Press Release
October 8 2024
‘POV Shorts’ Seventh Season Puts Center Stage Ten Short Acquisitions Telling Big Stories in an Arthouse Setting Beginning November 12, 2024 on the PBSApp and POV.org
Overview
Brooklyn, N.Y. –October 8, 2024 – POV Shorts, the best and boldest independent non-fiction short films from POV (America's longest-running documentary series), announced today the acquisition of ten new documentary shorts that will premiere as part of the series’ seventh season. The films cover a wide spectrum of themes addressing cultural diversity, identity, surviving trauma, intergenerational relationships, and childhood aspirations. This season also marks the first year POV Shorts announces new co-releases with L.A. Times Studios.
Highly anticipated films include the latest acquisition, A Swim Lesson, co-directed by Grammy winner and Emmy® nominee Rashida Jones (Quincy, Hot Girls Wanted, Parks & Recreation) and Oscar® winner Will McCormack (If Anything Happens I Love You, Celeste & Jesse Forever) that made its world premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. Produced by Emily Arlook and Nicole Emanuele, A Swim Lesson is an ode to an everyday hero: Bill Marsh, a swim teacher who helps children discover their own power when submerged in an overwhelming unknown. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 in the United States. Marsh has taught thousands of kids and worked together with their parents and families to instill confidence and safety in their lives. A Swim Lesson was produced by Le Train Train Productions and is presented in partnership with L.A.Times Short Docs and Documentary+. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are the executive producers along with Terry Tang and Jason Spingarn-Koff for L.A. Times Studios; Justin Lacob, Bryn Mooser, and Hemant Teneja for Documentary+; and Opal H. Bennett, Erika Dilday, and Chris White for American Documentary I POV Shorts.
In Until He’s Back, director Jacqueline Baylon tells the poignant story of Ahmed who must find a way to get his son’s remains back home to Morocco so he can say goodbye; while waiting in limbo, a group of displaced LGBTQ+ people support one another in Alfredo Torres Jardines; and in American Seams by Carly Jakins, the disparate stories of three quilters combine to reveal an intimate and poetic portrait of rural women in the American West.
Other festival favorites spotlighted in the season are Lucía Flórez’s Shirampari: Legacies of the River, set in the heart of the Amazon, follows a young Ashéninka boy who must face his fears and catch a giant catfish, signaling his journey into manhood; in Thao Lam’s and Kjell Boersma’s Boat People, Thao recounts the story of her family’s escape from Vietnam through the metaphorical lens of her fascination with ants; Golden Moon, directed by Aisha Sultanbekova, is about a young med student who drives big rigs to cover her tuition fees; in Over the Wall, a co-presentation with Reel South, director Krystal Tingle tells the story of NASCAR®’s first Black woman pit crew member; in director Vi Tuong Bui’s Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood), Vi captures her parents on 16mm as they dream of their childhood and homeland. The roster also includes the currently streaming, a film is a goodbye that never ends directed by María Luisa Santos, which tells María’s story of waiting for a visa with a dog she grows to adore, as their imminent separation looms, the film becomes her attempt to recreate a less painful goodbye. An additional title to be released in 2025 will be announced later in the season.
Six films from POV Shorts Season 7 will be available beginning Tuesday, November 12, 2024, while the remaining titles will premiere Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Check local listings for broadcast dates. All films will be available to stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description serviceDiCapta, provides real-time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.
Each season the Emmy® Award-winning POV Shorts is committed to providing a platform for inventive filmmakers to tell stories focused on relevant contemporary issues, and cultural narratives curated in an arthouse setting.
“As POV Shorts marks its seventh year, our commitment to platforming stories that inspire change remains, and the participants in this year's lineup have already begun to make lasting impact,” said Opal H. Bennett, POV Senior Producer and POV Shorts Executive Producer, American Documentary. “We're so excited for our public television audiences to see these stories.”
POV Shorts Season 7 Slate
Episode 1: Passage- A double title presentation featuring Shirampari: Legacies of the River and Boat People that spotlights families as they traverse tradition and memory in marking new phases of life.
Available November 12, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Shirampari: Legacies of the River
Director: Lucía Flórez
Producer: Chémi Pérez
In one of the most remote places of the Peruvian Amazon, an Ashéninka boy must overcome his fears and catch a giant river catfish using just a hook to start his journey to becoming an adult. Shirampari: Legacies of the River is a glimpse at a vanishing way of life as a father guides his son through the rites of passage to adulthood.
Photos: Shirampari: Legacies of the River
RT: 14’40” | Countries: Peru, Spain, USA | Year: 2022 | Languages: Ashéninka
International Premiere, 2022 DOC NYC
European Premiere, 2022 IBAFF (Ibn Arabi Film Fest) Murcia
U.S. Premiere, 2022 Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Winner, Best Short Film - 2022 Lima Alterna International Film Fest
Winner, Best Pan-Amazonian Short Film - 2022 Amazonia Fi-Doc #8 - Festival Pan-Amazônico de Cinema
Winner, Best Latin American Short Film - 2023 Festival Santiago Wild
Winner, Best International Short Film - 2023 Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival
Winner, Distribution Award by Digital 104 and Special Mention of the Jury (Canarias Cinema) - 2023 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
Winner, Best Short Film - Cusco WebFest2023
Winner, Best Documentary Short Film - 2024 Mequinenza International Film Festival
Winner, Best Short Film - 2024 Mostremp, Cinema Rural al Pallars
Winner, Best Documentary Short Film - 2024 Avilés Acción Film Festival: Certamen Cortometrajes
Official Selection - 2022 Suncine (Environmental Film Festival BCN)
Official Selection - 2022 Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival
Official Selection - 2023 Sundance Film Festival (IndieWiretop 10 must see)
Official Selection - 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Official Selection - Palm Springs International ShortFest2023
Official Selection - 2023 REGARD, Saguenay International Short Film Festival
Directors: Thao Lam, Kjell Boersma
As a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favor. Using a striking metaphor, Boat People traces one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history. A National Film Board of Canada Production
RT: 9’39” | Country: Canada | Year: 2023 | Language: English
World Premiere, 2023 Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film
Winner, Helen Hill Award for Animated Short - 2023 New Orleans Film Festival
Winner, Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award - 2023 Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Winner, Grand Jury Prize - Animated Short - 2023 Calgary International Film Festival
Official Selection - ShortFest2023, Palm Springs International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2023 BFI London Film Festival
Official Selection - 2023 DOC NYC
Official Selection - 2024 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Brooklyn Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Children’s Film Festival Seattle
Official Selection - 2024 Anima Brussels International Animation Film Festival
Episode 2: Jardines- In one of the few LGBTQ+ shelters in Tijuana, asylum-seekers process heartbreak and joy as they await uncertain futures.
Available November 12, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Director/Producer: Alfredo Torres
Jardines is an intimate portrait of the experiences and trajectories unique to displaced queer folks as they flee violence and persecution in their home countries. The film introduces us to people from all over the world as they contemplate the uncertainty of a future in the United States at a time when asylum legislation and LGBTQ+ rights are under legal duress. Featured in the film are Yolanda Rocha, Director of the shelter, and many of the residents.
RT: 24’21’’ | Countries: U.S., Mexico | Year: 2023 | Languages: Spanish, English, Russian
World Premiere, 2023 Telluride Film Festival
Winner, Jury Prize for Best Documentary - 2023 San Francisco Short Film Festival
Special Mention, Best Student Documentary Short - Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024
Official Selection - 2023 SHORTS MEXICO
Official Selection - Inside Out 2024
Official Selection - LALIF 2024
Official Selection- 2024 Nantucket Film Festival
Official Selection - DC DOX 2024
Official Selection - 2024 Alt* Festival de Cine Documental LGBT+
Episode 3: In Her Lane- A double title presentation featuring Golden Moon and Over the Wall, two stories of women who trailblaze and persist.
Available November 12, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp.
Director: Aisha Sultanbekova
A young Kyrgyz girl named Altynai works as a truck driver—a male-dominated and physically demanding job—as a way to pay for her medical school at Columbia University.
RT: 10’29’’ | Country: U.S. | Year: 2023 | Languages: Kyrgyz, Russian, English - Protagonist mixes all three languages when she speaks
World Premiere, 2024 Aspen Shortsfest
Director: Krystal Tingle
Nine seconds, it’s about all you have. Welcome to the fast-paced world of a NASCAR® pit crew. Over the Wall is an immersive film following Brehanna Daniels, the first Black woman pit crew member and tire changer in NASCAR®, as she works her way back from injury to participate in the Daytona 500, the sport's biggest race. Over the Wall is a testament to the power of perseverance and what it takes to be a trailblazer. Over the Wall was produced by Meadowlark Media as part of its “Sports Explains the World” series.
RT: 14’ | Country: U.S. | Year: 2023 | Language: English
A co-presentation with Reel South
World Premiere, 2023 Tribeca Film Festival
Winner, Audience Award Best Documentary Short - 2023 Blackstar Film Festival
Winner, Reel South Short Award - 2024 Miami Film Festival
Official Selection - Big Sky Film Festival
Official Selection - Florida Film Festival
Episode 4: Recorded Memory - A double title presentation featuring American Seams and Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood) focused on two stories of quilted heirlooms and generational nostalgia.
Available November 26, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Director/Producer: Carly Jakins
American Seams explores the stories of three women quilters whose lives complement and contrast each other across stunning landscapes in rural Colorado, Utah, and the Navajo Nation of New Mexico. Through intimate conversations and a careful unfolding of the creative processes that produce their gorgeous quilts, the film appreciates the beauty of place and the expert craftsmanship that connect the three women’s experiences. American Seams is an LA Times Studios co-release.
Photos: American Seams
RT: 16’29’’ |Countries: U.S., Navajo Nation| Year: 2024 | Languages: English, Navajo
World Premiere, Sally Robinson Audience Choice Award, 2024 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Atlanta Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Brooklyn Film Festival
Official Selection - Davey Fest 2024, Davey Film Foundation
Official Selection - 2024 BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Indie Street Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Charlotte Film Festival
Director: Vi Tuong Bui
A Vietnamese American daughter captures her mother and father-- former refugees of the American War in Vietnam / Vietnam War--as they dream of their late parents, childhood, and homeland.
Photos: Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood)
RT: Broadcast - 7’16’’ | Country: USA| Year: 2023 | Language: Vietnamese
World Premiere, 2023 New Orleans Film Festival
Winner, Special Recognition Award - Festival Documentary Jury - 2024 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Official Selection - 2023 Beijing International Short Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Moviate Underground Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Third Horizon Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Film Diary NYC
Official Selection - 2024 Milwaukee Underground Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 CAAMFest
Official Selection - 2024 Vietnamese International Film Festival
Episode 5: A Swim Lesson– Kids learn to swim - and, in their lessons, we discover profound wisdom for all. Available November 26, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Directors: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack
Swimming is the closest human beings will ever get to flying, and there is no greater joy (or fear) than watching your kid take the leap. Seeing a child learn how to swim is like witnessing a great opera and in this case, the maestro of this emotional orchestra is the inspiring swim instructor Bill Marsh. His dedication to these children is the parable we need, as these lessons uncover profound universal truths for all involved.
Photos: A Swim Lesson
RT: Broadcast - 20’25’’ | Country: U.S. | Year: 2024 | Language: English
World Premiere, 2024 Telluride Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Calgary Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Hamptons Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Bend Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Portland Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Newport Beach Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Hot Springs Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Ojai Film Festival
Episode 6: Until He’s Back – A family works to bring their deceased son home.
Available November 26, 2024; stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Director: Jaqueline Baylon
After learning that his son, Yahya, has died at sea trying to get to Spain, Ahmed Tchiche must find a way to bring his remains back home to Morocco so he and his family can have a proper goodbye. Through interweaving threads, Until He's Back explores a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean and the difficulty of returning the bodies of those who drown at sea.
Photos: Until He’s Back
RT: 24’20” | Countries: Morocco, Spain | Year: 2024 | Languages: Darija, Spanish, French, English
World Premiere, Winner, Best Short Documentary - 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Best Short - 2024 Mountainfilm Festival
Official Selection - 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa~Tánger
Official Selection - 2024 DC/DOX
Official Selection - 2024 Woods Hole Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Dokufest
Official Selection - 2024 El Paso Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Buffalo International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Woodstock Film Festival
a film is a goodbye that never ends
Currently available to stream at POV.org and on the PBSApp
Director: María Luísa Santos
Producer: Carlo Nasisse
Filmmaker María Luisa Santos waits for a visa, with a dog she has come to adore. They walk, cuddle, watch TV and play together. As time passes she has to grapple with their imminent separation. With a film is a goodbye that never ends, she attempts to recreate a less painful goodbye.
Film available to stream here
Photos: a film is a goodbye that never ends
RT: 13’ 44” | Country: Costa Rico | Year: 2023 | Languages: English, Spanish
World Premiere, Winner Bay Area Shorts Prize - 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival
Official Selection - 2024 Rooftop Films
Official Selection - 2024 SFO Museum
About
About POV Shorts
POV Shorts launched in 2018 as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely POV Shorts launched in 2018 as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries.The series is known for its curation, and for broadcasting award-winning titles, including: Emmy® nominated Earthrise, Water Warriors, The Changing Same, Emmy® winner The Love Bugs and the Oscar® shortlisted A Broken House and Aguilas. It won Best Short Form Series at the IDA Documentary Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2020.
About POV
Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied (1989), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1992), Rabbit in the Room (1999), Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2001), Made in L.A. (2007), American Promise (2013), Not Going Quietly (2021), While We Watched (2022), A House Made of Splinters (2022) and the mini-series And She Could be Next (2020). Throughout its history POV has featured the work of award-winning, innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras, Nanfu Wang, Frederick Wiseman, Emiko Omori, Janus Metz Pedersen and Ava DuVernay. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. In 2024, Indiewire named seven POV films in its roundup of “The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century”: Faya Dayi (2021), The Mole Agent (2020), Minding The Gap (2018), Cameraperson (2016), The Look of Silence (2015), The Act of Killing (2013) and After Tiller (2013). All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.
POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram.
POV films and projects have won 48 Emmy Awards, 28 George Foster Peabody Awards, 16 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.
About American Documentary, Inc.
American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, Acton Family Giving, 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.
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PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirm that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on Twitter.