. public media producers to attend INPUT in Sydney, Australia on May 7 – 12, 2012. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, April 2, 2012.

For more information about the U.S. INPUT Producer Fellowship application process, visit U.S INPUT managed by SCETV at or contact the U.S. INPUT National Coordinator Amy Shumaker.  

INPUT is the International Public Television Screening Conference, an annual international forum for television professionals to discuss and challenge the boundaries of television in the public interest. Learn more about the INPUT 2012 conference, here.

Tags: INPUT, ITVS, public media, scetv, u.s. input

Women, War & Peace Earns TV Academy Honors

PBS’s Women, War & Peace will be among seven programs to receive Television Academy Honors nods at the May 2 ceremony in Los Angeles.

Recognized for personifying “Television with a Conscience,” the five-part PBS mini-series, is a global media initiative on the roles of women in peace and conflict.

The film premiered last year as part of public media’s Women and Girls Lead initiative. Watch the trailer for the doc after the jump.
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Tags: Awards, ITVS, PBS, television academy honors, women and girls lead, women war and peace

ITVS Alumni Score a Win at SFIAAFF

By Michael Kinomoto

Four filmmakers previously funded by ITVS received a $5,000 award at this year’s San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) for a work-in-progress about international LGBT politicians.

From L to R: Johnny Symons, Brittney Shepherd, Eva Moss, and S. Leo Chiang

Filmmakers S. Leo Chiang (A Village Called Versailles) and Johnny Symons (Daddy & Papa, Ask Not), along with co-producers Eva Moss and Brittney Shepherd, were awarded a $5,000 research and development award at the Ready, Set, Pitch! panel held on Sunday, March 11 at the 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for their project Out Run (working title) – a feature length documentary project that follows openly-LGBT political candidates in parts of the world that are most hostile to their cause.
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Tags: funding, Independents, itvs filmmakers, san francisco international asian american film festival, sfiaff

ITVS Picks Up Two Independent Spirit Awards

ITVS-funded The Interrupters and Where Soldiers Come From were among the night’s big winners at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards.

The Independent Spirit Awards celebrate the spirited pioneers who bring a unique vision to the world of independent filmmaking. This past weekend Where Soldiers Come From picked up the Truer Than Fiction award, while The Interrupters won Best Documentary.

The Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, February 25th in Los Angeles, CA. Click here for a complete list of winners.

Please join us in congratulating the filmmakers!

Tags: Independent Lens, ITVS, the independent spirit awards, the interrupters, where soldiers come from

Late Night Oscar Diaries from Independent Lens

Independent Lens Series Producer Lois Vossen attended Sunday night’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. She was there to support two nominated films for Best Documentary feature: Independent Lens’ Hell and Back Again and the ITVS-funded If a Tree Falls (which aired on POV). The documentary Undefeated wound up taking the prize. Still, Lois had a blast and as the evening came to a close, she phoned in (literally) this recap via the BTB hotline. Here are the highlights….

Hi there! Well it was a great night. The debate is on whether or not Billy Crystal was funny and whether or not the show was well paced.

As we were leaving, I ran into Wim Wenders who made Pina and I went over and spoke with him and he said “I’m very, very sorry that Hell and Back Again lost because it was a magnificent film and I would have been honored to have lost to Hell and Back Again, honored!” So I introduced him to Fiona Otway who edited the film.
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Tags: academy awards, Hollywood, Independent Lens, lois vossen, oscars

ITVS Puts the ‘Independent’ in the Independent Spirit Awards

The Interrupters, Where Soldiers Come From, We Were Here, and Hell and Back Again were among the documentaries nominated for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards.

A still from Hell and Back Again by filmmaker Danfung Dennis

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, it is important to remember that the Independent Spirit Awards are also this weekend. ITVS has four films nominated, The Interrupters and We Were Here are up for Best Doc, with Hell and Back Again and Where Soldiers Come From in the Truer Than Fiction category.

The Independent Spirit Awards take place on Saturday, February 25th. Click here for more information.

Join ITVS in congratulating all the filmmakers and check out the trailers after the jump.
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Tags: hell and back again, Independent Lens, independent spirit awards, the interrupters, we were here, where soldiers come from

Guess the Oscars with ITVS

It’s Academy Awards time again and this year ITVS has not one, but two horses in the Oscar race! Among the films selected for best documentary were two ITVS programs: Hell and Back Again by Danfung Dennis and If a Tree Falls by filmmakers Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman (broadcast last September on POV). Hell and Back Again airs on May 24, 2012 at 10 PM and on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, both nights at 10 PM on Independent Lens.

We wanted to do something fun in anticipation of Sunday’s festivities, so we whipped up a quick little ballot for you to fill out and submit, to see how many of you can guess the outcome in several major categories. We’ll accept ballot entries (one per user, please!) up until 5 PM PST on Sunday, February 26, 2012. We’ll randomly select five entries from among the highest scores for personal glory and some special surprises.

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Tags: Academy Award, contest, danfung dennis, hell and back again, If a Tree Falls, marshall curry, Oscar, sam cullman