Boomtown (Winner)
Director: Rachel Libert
Producer: Kevin Vargas
Executive Producers: Ken Druckerman, Banks Tarver, Rachel Libert, Josh Braun, Susannah Ludwig
Co-Executive Producer: Matthew Galkin
Left/Right, Inc., Discovery Channel/Planet Green
The tiny town of Parshall, North Dakota is isolated, windswept and frigid. With a population of 1,073, Parshall holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota (-60 degrees Fahrenheit). The economy of this small community, like so many other similar towns across America, has been in steep decline for many years. As manufacturing and farming jobs have moved overseas, town residents have sought greener pastures and a better life. But recently, something amazing happened: Below the wheat fields and the grocery store and the high school football field, surveyors discovered oil--barrels upon barrels of thick, unrefined, highly sought-after crude oil. Boomtown tells the tale of this struggling American town in the midst of a profound reversal of fortune.
If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise
Director: Spike Lee
Producers: Sam Pollard, Spike Lee
Supervising Producer: Jacqueline Glover/HBO
Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins/HBO
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks for HBO Documentary Films
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, director Spike Lee returns to New Orleans to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the Crescent City are playing out in the four-hour documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise. He finds a patchwork of hope and heartache in a story that is book-ended by a pair of momentous events--the historic 2010 Super Bowl victory and the disastrous British Petroleum oil spill--that changed the history of America's most unique city once again.
Michael Feinstein's American Songbook
Director/Producer/Writer: Amber Edwards
Co-Producer: Dave Davidson
Executive Producer: Ken Bloom
Hudson West Productions, PBS
This three-part documentary series follows Michael Feinstein--performer, historian and passionate collector--on a journey across the country and through time in a celebration and exploration of the classic American popular music of the 20th century. Feinstein's expedition takes viewers on stage and backstage, into personal archives, attics and flea markets, and inside the private world of a gifted and hard-working artist. Rare archival audio and film footage combine to reveal the social and historical forces behind the music that helped shape the style, attitude and self-image of America for more than a century.
The National Parks Project
Directors: Brenda Kovrig, Mike Downie, David New, Sarah Goodman, Jeff Thrasher, Sean Michael Turrell, Ryan J. Noth, Geoff Morrison
Producers: Joel McConvey, Kristina McLaughlin, Kevin McMahon, Michael McMahon, Geoff Morrison, Ryan J. Noth
Executive Producer: Michael McMahon
Writer: Joel McConvey
Primitive Entertainment Inc., FilmCAN, FilmOption International Inc.
The National Parks Project is an arts-adventure show that follows artists as they face the challenges of working in the wilderness. Each half-hour episode highlights the pitfalls and epiphanies of creative collaboration and showcases the beauty of Canada's national parks, as three musicians and one filmmaker journey through different landscapes to find inspiration for a short film and soundtrack. Featured artists include Sam Roberts, Sarah Harmer and Peter Lynch. The National Parks Project is narrated by Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip.
On Series
Directors: Tom Barbor-Might, Jon Brooks, Neil Edson
Producers: Tom Barbor-Might, Toby Lichtig
Executive Producers: James DuBern, James Baker
The On Series takes three prominent British personalities out of their comfort zones and asks them to investigate various controversial subjects. In three documentaries, the filmmakers explore guns, prostitution and drugs, asking whether it is time to reassess attitudes towards these difficult and divisive issues. Gail Porter compares the lives of sex workers in Sweden, Holland and Britain, questioning whether the sex industry should be decriminalized and whether the UK should rethink its approach. Tim Shaw looks at gun ownership in America and meets the Britons, who believe everyone has a right to self-protection. Howard Marks investigates the effects of the UK's drugs policy, and talks to the dealers, doctors and people whose lives have been irrevocably affected by drugs.