The POV Blog is all about documentaries: how they’re made, what they’re about, why we love them.
We bring you round-ups of current documentaries; interviews with documentary filmmakers; sneak peeks of docs-in-progress; guides to other projects and sites related to documentaries; in-depth articles around issues; events and ideas related to documentary film; and more.
The POV Blog is also a place for conversation and debate around all of the above. We welcome all comments and questions from our readers! If there’s something you’d like us to cover on the POV Blog, send us a note on the POV Contact page.
- Celebrate #MyAPALife with POV Films Celebrate Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month with films created by, about and for Asian Americans.
- AMERICA REFRAMED UNFILTERED: Confronting Inequality – On Screen and Off For Ahkeem is the coming-of-age story of Daje "Boonie" Shelton, a Black 17-year-old girl in North St. Louis. After a school fight lands Boonie in a court-supervised high school, she's determined to turn things around and build a better future for herself and her son. Through Daje's intimate experience in and out of school, For Ahkeem illuminates the challenges many Black teenagers face in America today. In this UNFILTERED blog post, Landon Van Soest, who co-directed the film with Jeremy S. Levine, examines the implications, challenges, and responsibilities of making a documentary film across race and class.
- AMERICA REFRAMED UNFILTERED: People Do Care In the following UNFILTERED blog post, the team behind Gentlemen of Vision share how audiences connect to authentic characters and heartfelt storytelling.
- How POV Became Former Executive Producer Simon Kilmurry's Very Own “Film School” In our blog’s ongoing series of former EPs writing about POV's 30th anniversary, Simon Kilmurry recalls how he first came across POV as a viewer.
- Collaboration Is Key in Flaherty NYC's “Common Visions” 2018 Winter/Spring 2017 series "Common Visions"
- 4 Tips to Making a Successful Documentary Series: Former EP Cara Mertes on POV's 30th Anniversary What makes a successful television documentary series? Cara Mertes gives us some tips as part of our blog's ongoing series of former EPs reflecting on 30 years.
- Former Executive Producer Lisa Heller Reflects on 30 Years The third letter in our series of letters from past executive producers for POV comes from Lisa Heller.
- Why It's Important to Be Open to Experimentation as a Film Editor Geoffrey Richman shares why experimenting with ideas in the edit room can lead to great discoveries.
- How It All Began: POV Founder Marc Weiss Talks About The Series' Beginning POV's founder and first executive producer Marc Weiss writes about the hopes and challenges of creating an entire television series dedicated to independent documentaries.
- When History is Silent: Overcoming Trauma Through the Restoration of Cultural Memory As November wraps up, we'd like to honor it as Native American Heritage Month by exploring the themes of history, memory, and trauma in two recently-broadcast America ReFramed films.
- A Poignant Follow Up to 'Almost Sunrise' "Voices of Resilience: Insight From Injury" short film further explores moral injury
- Equipping the Next Generation to Create Impact Through Film Social Impact Producer and Duke Adjunct Instructor, Heidi Nel, is in conversation with Sini Chen, Duke University Student and intern at American Documentary Inc. (AmDoc).
- Featured Event Series: Maritime Communities Screen 'The Islands and the Whales' POV is partnering with communities across the United States to screen Mike Day's 'The Islands and the Whales.'
- AMERICA REFRAMED UNFILTERED: Inclusion Shouldn’t Be a Lottery In the following UNFILTERED blog post, 'Deej' director and producer, Robert Rooy shares what he is learning from the austistic comunity.
- Exploring the Intersection of Documentary Filmmaking and Urban Sociology at America ReFramed Through her internship with America ReFramed, Stephanie Luna examined the intersection of documentary filmmaking and urban sociology.
- Recap of the Inaugural AmDoc Annual Benefit In commemoration of American Documentary's 30th anniversary, the first ever AmDoc Annual Benefit was held on Tuesday evening at Liberty Hall at Ace Hotel New York.
- Flaherty NYC's “Out From Under” Explores the Physical and Metaphorical 'Underground' 2017 Fall Flaherty NYC programmers Maori Karmael Holmes and Charlotte Ickes talk about exploring the underground in their series "Out From Under.".
- Collaboration in the Edit Room: Maya Mumma Shares Her Co-Editing Process Leigh Johnson is in conversation with Maya Mumma about collaborating with mutiple editors on a film.