The first-ever PBS Indies Showcase debuts this fall with the POV documentaries Brooklyn Castle (October 7, 2013) and 56 Up (October 14, 2013), the latest film in the groundbreaking Up series. Two more critically acclaimed documentaries will also air presented by our sister series Independent Lens — Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, directed by POV alumna Ramona Diaz, and The Waiting Room.
The PBS Indies Showcase spotlights the work of independent filmmakers, offering viewers year-round access to the diversity of voices and unique perspectives these films provide. Read more about the showcase in the PBS Pressroom »
Brooklyn Castle
Brooklyn Castle premieres October 7, 2013 at 10 PM on PBS stations. (Check local listings.)
Read more in the POV press release »
View & download photos from Brooklyn Castle »
This public-school powerhouse in junior high chess competitions has won more than 30 national championships, the most of any school in the country. Its 85-member squad boasts so many strong players that the late Albert Einstein, a dedicated chess maven, would rank fourth if he were on the team. Most astoundingly, I.S. 318 is a Brooklyn school that serves mostly minority students from families living below the poverty line. Brooklyn Castle is the exhilarating story of five of the school’s aspiring young players and how chess became the school’s unlikely inspiration for academic success.
56 Up
56 Up premieres October 14, 2013 at 10 PM on PBS stations. (Check local listings.) 56 Up will be available for streaming on the POV website from October 15 to November 13, 2013.
Read more in the POV press release »
View & download photos from 56 Up »
In 1964, a group of British 7-year-olds were interviewed about their lives and dreams in a groundbreaking television documentary, Seven Up. Since then, in one of the greatest projects in television history, renowned director Michael Apted has returned to film the same subjects every seven years, tracking their ups and downs. POV, which presented the U.S. broadcast premiere of 49 Up in 2007, returns with 56 Up to find the group settling into middle age and surprisingly upbeat. Through marriage and childbirth, poverty and illness, the “kids” have come to terms with both hope and disappointment. Winner, 2013 George Foster Peabody Award for the ‘Up’ series.
Follow the PBS Indies Showcase on Twitter with the hashtag #PBSindies. Connect with Independent Lens on Facebook or Twitter @IndependentLens. And stay connected with POV, and all of our 2013 films, on Facebook and Twitter.
