Most Dangerous Man in America

POV’s The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, directed and produced by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, has been nominated for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking in the Creative Arts category of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. The nomination was announced this morning by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles.

The Most Dangerous Man in America had its national broadcast premiere in October 2010, closing POV’s 23rd season. The film was rebroadcast and streamed online in June 2011, kicking off POV’s 24th season, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

Co-producer, Judith Ehrlich says, “Certainly the Emmy nomination is an honor for the film and great for the story. Of course at this moment history is repeating itself with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. So this film about the history of Daniel Ellsberg, the most famous whistle-blower of the 20th century sheds needed light on the current situation, as it tells an important piece of American history. What a thrill to bring more attention to Daniel Ellsberg and the film with this award. We’re in incredibly good company. I am happy to be in competition with an important film like Freedom Riders and grateful to POV for their support and two broadcasts of the film.”

“We’re still involved in two wars,” says co-producer Rick Goldsmith. “Government secrecy is tighter than ever, and the peoples’ right to know has never been more important. So, I think this film, and our story, has a lot to say to the people of America and the world.”

Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith told us more about the film and its impact in this exclusive extended video interview from 2010.

Watch the full episode. See more POV.

The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be taped on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, and aired at a later date on the E! Network. The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, primarily for the performing arts and hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Lynch, will air live from the NOKIA Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, on FOX.

Now in its 24th season on PBS, POV has won 23 Emmy Awards, earned 54 Emmy nominations and received a 2007 Special News & Documentary Emmy for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking. POV has garnered many other coveted industry awards and honors, including 12 George Foster Peabody Awards, nine duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, four Independent Spirit Awards, three Academy Awards®, the Prix Italia, the Webby and the International Documentary Association IDA Award for Best Continuing Series. POV airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on PBS from June to September, and features prime-time specials during the year. Check local listings.

For more about The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, visit POV’s Most Dangerous Man companion site for additional video and interactive features inspired by the film.

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Alva French is a freelance multimedia journalist and was a POV Digital intern in Summer 2011. She has been blogging on French and Francophone music, politics and culture since 2007 and is an aspiring documentary filmmaker. Alva is currently an M.A. candidate in International Reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.