In its 30 seasons of programming, POV has often featured work by filmmakers interested in the complexities of family life and parenthood—including some by filmmakers interested in reexamining memories of their own parents. Celebrate Father’s Day by watching these five films about the joys and difficulties of being (and having) a father.
You can also bring these films to your communities with the relaunched POV Community Network. Explore more than 90 titles that are available for free for community organizations, librarians, teachers, PBS stations and engaged individuals who wish to screen these films to the public. Films also come with educational materials to further engage audiences with the topics explored in our documentaries.
Tough Love by Stephanie Wang-Breal
What makes a good parent? How do you prove you are responsible after you’ve been deemed unfit? Having lost custody of their children to Child Protective Services, two parents — one in New York City and one in Seattle — fight to win back the trust of the courts and reunite their families in Stephanie Wang-Breal’s moving film. Acknowledging their past parenting mistakes due to poverty, poor choices and addiction, both Hannah and Patrick contend with a complex bureaucracy to prove they deserve a second chance. A co-production of ITVS. A co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).
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From This Day Forward by Sharon Shattuck
From This Day Forward is a moving portrayal of an American family coping with one of life’s most intimate transformations. When director Sharon Shattuck’s father came out as transgender and began living as Trisha, Sharon was in the awkward throes of middle school. Her father’s transition to female was difficult for her straight-identified mother, Marcia, to accept, but her parents stayed together. As the Shattucks reunite to plan Sharon’s wedding, she seeks a deeper understanding of how her parents’ marriage, and their family, survived intact.
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StoryCorps Shorts: The Last Viewing by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch
When Army 1st Lt. Nainoa K. Hoe died in Iraq in 2005, his family was left to mourn without much information about his final moments. Years later, his father, Allen Hoe, traveled to Washington, D.C. and happened upon a stranger who recognized his son’s picture: the army nurse who prepared his body for burial. Part of the 2015 StoryCorps series on POV. Since 2010, POV and StoryCorps have brought over 30 animated shorts to PBS and online audiences. Founded by Dave Isay, StoryCorps records and preserves the voices of everyday people, one conversation at a time.
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William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe examines the life of this radical attorney from a surprising angle. Kunstler’s two daughters from his second marriage grew up lionizing a man already famous for his historic civil rights and anti-war cases. Then, in their teens, they began to be disillusioned by a stubborn man who continued representing some of the most reviled defendants in America — this time accused rapists and terrorists. In this intimate biography, Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler seek to recover the real story of what made their late father one of the most beloved, and hated, lawyers in America. Winner of the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Vision Award, 2009 Sundance Film Festival. A co-production of ITVS.
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StoryCorps Shorts: A Family Man by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch
For decades, John L. Black, Sr. worked as a janitor in Cincinnati Public Schools to provide for his son Samuel and ten other children. In this conversation with his wife Edda, Samuel recalls a few memories of his late father, who worked 16-hour days to support his family and asked for nothing but foot rubs in return. Part of the 2015 StoryCorps series on POV. Since 2010, POV and StoryCorps have brought over 30 animated shorts to PBS and online audiences. Founded by Dave Isay, StoryCorps records and preserves the voices of everyday people, one conversation at a time.
Screen the film | Watch the film online
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