In addition to last week’s documentary film, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, filmmaker Steven Sebring and musician/poet/photographer Patti Smith have also collaborated on a photography exhibit entitled “Objects of Life” opening tonight at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City. For those of you in New York who may have missed our broadcast last […]

Patti Smith‘s got a lot going on in the coming weeks and months: sold-out Bowery Ballroom concerts; “Objects of Life” show with Steven Sebring at the Robert Miller Gallery; new book, Just Kids (pictured, right); poetry reading with Sam Shepard at the 92nd Street Y and of course, POV’s Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which […]

In honor of the broadcast of Patti Smith: Dream of Life and Patti’s birthday, we’re giving away 10 copies of the companion book! The book Patti Smith: Dream of Life is filled with more than 400 pages of evocative photographs, and beautifully published by Rizzoli press. Elle magazine says: “Coffee-table books, by definition, aren’t meant […]

Wednesday night’s POV broadcast of Patti Smith: Dream of Life (9 pm most PBS stations, check local listings) has been generating a lot of critical acclaim in the press and online. Sign On San Diego‘s Remote Possibilities blog names it a “TV Pick of the Week” and part of a “Genius Blowout” when coupled with […]

On December 30th, POV is thrilled to present Patti Smith: Dream of Life by Steven Sebring. The film, shot over 11 years, is a unique collaboration between the legendary rocker, poet and artist, and renowned fashion photographer Sebring. Following Smith’s personal reflections over a decade, the film explores her many art forms and the friends […]

POV spent some time in Los Angeles earlier this month at the Television Critics Association Press Tour promoting our December special, Patti Smith: Dream of Life. PBS did some interviews with filmmakers, producers and featured subjects of upcoming PBS shows and films. You can find a full line-up of interviews — including filmmakers Ken Burns, […]

POV Executive Director Simon Kilmurry unveils the exciting line-up for the 22nd season of POV on PBS. It’s always an exciting day when we finally get to announce the upcoming POV season. We’ve spent hundred of hours screening nearly 1,000 films, countless hours debating and arguing, and we’ve had to make some difficult choices along […]

WATCHING MediaStorm presents Rape of a Nation, Marcus Bleasdale’s photos from the D.R.C. Growing Up Online Is the Internet changing the experience of childhood? Frontline looks at the way kids are spending their time online.. READING Pirates of Sundance: Columbia Law prof Tim Wu recommends indie filmmakers look to BitTorrent for distribution. Via Slate.com Rabbi […]

WATCHING Patti Smith talks about the new film Patti Smith: Dream of Life by Stephen Sebring (via Salon.com). Classic moments from the Sundance Film Festival (via The Sundance Channel). READING Salon.com film critic Andrew O’Heir writes about his favorite narrative and documentary films from Sundance. Michael Moore wants multiplexes to air more documentaries and foreign […]

This is the last of our live reports from the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Cynthia Lopez is POV/AmDoc’s Vice President. This festival marked her eighth year attending Sundance. What follows is her personal diary of the high and low points of last week’s Sundance Film Festival. You just never know what’s going to happen when […]

Now that the big dance is over, I thought I'd take a moment to wrap things up. Once again, the biggest buzz at Sundance was generated by the documentary lineup.

The Sundance Film Festival Documentary Competition winners were announced on Saturday, January 26. AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Documentary Grand Jury Prize Trouble The Water Directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal Documentary Audience Award Fields of Fuel Directed by Josh Tickell Documentary Directing Award Nanette Burstein American Teen Excellence in Documentary Cinematography Phillip Hunt and Steven […]

Steven Sebrings‘s film Patti Smith: Dream of Life premiered at Sundance on Sunday. Steven is a fashion photographer and he has been working on the film for the past twelve years since meeting Patti on a shoot for Spin magazine. Shot entirely on 16mm (unheard of these days), the film is an impressionistic portrait of […]

We hosted our annual POV brunch on Sunday — a welcome relief from the hectic pace of screenings, parties and general mischief that seems to be the Sundance routine. First to arrive was Steven Sebring and Patti Smith — an artist who changed my life at a formative stage. Steven’s film Patti Smith: Dream of […]

Hey, so enough talk about 2007, the year that was (or wasn’t, depending on your perspective): The 2008 documentary season really begins this week with the Sundance Film Festival, which kicked off yesterday. With no less than forty documentaries in the fest this year, it’s a documentary-lovers dream. The only danger is to overindulge. I’m […]

For two weeks each January, the film world turns its attention to Park City, Utah. The Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the U.S., brings out the stars, the buyers and filmmakers from around the world. This year’s festival will begin on Thursday, January 17. For documentary filmmakers, having a film selected […]

Watching The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 POV Film ScreeningsNext week: Waging a Living in Burtonsville, Maryland. New Yorker: Naked Campaign ShortsIllustrator Steve Brodner draws the candidates. Reading A New Award for Nonfiction Filmmaker and blogger AJ Schnack announces the birth of a new award for […]