Downloads: Press Release
“Perhaps the boldest and probably longest running sociological experiment on film.”
– James Verniere, Boston Herald
New York, NY – March 27, 2013 – Michael Apted’s “Up” documentary series has won a George Foster Peabody Award, it was announced today by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners, chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for the year 2012, were named in a ceremony in the Peabody Gallery on the University of Georgia campus.
The Peabody Awards, established in 1940, are the oldest honor in electronic media. The 39 recipients of the 72nd annual George Foster Peabody Awards will be officially presented with their awards at a luncheon ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Monday, May 20, 2013.
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. 49 Up and 56 Up are distributed by First Run Features.
56 Up will have its national broadcast premiere in fall 2013 on the POV (Point of View) series, as part of PBS’s four-week multi-platform Independent Film Showcase, airing Monday nights at 10 p.m. (broadcast dates TBD). The showcase will shine a spotlight on exceptional documentary film programming from POV and Independent Lens, and will also include Katie Dellamaggiore’s Brooklyn Castle POV, and Ramona Diaz’s Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey and Peter Nicks’s The Waiting Room, presented by Independent Lens.
Michael Apted is of one of the most prolific directors of his generation. Among Mr. Apted’s most widely recognized documentary directorial achievements are his internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning sequels based on the original Seven Up documentary: 7 Plus Seven, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 49 Up, and the recent 56 Up. He has received numerous awards and nominations for his extensive body of work, including a Grammy, British Academy Awards, a DGA Award and the International Documentary Association’s highest honor, the IDA Career Achievement Award. By the order of Queen Elizabeth II, Apted was recently made a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for his work in the film and television industries.
POV is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of the best contemporary independent documentary filmmakers. Since its debut in 1988, POV has aired more than 365 nonfiction films, which have earned every major film and broadcasting award, including 32 Emmys, 15 George Foster Peabody Awards, 10 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the Prix Italia. In 2012, POV films garnered five News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, a record for the series.
The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media. The Peabody Awards recognize excellence and meritorious work by radio and television stations, networks, webcasters, producing organizations and individuals. The 16-member Peabody Board is a distinguished panel of television critics, industry practitioners and experts in culture and the arts. Selection is made by the Board following review by special screening committees of UGA faculty, students and staff.
First Run Features was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers to advance the distribution of independent film. First Run quickly gained a reputation for releasing provocative and daring fiction and non-fiction films. Today First Run remains one of the largest independent distributors in the United States, releasing around 18 films a year in theaters nationwide and many more on home video, VOD and internet platforms, television, and through its educational/non-theatrical division. Visit www.firstrunfeatures.com
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and beginning its 26th season on PBS in 2013, 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 365 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide. 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.
POV has the honor of receiving a 2013 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. 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, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, 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 Fledgling Fund and the Lucius and Eva Eastman Fund. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.
Contacts:
POV Communications: 212-989-7425
Cathy Fisher, cfisher@pov.org
POV online pressroom: www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom
