public television
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.
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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 >>
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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
Introducing the 10th Season of Independent Lens
Independent Lens announced Wednesday the launch of its 10th season on PBS featuring a remarkable lineup of 30 films from a broad range of talented independent filmmakers. The Emmy Award-winning series moves to Thursday nights at 10 PM (check local listings) and will premiere on October 13, 2011 with Wham! Bam! Islam!
The fall season of Independent Lens opens with a film directed by Isaac Solotaroff, Wham! Bam! Islam!, which explores the rocky road to acceptance and success for the first Islamic-themed comic book series featuring Muslim superheroes.
Other documentary features making their premieres include: Donor Unknown, directed by Jerry Rothwell, about a group of young women and men conceived by artificial insemination who set out to discover their biological father and in the process meet their (many) siblings; We Still Live Here — Âs Nutayuneân, directed by Anne Makepeace (presented during Native American Heritage Month), captures the return of the Wampanoag nation’s lost native language, the first time a language with no native speakers has been revived in this country.
Additional programming highlights include three documentaries featuring individuals who are facing unique challenges: Lives Worth Living, directed by Eric Neudel, looks at Fred Fay, a man who survived a devastating spinal cord injury when he was only 16, and turned his misfortune into a movement for disabled equality; Deaf Jam, directed by Judy Lieff, focuses on deaf teen Aneta Brodski’s discovery of American Sign Language (ASL) poetry, and her bold journey into the spoken word slam scene; and You’re Looking At Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t,directed by Scott Kirschenbaum, questions our preconceptions of illness and aging through a first person account of Lee Gorewitz’s life inside an Alzheimer’s care home in California.
What Does Public Media’s Future Look Like?
Co-managing Director of Public Media Company (PMC) Ken Ikeda talks about the “race to reengage future audiences,” and its effect on public media.
As part of BTB’s ongoing mission to curate news and opinions on public media, we have called upon key players to share their take on the evolving environment. Over the next several weeks, BTB will be rolling out their thoughts and ideas, adding to the conversation on public media’s role now and in the years to come.
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Southern Belle: Playing History, Hoop Skirt and All
By Kate Sullivan Green
Southern Belle is an insider’s look at the 1861 Athenaeum Girls’ School where young women from around the world sign up to become that iconic and romantic image of southern identity — the southern belle. ITVS’s Kate Green discussed the documentary — which begins airing Friday, July 1 on public television — with filmmakers Kathy Conkwright and Mary Makely.
What inspired you to make Southern Belle?
Kathy Conkwright: We saw a picture in a local magazine from the Tennessee Farm Bureau and were immediately intrigued. Being from the South, I feel like southern culture is often misunderstood and represented in a one-dimensional way. I wanted to better understand what these beliefs were and what their motivation was.
Mary Makely: Growing up in the North, southern culture was new to me, so this was a way to understand a culture I’m not born into. And as a woman I couldn’t imagine why any young woman would want to go back to and celebrate a time when your life was more restrictive. I was curious about what they hoped to gain from this experience.
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Watch Frederick Wiseman’s Documentary Boxing Gym Tonight on PBS
Acclaimed filmmaker Frederick Wiseman explores the dichotomous role of the boxing gym in modern cities — a place of violence, but also discipline; the site of fights, but also of community. Boxing Gym premieres Thursday, June 16 on PBS (check local listings).
Boxing is a sport of contradictions. It can be bloody, hurtful, and cruel, but at the same time it requires dedication, discipline, focus, a grueling work ethic, sacrifice, conditioning, and ferocious demands on the body and mind.
Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary Boxing Gym centers on Lord’s Gym in Austin, Texas, which was founded by former pro boxer Richard Lord. This gym — as well as others like it across the country — is a community institution: For many, it’s a place to train for the professional ring. For many others, it is also a home, a refuge, a safe place to escape to from the turbulence of the streets, a place where parents bring troubled children.
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Open Call Funding Application Goes Digital
As ITVS moves into its 20th year, the organization’s largest funding initiative, Open Call, is making the switch to digital. Starting this summer, all materials must be submitted online, including video.
What are the benefits of doing this?
• Faster and more streamlined communication with ITVS staff.
• Ability to track the progress of your project online,
• Promotes sustainable practices by saving reams of paper, and greatly reducing the carbon-footprint of ITVS and the indie documentary community.
• Significant cost savings with the elimination of postage and overnight mailing fees, as well as printing, dubbing, and other expenses.
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Get ITVS’s New A-to-Z Guide to Producing for Public Television
Calling all independent producers: The latest edition of the ITVS Production Manual is now available for purchase at www.itvs.org.
What kind of music rights do I need to clear for my film? What is E&O insurance and how do I obtain it? What do I need to consider regarding financials and reporting to funders? How do I use social media to do outreach for my film?
Attention all independent producers: Get the answers to these and other useful questions in the latest edition of the ITVS Production Manual: An A-to-Z Guide to Producing for Public Television, now available for purchase at www.itvs.org.
Learn about the process of getting your film to broadcast and beyond with sections on insurance and financial considerations, new media rights and clearances, public broadcasting distribution, publicity, social media, community engagement, and much more.
The 2011 edition of the manual is the culmination of years of industry experience — offering a collection of practical information contributed by ITVS staff and independent producers, as well as distributors and colleagues from media organizations and the public television field.
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Fighting for the Public Square
By Sally Jo Fifer
ITVS President & CEO Sally Jo Fifer explains why — now more than ever — our democracy depends on the in-depth, diverse, and nuanced stories of independent filmmakers.
Beyond the Box trumpets the work of independent filmmakers, and rightly so.
Amid the posts, an occasional report from the organization about the organization seems in order — and not just because ITVS is rolling into its 20th year. We all have a stake in the health of the public institutions that serve us and for which we fought hard to make possible.
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