Four ITVS Programs Receive Nominations for the 30th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards

(San Francisco, CA)—Independent Television Service (ITVS) announced today that four of its acclaimed films received nominations for the 30th annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in broadcast journalism during the 2008 calendar year. Since 1997, ITVS programs have garnered 13 wins in the News and Documentary category. 

Among the four ITVS programs nominated are two ITVS International productions, DOPING FOR GOLD and the BELARUSIAN WALTZ. DOPING FOR GOLD, directed and produced by Alison Rooper, is nominated in the Outstanding Science, Technology and Nature Programming category. 

Set in Cold War–era East Germany, DOPING FOR GOLD reveals how young female athletes were injected with male hormones and anabolic steroids—all in the name of “international prestige through success in sports.” The film is a Firefly Production for Thirteen/WNET New York and ITVS International in association with Five, Channel Four International and History Channel (UK). DOPING FOR GOLD premiered on PBS’s Secrets of the Dead series on May 7, 2008. 

The ITVS International program BELARUSIAN WALTZ received a nomination in the Outstanding Historical Programming – Long Form category. Directed by Andrjez Fidyk, BELARUSIAN WALTZ is the story of Alexander Pushkin, a performance artist who used his “patriotic” art to protest against his country’s dictatorship. The film is a co-production of Piraya Film, ITVS International, MG Productions and Arte and premiered on PBS’s P.O.V. series on August 12, 2008. 

Additional nominations went to ITVS-funded programs IN THE FAMILY, produced by Joanna Rudnick and Gordon Quinn, and THE JUDGE AND THE GENERAL, produced by Elizabeth Farnsworth. Both premiered on the P.O.V. series in 2008. 

The following ITVS-funded programs are among this year’s nominees: 

OUTSTANDING ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAMMING 

BELARUSIAN WALTZ Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer, Miroslaw Grubek, Therese Jebsen, Simon Kilmurry, Jan Ramstad, Krzysztof Talczewski Producer: Torstein Grude Director: Andrjez Fidyk 

OUTSTANDING INFORMATIONAL PROGRAMMING – LONG FORM 

P.O.V.: IN THE FAMILY Director/Producer: Joanna Rudnick Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer, Simon Kilmurry, Gordon Quinn Co Producer: Beth Iams 

OUTSTANDING HISTORICAL PROGRAMMING – LONG FORM 

P.O.V.: THE JUDGE AND THE GENERAL Director/Producer: Patricio Lanfranco Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer, Simon Kilmurry, Richard Pearce Producer/Director: Elizabeth Farnsworth Executive Director: Patricia Boero 

OUTSTANDING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND NATURE PROGRAMMING 

Secrets of the Dead: DOPING FOR GOLD Executive Producers: Phil Craig, Sally Jo Fifer, Jared Lipworth Producer/Director: Alison Rooper 

To view the full list of nominees, visit: http://emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_30th_nominees_data_list.html 

About ITVS 

Independent Television Service funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy® Award–winning weekly series Independent Lens, which airs Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing television audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. For more information about ITVS, visit itvs.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. 

About ITVS International 

ITVS International is a division of Independent Television Service that promotes an international exchange of documentary films made by independent producers, bringing international voices to U.S. audiences and American stories to audiences abroad. Through a unique public-private partnership called the Global Perspectives Project, ITVS International administers the International Media Development Fund (IMDF) and True Stories: Life in the USA. The IMDF funds international producers and supports the American broadcast of their programs. True Stories: Life in the USA promotes a series of American independent films to audiences around the world. ITVS created the Global Perspectives Project in 2005 with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. More information about ITVS International is available online at itvs.org/international. The deadline for the next International Call is February 5, 2010. 

CONTACT: Voleine Amilcar, ITVS: voleine_amilcar@itvs.org, 415-356-8383, ext 244 (USA)