Downloads: POV 2007 Emmy Nominations Press Release
POV, public television’s premier showcase for independent point-of-view films has received four nominations in the 28th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. POV is currently presenting its 20th season on PBS.
The announcement was made on July 17 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Laura Poitras’ My Country, My Country was nominated for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story — Long Form; Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s The Boys of Baraka was nominated for Outstanding Informational Programming — Long Form; Rogier Kappers’ Lomax the Songhunter was nominated for Outstanding Cultural & Artistic Programming; and Ellen Perry’s The Fall of Fujimori was nominated for Best Documentary.
PBS led the pack this year with 22 nominations, more than any other broadcast or cable network.
“We are thrilled that the work of these extraordinary filmmakers is being recognized by the Academy.” said Simon Kilmurry, POV’s Executive Director. “Emmy nominations demonstrate to the field that long form storytelling and singular point-of-views enrich our understanding of the world today. We are proud to be a part of that tradition”
The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented on September 24 in New York City, which will be attended by more than 700 television and new-media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists.
Television’s first and longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction films, POV films have received 18 Emmy Awards and 28 previous nominations, in addition to every other coveted trade award and honor, including 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, eight duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, three Academy Awards®, three Independent Spirit Awards and the Prix Italia. POV recently garnered its first Primetime Emmy nomination, for Jessica Yu’s In the Realms of the Unreal.
The Fall of Fujimori by Ellen Perry
Category: Best Documentary
The extraordinary tale of fugitive former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori took a strange twist in November 2005 when he arrived unexpectedly in Chile. Wanted on 21 Peruvian and Interpol warrants for corruption, murder and human rights abuses, Fujimori had remained free courtesy of the Japanese government, which had welcomed him as a prodigal son in 2000 and subsequently blocked his extradition. Then, almost five years to the day after he fled Peru for Japan and faxed his resignation from the presidency — a getaway seen by many Peruvians as both shameless and traitorous — Fujimori appeared in Chile on a tourist visa, vowing to return to Peru to run for president in April 2006. He was, instead, promptly arrested, and is now fighting extradition. Peru’s National Election Board formally rejected his bid on Jan. 10, 2006.
Lomax the Songhunter by Rogier Kappers
Category for Outstanding Cultural & Artistic Programming
Alan Lomax earned a singular place for himself in American culture and arts. Building on the pioneering work of his father, John, whom he accompanied on folk-song recording tours of the American South and Southwest in the 1930s and ’40s, Alan set out after World War II to do no less than draw the folk music map of the world. Sensing that the world’s indigenous music was on the point of being swept away by mass commercial culture, Lomax brought considerable energy and urgency to his awesome task. He also brought an infectious love for the varied homespun musical traditions, especially the songs passed mouth to ear for generations.
The Boys of Baraka by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Category: Outstanding Informational Programming — Long Form
The Boys of Baraka reveals the human face of a tragic statistic — 61 percent of Baltimore’s African-American boys fail to graduate from high school; 50 percent of them go on to jail. Behind those grim figures lie the grimmer realities of streets ruled by drug dealers, families fractured by addiction and prison, and a public school system seemingly surrendered to chaos. As eloquently portrayed in Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s award-winning documentary having its national broadcast premiere on public television’s POV, a generation of inner-city children faces dilemmas that would undo most adults. In this case, they are told early on that they face three stark “dress” options by their 18th birthdays — prison orange, a suit in a box, or a high school cap and gown. A co-production with the Independent Television Service (ITVS).
My Country, My Country by Laura Poitras
Category: Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story — Long Form
Is it possible to conduct democratic elections in a war zone? Can a foreign military force bring Western-style democracy to the Muslim world? For U.S. military and diplomatic planners in Iraq, the answer to both questions has been a resolute “yes.” For Iraqis, these contradictions have led to tragic consequences as political uncertainty and mounting violence dominate daily life more than three years after the U.S. invasion. A co-production with the Independent Television Service (ITVS).
