Quon will receive the Creative Visionary Award; Ettinger will receive the Industry Champion Award on November 10 in Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, N.Y. — October 6, 2026 — American Documentary (AmDoc), home of POV, POV Shorts, and America ReFramed, announced today American Documentary (AmDoc) will honor Diane Quon, the Academy Award®-nominated producer of Minding the Gap, with its Creative Visionary Award and Wendy Ettinger, a producer of the Academy Award®-nominated The War Room and co-founder of Chicken & Egg Films, with its Industry Champion Award at AmDoc’s 2026 House Party!. The annual benefit will take place Tuesday, November 10, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York.

An AmDoc committee of board members and staff selected Quon and Ettinger for the distinct ways they have shaped independent documentary film. Quon has partnered with filmmakers to bring deeply personal stories to audiences across public media, streaming, and theaters. Ettinger has helped build lasting sources of funding, mentorship, and community that enable filmmakers who have faced barriers to bring their work to life.

Their work is especially vital as independent filmmakers contend with festival closures and cuts to public media funding.

“Diane and Wendy have each made it possible for so many filmmakers to tell the stories only they can tell, and I’m so happy to celebrate these two women I deeply admire at our House Party,” said Erika Dilday, Executive Director of American Documentary and Executive Producer of POV and America ReFramed. “Diane has an extraordinary eye for a film and gives filmmakers the trust and support to pursue their vision. She brings creative insight, care, and a deep commitment to every collaboration. We’re delighted to honor her with our Creative Visionary Award.

“That same dedication to filmmakers is at the heart of Wendy’s remarkable career. Her impact spans both the films she has helped bring to the screen—from the Academy Award-nominated The War Room to Hotel Gramercy Park and Pariah—and the opportunities she has created for other filmmakers. As a producer and co-founder of Chicken & Egg Films and Gamechanger Films, she has opened doors through critical funding, creative guidance, and industry access, particularly for women filmmakers. Her work has helped shape a more inclusive independent film community, and we’re proud to recognize her with our Industry Champion Award.”

Wendy Ettinger is an award-winning producer, philanthropist, activist, mom and longtime advocate for equity in film. Originally a casting director for Broadway and indie films, she began her documentary producing career with the Academy Award®-nominated The War Room. In 2005, she co-founded Chicken & Egg Films, which provides funding, mentorship, and industry access to women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers around the world. Chicken & Egg Films has provided more than $15.5 million in grants and supported more than 550 filmmakers worldwide. Chicken & Egg Films and AmDocs POV Shorts are currently in the second cycle of their co-production fund supporting emerging nonfiction projects. In 2013, she co-founded Gamechanger Films, the first equity fund dedicated to financing feature films directed by women, extending her commitment to gender equity from documentary into narrative filmmaking. Ettinger has remained an active producer alongside her work building institutions for filmmakers. Her recent executive producing credits include Alison O'Daniel's The Tuba Thieves (Sundance) and Paige Bethmann’s Remaining Native (Winner, Jury and Audience Award at the 2025 SXSW Film & Television Festival). Ettinger’s honors include the PVBLIC Social Impact Leadership Council Award and the Re-Gender Award, and she was featured in Variety’s “Power of Women New York Impact” issue. She received the Women’s Media Center’s Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award alongside her Chicken & Egg colleagues, the Muse Impact Award through New York Women and Television (NYWIFT), and Chicken & Egg Films received the International Documentary Association’s Amicus Award.

A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Ettinger continues to support new documentary work and the filmmakers and institutions that sustain the field. Ettinger is currently launching The Film Festival Field Guide, a new pocket guide connecting first time film travelers, and filmmakers with the local communities that host them. 

“I am so honored to be receiving the Industry Champion Award,” said Wendy Ettinger. “Two films that changed my life were Silverlake Life: The View From Here, which aired on POV in 1993 and Healthy Baby Girl in1997. Silverlake Life: The View From Here chronicled two men facing AIDS and the love that sustained them. I had never seen anything like it; so raw and real. And Healthy Baby Girl which followed Judith Helfand’s very personal, harrowing journey as a DES daughter. These films were revelations, the way I saw them opening hearts and minds, with their unique, bold perspectives and willingness to speak out. I have carried those messages with me ever since.”
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“That same willingness to bring bold stories to audiences has defined American Documentary's work for decades. Their bravery, innovation and perseverance have set an example for us all. For years, they have taken chances on films and made them accessible to millions of people, regardless of their means or proximity to a theater. Their unflinching commitment to filmmakers, to audiences and outreach has been deeply inspirational.”

Diane Quon is an Academy Award®-nominee for producing Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap, the Emmy®-nominated, Peabody Award-winning documentary that premiered on POV. Before pursuing documentary filmmaking, she worked as a marketing executive at NBC and Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, then returned to her hometown of Chicago. Some of her producing credits also include the Oscar®-shortlisted Bad Axe (IFC Films), Emmy®-nominated Finding Yingying (MTV Docs) and Wuhan Wuhan (POV), For the Left Hand (PBS), Breaking the News (Independent Lens), aka Mr. Chow (HBO), The Rose: Come Back to Me, which premiered at Tribeca in 2025, and the digital documentary series The Grocery List Show (PBS YouTube).

Quon has also been honored to serve as executive producer on films by emerging directors, including the POV presentations Liquor Store Dreams, unseen, and The Taste of Mango, as well as New Wave (Criterion Channel), Home Court (Independent Lens), and Third Act (Sundance 2025, Independent Lens), A recipient of the 2020 Cinereach Producer Award and a Sundance Creative Producing and Film Independent Fellow, she has returned to Sundance Institute’s Documentary Producers Lab as an advisor and mentor many times. She is developing a fiction feature based on an original screenplay by filmmaker David Siev. Quon is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Producers Guild of America (PGA), and the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), and is the proud mother of four.

“I am truly honored and humbled to receive the Creative Visionary Award from American Documentary," said Diane Quon. “Minding the Gap was the first feature film I produced back in 2017 - and POV/AmDoc were the first ones to take a risk on two first-time filmmakers by providing major funding and a platform to share the film with audiences.  Through the years, I have admired POV’s continued belief in and support of personal stories that encourage empathy and exemplify courage - stories we need more than ever. It has made it possible for me to continue to do the work I do- and I am so grateful.”

The 2026 House Party carries forward AmDoc’s “Our House. Our Stories." celebration, bringing filmmakers, public media champions, industry colleagues, and audiences together for an evening of recognition and community. This year’s host committee includes Jon Abbott, Juanita Anderson, John Bredar, Kelly Castruita Specter, Mark G. Contreras, Duke Fan, Jane Hirt, Anjali Kumar, Chris Plaut, Matthew Rodriguez, Beth Viner, and Marc Weiss.

Event and Tickets Information:

Date: Tuesday,  November 10, 2026

Time: 6:00 - 10:00 pm

Venue: 26 Bridge Street, Brooklyn, NY

Purchase Tickets & see Event details here

For more event information, or if you’d like to become a sponsor or hear about advertising opportunities at our House Party please contact: development@pov.org.