Still a Fresh P.O.V. The PBS documentary series turns 20 but keeps breaking new ground
P.O.V.: Revolution '67
Unscripted shows are a staple of the TV landscape. But no reality series has ever packed as provocative a punch as public television's documentary showcase
P.O.V., which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer. Its 1991 presentation of
Tongues Untied, a groundbreaking film about gay life in the black community, was condemned on the Senate floor and stations that carried the show received bomb threats.
Farmingville, a film about the murder of two undocumented Mexican day laborers in a Long Island town, aired just after President Bush proposed his guest-worker program in 2004 and helped stir the recent immigration debate. The series has also brought the work of filmmaking mavericks
Michael Moore and the
Maysles brothers to a wider audience. You can experience the full range of personal statements filmmakers have made on
P.O.V. in a 20th-anniversary DVD collection produced with Docudrama. The Biz recently talked with Simon Kilmurry, executive director of
P.O.V. about what it takes to stand out in the age of reality TV.
TVGuide.com: When P.O.V. started 20 years ago, there weren't many places to see nonfiction programs on TV. Cable was only just emerging. Now you've got Discovery, National Geographic, the Learning Channel and many more. How does P.O.V. manage in this new environment?
Simon Kilmurry: You're right, there are lot more outlets now. But P.O.V. really stresses the point of perspective and having a strong point of view. We are very supportive of the filmmaker's vision. I think when you go outside of P.O.V., there are not a lot of places where filmmakers can go.
TVGuide.com: You just had an open call for entries. How many films were submitted for consideration next season?
Kilmurry: We'll get about 600 to 700 [submitted] projects. Then we look at another 200 to 300 films from festivals and marketplaces around the world that we think sound interesting or appropriate for P.O.V. We try to have a presence at every major festival, like Hot Docs, Sundance, Full Frame, Realscreen and Silverdocs.
TVGuide.com: Is there more competition for the best stuff out there?
Kilmurry: Absolutely. HBO does wonderful programming. [So do] Sundance and IFC. So there is more competition, but there is a lot of great material out there. There are more films being made. Six or seven years ago we were getting 400 to 500 films a year. Now we're getting much more.
TVGuide.com: Technology has something to do with that.
Kilmurry: Yes. It's easier for people to shoot a film themselves and edit it on their personal computer. That said, it can be easier to make a film technologically, but you have to have the skill to be able to tell a good story. We're looking for that story that's not being told elsewhere.
TVGuide.com: You've put out a DVD selection of the best P.O.V. films from the past 20 years. Tell me about that selection process.
Kilmurry: That was hard. We were resisting calling it a "best of" collection, because there were a lot of films we would have liked to have included but for one reason or another we couldn't. There were rights issues; some films are exclusive to certain distributors. But we were trying to get representative selections of the premiere films of the past 20 years. Farmingville was really important for us a few years ago and still resonates today, and it's just been optioned for a feature film. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (about the sculptor and architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial) won an Academy Award. So we looked at what we have broadcast over the years and tried to present an interesting and representative selection.
TVGuide.com: Does your company, American Documentary, Inc., which oversees P.O.V., ever commission new films?
Kilmurry: We don't commission films per se, but we do work with filmmakers earlier and earlier in [the production process]. P.O.V. used to be an acquisition series. Now we talk to filmmakers as they are conceptualizing their projects, and when we can, we try to make production grants or advance acquisitions. We're not taking any kind of editorial control of those films, but we commit to them before they are finished.
TVGuide.com: So someone can send you 11 minutes, and you can say, "That's good; let's take it to the next level."
Kilmurry: Exactly. And we look at works in progress.
TVGuide.com: You've shown some great classic documentaries, such as Frederick Wisemen's High School, the Maysles' Salesman and Mel Stuart's Wattstax. Is there a seldom-seen documentary out there that you covet for the series?
Kilmurry: Yes.
TVGuide.com: Can't you tell me now?
Kilmurry: I wish I could. It's a film we're hoping to get next year that has not been broadcast in the United States. It's still a delicate discussion.
