American Documentary

Overview

New York, N.Y. — September 29, 2023 — American Documentary’s long-running series POV won an Emmy® Award at last night’s 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Ceremony for the film The Last Out. Emmy® Award and Oscar® nominated director Sami Khan, director Michael Gassert, and producer/cinematographer Jonathan Miller won the Business & Economic Documentary category and accepted the award at the ceremony presented by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The event was held at the Palladium Times Square Theater in Manhattan. PBS programming received 3 News & Documentary Emmy awards in total.

Backstage photos here.

The Last Out has garnered acclaim across the festival circuit having received numerous awards including Tribeca Film Festival’s Special Jury Mention Best New Documentary Director and the Audience Award from Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film was broadcast as part of the 35th season on PBS. It is the 47th Emmy Award for POV, currently celebrating its 36th anniversary as America’s longest running documentary series.

“All of us at American Documentary are overjoyed and collectively celebrate Sami Khan and the film team behind The Last Out for their Emmy award. Khan’s film offers not only a rare look at the intersection of professional sports and migration but a humanistic perspective of the lives impacted. We’re proud to have been able to present The Last Out on POV as we remain committed to bringing authentic and beautifully told stories like Khan’s to our audiences,” said Erika Dilday, executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of POV and America ReFramed.

American Documentary received eight News & Documentary Emmy Award nominations for films featured in POV seasons 34 and 35 and America ReFramed's 10th season. Nominations included America ReFramed's film Sapelo, and POV's Accepted, Delikado, The Last Out, Let the Little Light Shine, Wuhan Wuhan and two nominations for Not Going Quietly.

POV films and projects have won 47 Emmy® Awards, 27 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award and the Prix Italia, since its launch in 1988. The POV series has been honored with a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, three IDA Awards for Best Curated Series and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award for Corporate Commitment to Diversity.

The full list of winners for the 44th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards is available at https://theemmys.tv/news-44th-winners-news-night/

About

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, Sage Foundation, Chris and Nancy Plaut, 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.

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, American Promise and Minding The Gap and innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras and Nanfu Wang. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video 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 47 Emmy Awards, 27 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 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 PBS

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.