American Documentary

Overview

Brooklyn, N.Y. — May 1, 2025 — The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, (NATAS), announced today that American Documentary received a total of seven News & Documentary Emmy nominations across various categories for films they have presented as part of their long-running documentary series POV and POV Shorts. AmDoc celebrates the recognition for POV, as they close out their 37th season, and for POV Shorts, now in its 7th season. PBS received a total of 35 nominations. The full list of nominees is available atthe emmys.tv.

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Politics & Government

Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law - director: Joe Piscatella; producers: Mark Rinehart and Matthew Torne

The Body Politic - director: Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough; producers: Dawne Langford and John Benam

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Arts & Culture

King Coal - director/producer/writer: Elaine McMillion Sheldon; producers: Shane Boris, Diane Becker and Peggy Drexler

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Social Issue

Name me Lawand - director/producer: Edward Lovelace; Producers: Fleur Nieddu, Sam Arnold, Beyan Taher, Neil Andrews, Marisa Clifford

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Writing

King Coal - director/producer/writer: Elaine McMillion Sheldon; producers: Shane Boris, Diane Becker and Peggy Drexler

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Cinematography

King Coal - director/producer/writer: Elaine McMillion Sheldon; producers: Shane Boris, Diane Becker and Peggy Drexler

46th News & Documentary Emmy®Award Nomination; Outstanding Lighting Direction Category

American Seams - director: Carly Jakins; producer: Jared Jakins

"We are very honored that the Academy has acknowledged the talent behind POV and POV Shorts and we could not be more proud to present these films and work with the brilliant teams who created them,” said Erika Dilday, executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of POV and America ReFramed. “The documentaries explore critical themes such as democracy, the intersection of land and identity and finding one’s voice. Collectively, the films bring us closer together, inspire compassion and make us more aware of our shared humanity. As a public media organization we remain committed to sharing visionary, thought-provoking and timely documentaries exemplified by these nominated films, and we know they will remain relevant for years to come."

The 46th News & Documentary Emmy® Awards ceremony will be held at the Palladium Times Square Theater in Manhattan. The winners in the Documentary Categories will be presented live June 26th, 2025, and will be streamed live on NATAS’ dedicated viewing platform powered by Vimeo, available on the web at watch.theemmys.tv and via The Emmy® apps for iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV, and Roku.

About

About American Documentary, Inc.
American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, Acton Family Giving, and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.

POV Shorts
POV Shorts launched in 2018 as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. The series is known for its curation, and for broadcasting award-winning titles, including Emmy® nominated Earthrise, Water Warriors, The Changing Same, Emmy® award winners The Love Bugs, the Oscar® winning Days of Waiting, and the Oscar® shortlisted A Broken House and Aguilas. The series won Best Short Form Series at the IDA Documentary Awards in 2023, 2022 and 2020, with A Broken House winning Best Short in 2022. Series titlesIn the Absence, A Night at the Garden,4.1 Miles,Joe’s Violin, and Hardwood have all been nominated for Oscar® awards.

About POV

Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied (1989), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1992), Rabbit in the Room (1999), Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2001), Made in L.A. (2007), American Promise (2013), Not Going Quietly (2021), While We Watched (2022), A House Made of Splinters (2022) and the mini-series And She Could be Next (2020). Throughout its history POV has featured the work of award-winning, innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras, Nanfu Wang, Frederick Wiseman, Emiko Omori, Janus Metz Pedersen and Ava DuVernay. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. In 2024, Indiewire named seven POV films in its roundup of “The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century”: Faya Dayi (2021), The Mole Agent (2020), Minding The Gap (2018), Cameraperson (2016), The Look of Silence (2015), The Act of Killing (2013) and After Tiller (2013). All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Instagram.

POV films and projects have won 48 Emmy Awards, 28 George Foster Peabody Awards, 16 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.

About PBS

PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.