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POV (Point of View), the award-winning independent documentary series celebrating its 25th anniversary on PBS this year, is reaching out to documentary filmmakers who have projects at any stage of production for the first POV Hackathon, taking place Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 11-12, 2012, in New York City. The event is an opportunity for filmmakers with a digital vision to work with developers and designers to create a finished prototype — be it a mobile site, web app, widget, game or something we’ve never seen before — for the web.
POV’s Hackathon is inspired by the “hack days” organized by the open-source development community and companies such as Facebook and Google. In a traditional hackathon, software coders collaborate outside of the usual corporate constraints in compressed timeframes (usually fueled by pizza and energy drinks) to solve a problem.
“For POV’s Hackathon, we are taking the next step in our mission to share bold and innovative social-issue documentaries,” says Adnaan Wasey, director of POV Digital. “Independent producers may not have the expertise or financing to create a transmedia project or multiplatform documentary. This is a rare opportunity for filmmakers to work with developers who are experts in new digital-media platforms.”
Applications for POV’s Hackathon must be received by June 29, 2012 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Five documentarians will be selected to participate. Visit www.pbs.org/pov/hackathon/ to apply.
POV thanks Living Docs for its support of POV’s Hackathon.
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and beginning its 25th season on PBS on June 21, 2012, the award-winning POV is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. POV has brought more than 325 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide 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. Visit www.pbs.org/pov.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the desJardins/Blachman Fund and public television viewers. Funding for POV’s Diverse Voices Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.
POV Digital (www.pbs.org/pov)
POV’s award-winning website extends the life of our films online with interactive features, interviews, updates, video and educational content, as well as listings for television broadcasts, community screenings and films available online. The POV Blog is a gathering place for documentary fans and filmmakers to discuss films and get the latest news.
Contacts:
POV Communications: 212-989-7425.
Emergency contact: 646-729-4748
Communications@pov.org; Cathy Fisher, cfisher@pov.org; Amanda Nguyen, anguyen@pov.org
POV online pressroom: www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom
