Awards
ITVS Programs Nominated for Six Emmy Awards
The nominees for the 31st Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards were announced today and ITVS programs received an impressive six nominations.
Among the nominees are three Independent Lens programs — Tulia, Texas; No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos; and Crips and Bloods: Made in America.
Tulia, Texas — by filmmakers Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen — received a nomination in the Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story, Long Form category. The film tells the story of a small town’s search for justice and the price Americans pay for the nation’s war on drugs.
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos — by director James Chressanthis — received a nomination in the Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming category. The documentary profiles legendary cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond and how they reinvented Hollywood moviemaking for an entire generation.
Ask Not Snags Outstanding Doc at GLAAD Awards
ITVS-funded Ask Not by Johnny Symons was honored for Outstanding Documentary at the GLAAD Media Awards earlier this month in San Francisco. Ask Not originally aired in June 2009 on Independent Lens.
Equally important is the attention such an award will draw to the national debate over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT.) The film explores the genesis of that policy from its inception under then-President Clinton in 1993.
Ask Not sheds light on how DADT has prevented some of America’s most talented recruits from serving their country. Examples include skilled Arabic translators so desperately needed in Afghanistan and Iraq combat, ordered to be silent and celibate or else be removed from duty.
“This was a fun award to receive and a great acknowledgment of the film and the issue,” said Symons.
The hype around Ask Not could not come at a more relevant time. At his State of the Union address this past January, President Obama vowed to repeal DADT during his first term. Soon after, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm Mike Mullen also denounced the policy before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The film also recently aired on Capitol Hill to coincide with Congressional hearings on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Congratulations to Johnny and his team!
Glee and Independent Lens — Peabodys in a Pod
Lois Vossen, series producer of Independent Lens and Vice President of ITVS, attended the Peabody Awards ceremony Monday night at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where the films Between the Folds and The Order of Myths won the prestigious award. She talks about the unprecedented evening:
From L to R: Vanessa Gould, Lois Vossen and Margaret Brown at the Peabody Awards Ceremony
The 69th Annual Peabody Awards ceremony, hosted by Diane Sawyer on Monday, marked the third consecutive year that Independent Lens received two Peabody Awards in one year, perhaps the only television series to ever achieve this honor.
Dr. Susan Douglas, the chair of the Peabody Awards Board, said that the 34 honorees were selected from nearly 1,200 finalists, confirming that the Peabody selection process is perhaps the most rigorous of any of the top industry awards.
Vanessa Gould received a Peabody Award for her first film, Between the Folds, a film exploring the intersection of fine art and science embodied in the practice of origami. Margaret Brown received a Peabody Award for The Order of Myths, an examination of the joyous yet still segregated celebration of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama.
Two Independent Lens Programs Win Peabody Awards
The George Foster Peabody Awards, administered by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the oldest, and one of the most prestigious honors in electronic media. Among this year’s winners are two Independent Lens programs:
Between the Folds, by Vanessa Gould, chronicles the stories of 10 fine artists and intrepid theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and hard-earned graduate degrees — all to forge unconventional lives as modern-day paper-folders.
The Order of Myths, by Margaret Brown , a complex story about race relations and the ever-present racial divide in America told through the pageantry at America’s oldest Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama.
Congratulations to the filmmakers on this incredible achievement! This brings the total of Peabody awards for ITVS films to 16.
The Peabody awards will be presented May 17 at a luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City with ABC’s Diane Sawyer as host.
Visit the Peabody Award website for a complete list of winners >>
ITVS Film Vies for 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary
The Oscar buzz is in the air! This Sunday, March 7, Hollywood takes center stage for one of its biggest nights of the year with the 2010 Academy Awards.
Competing for Best Documentary Feature is the ITVS film The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Also, Independent Lens host Maggie Gyllenhaal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the feature film Crazy Heart.
In addition, several previously funded ITVS filmmakers received nominations for their work in the category of short documentary.
- China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)
- The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
- The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar produced A Lion in the House; Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher made Iron Ladies of Liberia; and Jon Alpert made The Last Cowboy. All three films aired on Independent Lens on PBS.
Congratulations and good luck to all the filmmakers!
Check out this the video preview of The Most Dangerous Man in America:
Who do you think will win? Share your thoughts in our comment section.
ITVS Funded Filmmakers Oscar Nominations for Short Documentary
The Oscar buzz is in the air! Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their 2010 nominees, which included the ITVS film The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers for Best Documentary Feature. Also, Independent Lens host Maggie Gyllenhaal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the feature film Crazy Heart.
Several previously funded ITVS filmmakers received nominations for their work in the category of short documentary.
- China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)
- The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
- The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar produced A Lion In The House; Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher made Iron Ladies of Liberia; and Jon Alpert made The Last Cowboy. All three films aired on Independent Lens on PBS.
The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7. Stay tuned to Beyond the Box for further coverage. Congratulations and good luck to all the filmmakers!
Oscar Noms for The Most Dangerous Man in America; Indie Lens Host Maggie Gyllenhaal
This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially announced that The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This marks the 11th Academy Award nomination for ITVS.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a leading Vietnam War strategist, concludes that America’s role in the war is based on decades of lies. He leaks 7,000 pages of top-secret documents to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that leads directly to Watergate, President Nixon’s resignation, and the end of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg and a who’s-who of Vietnam-era movers and shakers give a riveting account of those world-changing events. The film is by award-winning filmmakers Judith Ehrlich (The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It) and Rick Goldsmith (Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press). The film will air later this year on P.O.V. on PBS.
Nominees for Best Documentary Feature of the year include:
- Burma VJ
- The Cove
- Food, Inc.
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
- Which Way Home
Also, Independent Lens series host Maggie Gyllenhaal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her compelling role as a journalist and single mom in the film Crazy Heart. When shooting the Independent Lens host introductions in New York City last August, Maggie talked about this flim and how proud she was of the work. She praised her co-star Jeff Bridges and predicted that his performance would receive wide acclaim. We want to congratulate Maggie on her Academy Award nomination and are honored to be working with her on Independent Lens.
Nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role include:
- Penélope Cruz in Nine
- Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
- Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
- Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
- Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Check out the entire list of this year’s nominees >>
The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7. Stay tuned to Beyond the Box for further coverage.Congratulations and good luck to all the filmmakers!
Watch a clip of The Most Dangerous Man in America:
The Oath Honored at the Sundance Film Festival
Director Laura Poitras and crew at the Sundance screening of The Oath.
The Sundance Film Festival, held annually in Park City, Utah, is one of the largest and most prominent festivals for independent filmmakers.
Thirty-four films were awarded prizes in 29 categories, honoring both veteran and first-time filmmakers from around the world. Taking home the Excellence in Cinematography Award for U.S. Documentary was The Oath, by Laura Poitras. The film will have its television premiere later this year on P.O.V. on PBS (check local listings).
Filmed in Yemen, The Oath is a family drama about Al Qaeda and Guantanamo Bay Prison. This documentary is the second in a trilogy about America post 9/11. The first film, My Country, My Country, documented the U.S. occupation of Iraq from the perspective of an Iraqi family. The third film will focus on domestic surveillance.
Get the full list of winners at Sundance >>
In the video below, Laura Poitras sits down and gives an in depth look at her film, which she hopes will help people gain a better understanding of Al Qaeda and Guantanamo.
And the 2010 duPont-Columbia University Awards go to…
Filmmakers Elizabeth Farnsworth (at podium) and Patricio Lanfranco (left) accept the 2010 duPont-Columbia University Award. Also on stage include: Gwen Ifill, host of the ceremony; Rob Weiss, Blair Gershkow, and Andreas Cediel, members of the production team.
Last night, the 2010 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards were presented. Among the winners of this prestigious broadcast journalism award was the ITVS film The Judge and the General, by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco, which aired on P.O.V. on PBS.
The Judge and the General reveals the transformation of Judge Juan Guzmán in Chile as he is assigned by judicial lottery to investigate the first criminal cases filed against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. An international detective story, the film follows the judge as he uncovers the truth about the regime he had supported.
Other winners honored last night include:
- American Public Media, American RadioWorks, Michael Montgomery & Joshua E. S. Phillips: What Killed Sergeant Gray
- CBS News & Katie Couric: The Sarah Palin Interviews
- CBS News: CBS Reports: Children of the Recession
- HBO & Edet Belzberg: The Recruiter
- KHOU-TV, Houston & Mark Greenblatt: Under Fire: Discrimination and Corruption in the Texas National Guard
- KMGH-TV, Denver & Tony Kovaleski: 33 Minutes to 34 Right
- MediaStorm & Jonathan Torgovnik: Intended Consequences
- NPR, Michele Norris & Steve Inskeep: The York Project: Race and the 2008 Vote
- WCAX-TV, Burlington & Kristin Carlson: Foreigners on the Farm
- WGBH, Boston, Frontline/World, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy & Dan Edge: Pakistan: Children of the Taliban, on PBS
- WSVN-TV, Miami, Carmel Cafiero & Anthony Pineda: Pill Mills
- WTVF-TV, Nashville & Phil Williams: General Sessions Court
- WWL-TV, New Orleans: NOAH Housing Program Investigation
Learn more about the duPont-Columbia University Awards >>
GARBAGE DREAMS, Ellsberg Doc Make Oscar Short List
The Oscar buzz is in the air! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced 15 films in the Documentary Feature category that will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards. Eighty-nine pictures had originally qualified in the category.
Among those on the short list include GARBAGE DREAMS, airing on this season of Independent Lens and the ITVS-funded film THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.
The official nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 AM PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.
Congratulations to all the filmmakers!
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