Tag Archives: the new york times

Half the Sky Wins New Fans at PBS Annual Meeting

Posted on by

By Tamara Gould
Vice President, ITVS International

Based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky will premiere as a special presentation on Independent Lens in October 2012. The project is a cornerstone of the Women and Girls Lead campaign and was on display at last week’s PBS Annual Meeting in Denver.

Just back from the PBS annual meeting in Denver and was absolutely thrilled by the response from stations to the upcoming Half the Sky series, which will air on October 1 and 2 as a special presentation of Independent Lens.

This project has been several years in the making, taking up the ambitious work of New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn who wrote Half the Sky to highlight the challenges that women and girls are facing worldwide — issues like trafficking, maternal health, female genital mutilation, and gender based violence.
Continue reading →

ITVS in the News

Posted on by

A sampling of coverage from the New York Times, Realscreen, and more …

New York Times: Sundance Documentaries Transform Data Into Stories
Over the weekend, The House I Live In, Eugene Jarecki’s heart-heavy investigation into the American war on drugs, nabbed the grand jury prize for documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.

Miller-McCune Magazine: Does Black History Month Need More Than a Month?
At a time when so many documentaries adopt an either angry or elegiac tone, More Than a Month has a disarmingly light touch. Among the several laugh-out-loud moments is a brief parody of Ken Burns’s The Civil War, featuring the filmmaker in period costume. Tilghman’s a great guide on this journey: he’s genuinely troubled by the questions he raises, but he’s also unpretentious, quizzical, and, at times, bemused.
Continue reading →

The Oscar Speculation Continues with If a Tree Falls

Posted on by

The New York Times Dot Earth blog recently featured Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman’s ITVS-funded documentary If a Tree Falls. The film takes an in-depth look at the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmental group that the FBI called the “number one domestic terrorism threat” in America.

Watch the trailer for If a Tree Falls after the jump.
Continue reading →

Nicholas Kristof’s Reports for Half The Sky Underway

Posted on by

The New York Times op-ed columnist is behind the recently announced primetime television special Half The Sky, which premieres on PBS’s Independent Lens in Fall 2012.

America Ferrera recently joined Nicholas Kristof in India to focus on the problem of human trafficking

Last month, BTB unveiled ITVS and CPB’s investment in Half The Sky, a primetime television special and multi-platform project based on New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s widely acclaimed book, Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The series will premiere as a special presentation on Independent Lens in Fall 2012 and is a cornerstone of the recently announced Women and Girls Lead campaign.

Some of today’s finest actresses and spokespeople have been tapped to engage with the subjects on the ground and broaden the understanding for viewers of the issues at hand, including Diane Lane, who recently traveled to Somaliland, and America Ferrera, who joined Kristof last month in India to focus on the problem of human trafficking.
Continue reading →

ITVS in the News

Posted on by

A sampling of coverage from The New York Times, indieWIRE, NPR and more…


New York Times: A TV Project Planned on Female Leadership
The Independent Television Service and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are teaming up for a three-year, 50-film project called “Women and Girls Lead,” which will put a documentary spotlight on leadership roles of women and girls and the challenges they face in the United States and worldwide.
Continue Reading >>>

indieWIRE Blog – Women and Hollywood: ITVS Launches Women and Girls Lead
This is “a major public media initiative that uses independent films to focus, educate, and connect audiences in support of women and girl’s leadership and development around the world.” There will also be an educational outreach component to the project and they will partner with organizations like the Girl Scouts that focus on these issues. Continue reading →

ITVS Announces Funding and Production of Half the Sky for Primetime PBS Broadcast

Posted on by

Based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the series will premiere as a special presentation on Independent Lens in Fall 2012. The project is a cornerstone of the recently announced Women and Girls Lead campaign.


ITVS announced today that it, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has made a significant investment in Half The Sky, a primetime television special and multi-platform project based on New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s widely acclaimed book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
Continue reading →

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

Posted on by


What would Sacheen Littlefeather say?
“And just like that, I began my day with Sacheen. I didn’t know who Sacheen Littlefeather was until I saw a screening of the documentary Reel Injun in Tulsa earlier this year. There is a film clip from the 1973 Oscar Awards in the documentary. Marlon Brando was announced winner of Best Actor for his role in The Godfather. Then a stunningly beautiful Native American woman ascends the steps to the stage on his behalf.”
Read more >>>


To Promo PBS Film, An Invitation To Head South
The PBS “Independent Lens” series, meanwhile, in the last five years has lined up 95 communities nationwide that offer free advance screenings of one film each month for nine months. Dennis Palmieri, director of communications for the parent organization, ITVS, estimates that 50,000 people each year attend the screenings, which are done in partnership with local nonprofit groups associated with the films’ causes.
Read more >>>
Continue reading →