Downloads: Press Release
New York, New York — April 30, 2015 — American Documentary (AmDoc) and POV (Point of View), television’s longest-running showcase for award-winning documentaries on PBS, announce today that Executive Director | Executive Producer Simon Kilmurry has been appointed Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (IDA). Kilmurry will relocate from New York to Los Angeles to begin work at the IDA on July 6, 2015. AmDoc and POV congratulate Kilmurry on his 16 years of service with the organization, and for his continuing contributions as a leader in the international documentary community.
POV’s Vice President, Programming and Production Chris White and POV Vice President of Content Strategy and Engagement Eliza Licht will continue POV’s commitment to innovative documentary programming, on the air and online. White, who has won 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, will assume the role of Executive Producer. Licht, a longtime leader in the field of engagement and impact, will expand her role building and overseeing broad program strategies. White and Licht each have more than 14 years tenure with AmDoc and a deep knowledge and passion for the organization and documentary filmmaking. Their strong existing networks and relationships with filmmakers, stations, funders and partners ensure that AmDoc will continue to grow and thrive. The Board of Directors of AmDoc will work with White and Licht in the coming months, as the Board assesses AmDoc’s operating and leadership needs.
POV’s 28th season on PBS begins on Monday, June 22, 2015 with the national broadcast premiere of blair dorosh-walther’s Out in the Night. The season will also feature award-winning films such as Talal Derki’s Return to Homs, Marshall Curry’s Point and Shoot and Stephanie Wang-Breal’s Tough Love.
“It’s been an honor to be a part of the POV team for 16 years,” said Simon Kilmurry. “Over that time I’ve seen documentary make huge gains in popularity, and I like to think that POV films and filmmakers are partly responsible for that. POV has always been a team effort, and I leave knowing that there is a great team in place poised to take the organization to the next level. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a range of both emerging and established talented filmmakers and see the deep impact that this work can have. It’s been an honor to have held this position for so long.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Simon Kilmurry will be leaving American Documentary | POV,” said AmDoc Board Chair Tammy Robinson. “Simon leaves the organization, after 16 years, as a stronger, more vibrant and active organization. He has worked tirelessly and passionately for independent film and will continue to do so in his new role at IDA. We are all so fortunate that he continues to remain in the family of independent documentary film. All of us at American Documentary | POV, the staff and Board, wish him the best of luck in his new role.”
Joining POV in 1999 and serving as executive producer since 2006, Kilmurry has played a vital role in the organization’s growth. Kilmurry oversaw all aspects of the organization’s development including: programming, community engagement and education, POV Digital, communications and overall management of the series.In addition to POV, he is the executive producer of America ReFramed, a year-round showcase of independent documentaries featuring contemporary American stories on the WORLD Channel.
Kilmurry served as POV’s executive producer on the Academy Award-nominated films If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front by Marshall Curry; The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath, and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers by Rick Goldsmith and Judith Ehrlich. He has worked with a wide range of emerging and established filmmakers, including Laura Poitras, Marshall Curry, Yung Chang, Yoruba Richen, Natalia Almada, Jennifer Fox, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Stephanie Wang-Breal and many others.
Kilmurry also serves as executive director of American Documentary (AmDoc), POV’s nonprofit parent organization, which in 2013 was the recipient of a $1 million MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.
About POV
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and beginning its 28th season on PBS in June 2015, the award-winning POV (Point of View) is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. POV has brought more than 380 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide. POV films have won every major film and broadcasting award, including 32 Emmys, 18 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the Prix Italia. 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, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Bertha Foundation, The Fledgling Fund, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Ettinger Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, and public television viewers. 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. communications@pov.org
Cathy Fisher, cfisher@pov.org; Brian Geldin, bgeldin@pov.org
POV online pressroom: www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom
