POV executive director Simon KilmurryPOV Executive Director Simon Kilmurry unveils the exciting line-up for the 22nd season of POV on PBS.

It’s always an exciting day when we finally get to announce the upcoming POV season. We’ve spent hundred of hours screening nearly 1,000 films, countless hours debating and arguing, and we’ve had to make some difficult choices along the way. What’s emerged is a series of films by new and veteran filmmakers that have a number of things in common — great storytelling, compelling characters, and a group of films that look at the world through a very particular lens — one that you won’t see elsewhere.

A still image from 'New Muslim Cool'

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor’s New Muslim Cool kicks off
the 22nd season of POV on June 23, 2009.

Like all good cinema, documentaries should take you on a journey, they should evoke empathy, surprise you and make you question your assumptions. These films do all that and more. So (drumroll please), the 2009 season of POV is:

June 23New Muslim Cool by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
June 30Beyond Hatred by Olivier Meyrou
July 7Life. Support. Music. by Eric Daniel Metzgar
July 14The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court by
Pamela Yates
July 21The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
July 28Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go by Kim Longinotto
August 4Encore Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music by Robert
Elfstrom
August 11Encore Made in L.A. by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar
August 18POV Shorts Selection (To be announced)
August 25The Way Up by Georgi Lazarevski
Sept. 1Ella Es El Matador (She is the Matador) by Gemma Cubero and
Celeste Carrasco
Sept. 8The English Surgeon by Geoffrey Smith
Sept. 15The Principal Story by Tod Lending and David Mrazek
Sept. 22Bronx Princess by Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed
November SpecialThe Way We Get By by Aron Gaudet
January SpecialPatti Smith: Dream of Life by Steven Sebring

The POV team is busy producing websites and support materials and setting up community engagement screenings for all the films. We’ll be putting up trailers for all of the film in the upcoming days, and in the meanwhile, you can sign up for email reminders for each 2009 film.

To keep up with everything POV, sign up for our newsletter. You can also follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook. A full press release for the season can be found in our pressroom.
Thanks to all those who have helped make this season possible!

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Simon Kilmurry
Simon served as chief operating officer of American Documentary for six years before assuming the role of executive director in Fall 2006. Since joining AmDoc in 1999, he has played a key role in helping to set strategic direction for the organization and implementing new initiatives, including the Diverse Voices Project, POV's co-production initiative in support of emerging filmmakers; POV's Borders, PBS' Webby Award-winning online series; and True Lives, a second-run series for independent documentaries on public television. In addition, he worked to secure pioneering partnerships with both Netflix and Docurama to expand the distribution opportunities for POV filmmakers and enhance branding for POV Previously, Simon was associate director at Teachers & Writers Collaborative, a nonprofit literary arts and education organization and publisher, where he is now a member of the board of directors. He has also served as a board member and treasurer for Elders Share the Arts and East Harlem Block Schools, and as an informal advisor and funding panel member for other organizations including the New York City Center for Arts Education, the Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers and New York State Council on the Arts. Simon attended the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Columbia University Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.