This spring, WGBH Lab and POV have partnered to fund 10 independent producers, helping each of them realize ideas for a three-minute short documentary about a 2008 election story. We evaluated almost 100 pitches that reflect a wide range of filmmakers’ experiences with the coming election. Everyone at the Lab and POV was impressed with quality of pitches, and though we had intended to choose five winners, you can see that the number was doubled — congratulations to all 10 producers! We wish them the best of luck, and can’t wait to see what they bring back.
The winning entries are listed below. For more information on each producer and their film, click the images; to follow the production process, visit the WGBH Lab Election 2008 site and check back often. The filmmakers are in production through June 6, and rough cuts will be online for review by the Lab community by June 9.

Election Fatigue Election Fatigue
Teralyn Wade – Jackson, MI

The Decision of Whether and How to Vote The Decision of Whether and How to Vote
Chris Metzler and Josh Kurz – San Francisco, CA

Back Home and Voting Back Home and Voting
Anthony Tenczar – Concord, NH

Uncle Sam Lives Uncle Sam Lives!
Jean Nagy – Boston, MA

Liberia??? Check! Liberia??? Check!
Lisa Russell – Brooklyn, NY


Green Collar Jobs Green Collar Jobs
John Estrada – Austin, TX

Declaration of Policy Declaration of Policy
Eren McGinnis – Tucson, AZ

Battling Bias Battling Bias: Islam and the 2008 Election
Stuart Harmon, Megan Thompson – Brooklyn, NY

My Best Friend for Congress My Best Friend for Congress
Michael Kogge – Los Angeles, CA

Faith and Circumstance Faith and Circumstance
Becky Beamer and Jeremy Zipple

Published by

Andrew Catauro
Andrew Catauro is a former Series Producer at POV. While at POV, he served on editorial panels and presented at festivals and conferences including the Sundance Film Festival, Doc/It in Trento, Italy, and the Asian Documentary Forum in Kolkata, India; as well as juries for the Brooklyn Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and East Silver Market in Jihlava, Czech Republic. His studies in Italian Cinema earned him the Immersion Award from the Milan International Film Festival. Andrew previously worked for the New York AIDS Film Festival and assisted Alexandra Kerry on documentary films in development. He holds a dual bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.Andrew's favorite documentaries are:Dark Days - Marc SingerThe Gleaners & I - Agnès VardaSilverlake Life: The View from Here - Peter Friedman & Tom JoslinManufacturing Consent - Mark Achbar & Peter WintonickTongues Untied - Marlon RiggsAmerican Dream - Barbara KoppleFamily Portrait Sittings - Alfred GuzzettiIn Search of Our Fathers - Marco WilliamsThe Education of Shelby Knox - Marion Lipschutz & Rose RosenblattNobody's Business - Alan Berliner