This award recognizes the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary.
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story
Director: Raymond De Felitta
Producer: David Zellerford
Executive Producers: Lynn Roer, Steven Beer
Eyepatch Productions/Ogilvy, Hangover Lounge, Tribeca Film
In 1965, filmmaker Frank De Felitta made a documentary for NBC News about the changing times in Mississippi that featured Booker Wright, an African-American waiter who worked in a "whites only" restaurant. Forty-six years later, Frank's son, director Raymond De Felitta, documents a journey into the past and current-day Mississippi with Booker's granddaughter, in search of who Booker Wright was, the intricacies surrounding his courageous life and untimely murder, and the role De Felitta's documentary may have played in it.
The Central Park Five
Directors/Producers/Writers: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
Florentine Films, Sundance Selects/IFC Films, PBS
In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged for brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling it "the crime of the century." But the truth about what really happened didn't become clear until after the five had spent years in prison for a crime they didn't commit. The Central Park Five, based on Sarah Burns' best-selling book and co-directed by her husband, David McMahon, and father, renowned doc filmmaker Ken Burns, tells the riveting tale of innocent young men scapegoated for a heinous crime, and serves as a mirror for our times.
The Family
Director/Producer/Writer: Hussein Elrazzaz
Executive Producer/Writer: Jon Blair
Al Jazeera English
As Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, lies on his deathbed, The Family offers a fresh perspective on the history and inner workings of the man, his wife and his family.
The story of Hosni Mubarak-along with his wife, Suzanne, and their two sons-is a tale of politics, power, ambition and greed. It is a story of a humble birth and a rise through the ranks of the Egyptian air force, culminating in a 30-year reign over the fulcrum of the Arab world-all set against the backdrop of a tumultuous region.
This is a tale of how power corrupts, of how a once-modest man turned into an all-powerful pharaoh who rode roughshod over the wishes of his subjects-and of a dramatic downfall.
*Harvest of Empire (winner)
Directors: Peter Getzels, Eduardo López
Producers: Wendy Thompson-Marquez, Eduardo López
Onyx Films, EVS Communications, Loquito Productions
At a time of heated and divisive debate over immigration, Harvest of Empire examines the direct connection between the long history of US intervention in Latin America and the immigration crisis we face today.
Based on the groundbreaking book by award-winning journalist Juan González, Harvest of Empire takes an unflinching look at the role that US economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation's cultural and economic landscape.
Harvest of Empire provides a rare and powerful glimpse into the enormous sacrifices and rarely noted triumphs of our nation's growing Latino community.
We Are Wisconsin
Director: Amie Williams
Producers: Kathryn Takis, Doug Pray
Executive Producers: Marge Tabankin, Bill Hirsch, Scott Verges
Bal Maiden Films, Peer Review Pictures, Public Interest Pictures
We Are Wisconsin follows the day-to-day unfolding of public outcry against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial budget-repair bill, focusing on the human story behind a remarkable popular uprising forged on the floor of the Madison Capitol.
The film asks the question "Why should we care about what's going on in Wisconsin?" on multiple levels, through an in-depth profile of six leading individuals central to the story, who meet inside the capitol over the course of what became a historic 18 days in February and March 2011.
The film also amplifies why Wisconsin has become ground zero for so many disparate groups, awakening a sleeping giant of collective voices, alarmed and angry at the new hyper-conservative wave of local government sweeping the Midwest. At a time when mass demonstrations have become increasingly rare in America, this film explores what it takes to spark a social movement.