documentary
ITVS in the News
A sampling of coverage from CNN, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and more…
CNN.com: Muslim superhero comics meets resistance in U.S.
Naif Al-Mutawa anticipated a struggle when he launched an Islam-inspired comic book series that he hoped would become a symbol of toleration. He worried about the comics being banned in Saudi Arabia – which wound up happening, briefly – and he expected to be challenged by conservatives in Islam, since Al-Mutawa wanted to buck the trend of Islamic culture being directly tied to the Koran. But it wasn’t an Islamic cleric that stalled the series, called “The 99,” after the 99 attributes of Allah, which the superheroes are supposed to embody. It is the American market, and the voices of Islam’s Western critics, that have caused the most problems for “The 99,” says Al-Mutawa, who is the focus of a PBS documentary airing next week.
New York Times: An American Minority’s Road to Rights
It may be the least-publicized revolution of our time but the one whose impact ultimately reaches the furthest, affecting the way our buildings and buses are built, the way our schools are structured, the way our businesses conduct hiring and outfit their work stations. It’s the disability-rights movement, and Lives Worth Living, a Thursday Independent Lens on PBS, reconstructs how it emerged and eventually pushed through the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
› Continue reading
Live Chat on DDF Funding
This year’s deadline for the Diversity Development Fund (DDF) falls on November 11. On Tuesday, November 1 at 1PM PT / 4PM ET, ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad will be taking questions from interested applicants in a live chat on BTB.
The DDF provides up to $15,000 in research and development funding to independent producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Projects should speak to the ITVS mission to serve underserved audiences with programs that take creative risks, explore complex issues, inspire dialogue and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public television.
› Continue reading
New AIR Initiative Seeks Innovative Media Makers
Localore — a new initiative from The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) — is recruiting innovative producers to lead public stations in ways beyond broadcast.
Calling all independent media makers (yes, we’re talking to you filmmakers!). Do you want to explore new ways of telling your story? Do you have an idea that takes advantage of both traditional and digital media? Then take a look at Localore, a new initiative from our friends at The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), that’s designed to fuel public media’s capacity for innovative storytelling and journalism.
Through Localore, AIR will recruit talented radio, TV, film, and online producers to lead 10 public station-based projects, blending approaches to broadcast and digital platforms. This means mixing traditional media with mobile applications, online video, digital games, data visualization and maps — anything that will help to bring stories to the public in new ways beyond broadcast.
Interested producers are invited to submit proposals until November 10th at Localore.net.A second round of vetting in December will call on producers, matched with incubator stations, to submit final proposals.
Watch the station runway video (above) to see which public stations are interested in partnering with Independents. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get your innovative project considered for this game-changing initiative.
ITVS Garners Four Nominations for IFP Gotham Awards
ITVS films received four out of five nominations in the Best Documentary category for the 2011 Gotham Awards. The award ceremony will take place on November 28th at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
ITVS nearly got a clean sweep in the Best Documentary category of the IFP Gotham Awards with ITVS films receiving four out of the five nominations. Check out the list of ITVS Best Documentary nominees along with their trailers after the jump >>
› Continue reading
ITVS Announces Funding for Eight International Productions through The Global Perspectives Project
ITVS has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call. The next International Call Deadline is December 9, 2011.
- In the Shadow of the Sun by filmmakers Harry Freeland and Brian Hill are among the eight international projects slated to receive ITVS funding.
ITVS announced that it has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call as part of the Global Perspective Project. This year’s selections provide extraordinary access and insight into the daily lives and struggles of people who live in Uruguay, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Myanmar, and India.
The productions were selected through a competitive application process, which resulted in 476 submissions from 118 countries representing 72 languages.
All eight documentary projects are slated for eventual broadcast, including primetime slots on the Emmy® Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, P.O.V., and the international series, Global Voices.
Check out the complete list of funded projects after the jump >>
› Continue reading
2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winners Honored through Film
This year’s 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her compatriot Leymah Gbowee, and pro-democracy campaigner Tawakul Karman of Yemen — will be on display in groundbreaking documentary films as part of public media’s Women and Girls Lead campaign.
The co-recipients were honored for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. The Women and Girls Lead campaign has direct connections to two of the laureates recognized by the Nobel committee.
› Continue reading
Up Next on Independent Lens, Donor Unknown
Like a real-life The Kids Are All Right, Donor Unknown profiles a far-flung group of siblings in search of each other and their father. The film airs Thursday, October 20 on Independent Lens (check local listings). Earlier in the day, BTB will host a live chat on the subject at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on BTB.
JoEllen Marsh is 20 years old, and has never met her father. As she goes in search of her paternity, her path to Donor 150 becomes an exploration into identity and the complex permutations of family. Her journey raises questions about what makes us who we are, what makes a family, and what the brave new world of fertility technology means for our assumptions about both.
› Continue reading
Filmmaker Isaac Solotaroff on Wham! Bam! Islam!
Director Isaac Solotaroff talks about using Wham! Bam! Islam! and the recently released Hunt For the Noor Stone Interactive game to promote cultural understanding.
The interactive game, Hunt for the Noor Stone, just launched and features an in-depth, standards-aligned study guide for middle school students. The inspiration for the game came from THE 99, the comic book series featured in Solotaroff’s documentary Wham! Bam! Islam! which aired on Independent Lens last week, and is currently streaming for free on PBS.org. BTB caught up with Soloratoff last week to ask — why a game, and why now?
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Isaac Solotaroff and on my good days I get to work on documentaries and on my bad days I try to figure out how to raise money to make documentaries.
› Continue reading
Deadline for ITVS International Call on Dec. 9, 2011
ITVS International Call promotes the exchange of compelling documentary films between the United States and other nations, going beyond stereotypes and headline news.
ITVS International enables independent producers from outside the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through International Call, global storytellers introduce U.S. audiences to their world, their neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.
International Call provides production and/or post-production funds for single non-fiction television documentaries that bring international perspectives, ideas, stories and people to a U.S. audience. This initiative is for non-U.S. producers and filmmakers who live outside the U.S.
Please note: ITVS International Call 2012 will be an all digital submissions process.
For more information about guidelines, eligibility and how to submit, please visit www.itvs.org/funding/international
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with The Storm That Swept Mexico
ITVS celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Raymond Telles’ documentary and interactive website on the complex historical, social, political, economic and cultural forces that shaped the Mexican Revolution and its legacy.
The Mexican Revolution, the first major political and social revolution of the 20th century, not only changed the course of Mexican history, but also profoundly impacted its relationships with the rest of the world. The Storm That Swept Mexico, produced in association with Latino Public Broadcasting, looks at the complex historical, social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shaped the Revolution, influenced its course and determined its consequences and legacy.
Watch The Storm That Swept Mexico throughout Hispanic Heritage Month on PBS (check local listings).
› Continue reading
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
- #ILDocClub
- All Video
- Ask Programming
- Audio Podcasts
- Awards
- Community Cinema
- Community Classroom
- Exclusive
- Film Festivals
- Filmmaker Profile
- From the President's Desk
- FUTURESTATES
- Global Voices
- In the News
- Independent Lens
- Indie Roundup
- Inside Indies
- Institutional Updates
- ITVS Broadcasts
- ITVS Deep Dive
- ITVS Funding
- ITVS indie roundup
- ITVS Indies Showcase
- ITVS International
- Live Chat
- Minority Consortia
- New Online
- On the Road
- Producer Resources
- Public Media
- Recently Funded
- Social Media
- Social Screening
- Special Events
- Talkback
- Uncategorized
- Women and Girls Lead
Related sites
Film Blogs
Public Media Blogs
-
Get the Beyond the Box e-newsletter, sent monthly with the latest news about ITVS, funding opportunities and more. Enter your email and sign up.
-
Sign up for the Independent Lens newsletter. Get news once a week during the broadcast season (fall-spring).