Downloads: Press Release
New York, NY — Dec. 1, 2009 — POV (Point of View) has won the International Documentary Association’s 2009 IDA Award for Continuing Series, it was announced yesterday by the IDA in Los Angeles. Produced by American Documentary Inc., and now in its 22nd season on PBS, POV is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. The 2009 IDA Documentary Awards will take place on Friday, Dec. 4 at 8 PM at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. Winners have been announced in several major categories, including Limited Series, Music and Student; Feature and Short winners will be named the night of the program.
“We are honored to be recognized by the IDA,” said Simon Kilmurry, executive producer of POV, who will accept the award along with Cynthia Lopez, POV vice president. “POV films emphasize the art and craft of documentary storytelling from diverse perspectives. To be honored by one’s peers is especially gratifying both for POV and for the many filmmakers whose great work we showcase.”
Hailed by critics as among the most important and relevant programming on television, POV films have won numerous awards, including 21 Emmy Awards (including a 2007 Special News & Documentary Emmy for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking),12 George Foster Peabody Awards, eight duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, four Independent Spirit Awards, three Academy Awards®, the Prix Italia and the Webby.
POV, which emerged on the PBS schedule in 1988 with American Tongues and has since presented more than 275 films, has provided a showcase for the early efforts of documentary superstars like Errol Morris, Jonathan Demme, Alan Berliner, Lourdes Portillo and Freida Lee Mock, and introduced new generations of viewers to legendary films like Albert and David Maysles’ Salesman, Fred Wiseman’s High School and Mel Stuart’s Wattstax.
The series sets itself apart by working diligently beyond the broadcast to engage communities by creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue and activity around POV documentaries. POV partners with local public-television stations and community groups to present more than 400 screening and discussion events each year. Extending the reach of POV’s films, the award-winning website, www.pbs.org/pov, offers filmmaker interviews, educational resources, story updates, podcasts, streaming video, blogs, viewer feedback and more.
Amid the proliferation of cable channels and reality programming, POV has remained the national broadcast venue for independent, social-issue “real-life” documentaries that find limited support in commercial media.
The 2009 IDA Documentary Awards, hosted by This American Life‘s Ira Glass and honoring the legendary filmmaker Errol Morris, are sponsored by HBO Documentary Films, Current Media, Planet Green, Sony Pictures Classics, Sundance Channel, ABCNews Videosource, Moxie Pictures, Participant Media, POV, Skywalker Sound, SnagFilms, Kodak, the Directors Guild of America, The Standard, Derby Wine Estates, The Spot Gourmet and Monster Energy. Tickets are available at www.documentary.org/awards2009.
About IDA
The IDA is a nonprofit, membership organization based in Los Angeles. The organization was founded in 1982 to promote and celebrate nonfiction filmmakers and is dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of the documentary genre. For more information about IDA visit www.documentary.org or call 213-534-3600.
About POV
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and now in its 22nd season on PBS, the award-winning POV (Point of View) series is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. Airing June through September with primetime specials during the year, POV and has a Webby Award-winning online series, POV’s Borders. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues. More information is available at www.pbs.org/pov.
POV Interactive (www.pbs.org/pov)
POV’s award-winning Web department produces special features for every POV presentation, extending the life of our films through filmmaker interviews, story updates, podcasts, streaming video and community-based and educational content that involves viewers in activities and feedback. POV Interactive also produces our Web-only showcase for interactive storytelling, POV’s Borders. In addition, the POV Blog is a gathering place for documentary fans and filmmakers to discuss and debate their favorite films, get the latest news and link to further resources. The POV website, blog and film archives form a unique and extensive online resource for documentary storytelling.
POV Community Engagement and Education
POV works with local PBS stations, educators and community organizations to present free screenings and discussion events to inspire and engage communities in vital conversations about our world. As a leading provider of quality nonfiction programming for use in public life, POV offers an extensive menu of resources, including free discussion guides and curriculum-based lesson plans. In addition, POV’s Youth Views works with youth organizers and students to provide them with resources and training so they may use independent documentaries as a catalyst for social change.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Educational Foundation of America, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The September 11th Fund and public television viewers. Funding for POV’s Diverse Voices Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.
