ITVS Funded Films Receive Three Nominations for the 2011 IDA Awards

Three ITVS projects received nominations for the 2011 IDA Awards which will be held on December 2nd in Los Angeles.

The IDA Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in documentary filmmaking and three ITVS funded films received nominations for the 2011 Awards. All three nominees were originally broadcast on the award-winning PBS series POV.  See the entire list of ITVS nominees after the jump:
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Tags: Academy Award, American Experience, Awards, documentary, Emmy, film festival, filmmaker, independent, Independent Lens, P.O.V., PBS

Now on Indies Showcase: Lost Boys of Sudan

Emmy Award-nominated documentary from  Jon Shenk and Megan Mylan follows two young refugees of Sudan’s civil war through their first year in America. Lost Boys of Sudan streams free until Sept. 7th on ITVS’s Indies Showcase.

Orphaned as boys by Sudan’s civil war, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and gunfire to reach a Kenyan refugee camp with thousands of other children. After a decade in the camp, they come to America. Lost Boys of Sudan  follows them from Africa through their first year in the United States as they are confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary America.

Watch Lost Boys of Sudan now on ITVS’s Indies Showcase >>

Tags: Africa, america, civil war, documentary, Emmy, Free, immigration, Kenya, refugees, streaming, sudan, USA

Now Streaming on Indies Showcase: Daddy & Papa

Exploring the growing phenomenon of gay fatherhood through the stories of four families, Daddy & Papa looks at gay fathers who face both the routine and revolutionary challenges of becoming parents. Watch the Emmy Award-nominated documentary streaming free until Sept. 1st on ITVS’s Indies Showcase.

Daddy & Papa explores the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men who are making a decision that is at once traditional and revolutionary: to raise children themselves. Taking us inside four gay male families, Daddy & Papa traces the day-to-day challenges and the larger, critical issues that inevitably intersect their private lives – the ambiguous place of interracial families in America, the wonder and precariousness of surrogacy and adoption, the complexities of marriage and divorce within the gay community, and the legality of their own parenthood.

Watch Daddy & Papa now on ITVS’s Indies Showcase >>

Tags: adoption, babies, divorce, Emmy, Fatherhood, film festival, gay, marriage, parenting, parents, Sundance, traditional

Now Streaming on Indies Showcase: Girls Like Us

Emmy Award-winning documentary from Jane C. Wagner and Tina DiFeliciantonio takes a disarming look into the lives of teenage girls, working to shape their identities in the ’90s. Girls Like Us streams free until Friday, August 26 as part of ITVS’s Indies Showcase.

An ethnically diverse group of four working class girls strut, flirt, and testify in this vibrant, affecting portrait of teenage girls’ experiences of sexuality. Filmed in South Philadelphia and following its subjects from the ages of 14 to 18, Girls Like Us reveals the conflicts of growing up female by examining the impact of class, sexism, and violence on the dreams and expectations of young girls.

Watch Girls Like Us now on Indies Showcase >>

Tags: 90s, Emmy, film festival, girls, P.O.V., PBS, Philadelphia, teen, teenage, women, working class

Filmmakers Judy Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith Earn Emmy Nomination for Most Dangerous Man

The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers has picked up an Emmy nomination for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. The documentary, produced by Judy Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, aired last season on P.O.V.. Join ITVS in congratulating the filmmakers and P.O.V.!

The film follows Daniel Ellsberg, a leading Vietnam War strategist, who concluded in 1971 that America’s role in the war was based on decades of lies. He leaked 7,000 pages of top-secret documents to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that led directly to Watergate, President Nixon’s resignation, and the end of the Vietnam War.
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Tags: Daniel Ellsberg, Emmy, ITVS, judy ehrlich, most dangerous man, P.O.V., Rick Goldsmith

From Low Budget to Gold Statuette

ITVS-funded Girls on the Wall recently picked up an Emmy

Filmmaker Heather Ross recently picked up an Emmy for her film Girls on the Wall, which was a recipient of ITVS’s Open Call. Ross fills in the picture for BTB on the journey that led to the award.

Six years ago, I moved to a faraway city and started shooting a documentary with the naïve idea that the rest of the pieces would fall into place. The film, Girls on the Wall, followed a group of teenage girls in prison as they took on an unlikely task — writing and staging a musical, using their lives and their crimes as the story.

It ended up taking about five years to make, and I had to rely on almost everyone I knew, and many I didn’t, to get it out into the world. Last weekend, this little film got a big shot in the arm: it won an Emmy.
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Tags: Emmy, girls on the wall, ITVS, Open Call, women's empowerment

International Call Profile: Rachel Wexler

Filmmaker Rachel Wexler

With the International Call deadline less than a month away (December 10, 2010!), BTB is highlighting past recipients of funding through that initiative. This week, we turn to Producer Rachel Wexler who teamed up with Director Geoffrey Smith on his Emmy Award-winning documentary The English Surgeon. Wexler is also attached to the ITVS-funded film My Perestroika, which is currently in production.

Beyond the Box: First off, congratulations on the Emmy!

Rachel Wexler: Thank you very much. Unfortunately I couldn’t be in New York for the ceremony as I was not well enough to travel. I was very disappointed not to be there, but you’ve got to be fit if you’re going to make that transatlantic journey.

The director, Geoffrey Smith, called me at about 2 AM with the news and I was so excited I was unable to go back to sleep!
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Tags: Emmy, geoffrey smith, international call, ITVS International, my perestroika, rachel wexler, the english surgeon

Emmy Winner Geoffrey Smith on The English Surgeon

Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith won an Emmy Monday night for The English Surgeon

Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith has made more than 22 films throughout his career and has collected numerous awards for his work. On Monday night, he picked up an Emmy for The English Surgeon, his film about a British neurosurgeon who confronts the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship on his latest mission to Ukraine. The documentary was supported by ITVS International (speaking of, the deadline for our 2011 International Call has been changed to December 10, 2010). Smith spoke to BTB about the Emmy, the film, and the ITVS funding that helped from the start.

First off, congratulations on the Emmy! What can you tell us about Monday night’s event in NYC?

Thanks! It was very wet in New York City. Central Park looked very British and so I felt right at home. It was great to see all of my colleagues.
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Tags: docs, Emmy, film funding, funding, Independent Lens, indie, international, ITVS, New York, PBS, the english surgeon

Lois Vossen on Emmy Honors for the Fourth Estate

Lois Vossen, Vice President of ITVS & Series Producer of Independent Lens

Independent Lens Series Producer and ITVS Vice President, Lois Vossen, was on hand Monday night in New York for the 31^st Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. Earlier today she filed this report for BTB, on an evening that bestowed plenty of laurels on public television.

A warm September rain didn’t dampen the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. The most respected and recognizable faces in broadcast journalism, along with hundreds of independent documentary filmmakers, producers, and broadcasters gathered at Lincoln Center for this annual showcase to acknowledge the best in television journalism and reporting.

Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman — longtime friend of ITVS — was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award

A highlight of this year’s ceremony was a Lifetime Achievement Award for Frederick Wiseman. Independent Lens proudly premiered Fred’s narrative film The Last Letter on our third season (2005). Additionally, ITVS has worked with Fred and funded three of his films including State Legislature, Boxing Gym (broadcasting this fall on PBS), and his upcoming film on the University of California, Berkeley.

In his well-timed remarks, Fred thanked the people inside public television who have supported his work these many years including: Sandy Heberer at PBS, Tammy Robinson in her years at WNET, and Claire Aguilar of ITVS. Not just anyone can graciously accept a lifetime achievement award by effectively telling a morgue joke. Fred can. › Continue reading

Tags: dan rather, Emmy, frederick wiseman, ITVS, lincoln center, lois vossen, New York, NewsHour, P.O.V., PBS, the english surgeon

And the Emmy Goes to…

The English Surgeon picked up an Emmy Monday night for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming

The English Surgeon! Congratulations to director/producer Geoffrey Smith and co-producer Rachel Wexler on picking up an Emmy for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming. The film aired last year on P.O.V. and received funding from ITVS International.

The documentary follows a British neurosurgeon as he confronts the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship on his latest mission to Ukraine. Check out this clip below from the Emmy Award-winning film, The English Surgeon.

Check back in with BTB tomorrow for a conversation with filmmaker Geoffrey Smith. Click here for a complete list of Emmy winners from last night’s awards.

Tags: Awards, Emmy, geoffrey smith, international, ITVS, P.O.V., PBS, the english surgeon