American Documentary

Overview

New York, N.Y. – April 6, 2023 – Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker and Executive Director of American Documentary, Erika Dilday has joined Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon as a co-director and co-producer of the new film EMANCIPATION TO EXODUS (working title). The documentary explores the American experience from the Civil War and end of slavery, through Reconstruction and the start of the Great Migration out of the south that began in the early 20th century. Currently in production, Dilday has signed on to the project as an independent filmmaker. American Documentary supports Dilday in this effort, and she will continue in her role as Executive Director throughout the production of the film.

EMANCIPATION TO EXODUS (working title) is executive produced by Burns, whose company Florentine Films is producing the film with WETA Washington, DC, the leading public broadcaster in the nation’s capital. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon also co-directed THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, JACKIE ROBINSON AND MUHAMMAD ALI. They are currently in production on a film about Leonardo da Vinci.

EMANCIPATION TO EXODUS (working title) is slated to air on PBS in 2027.

“My career as a filmmaker has been focused on making authentic and diverse narratives part of the current media landscape, to create an honest and accurate reflection of our country and the world we want to make," said Erika Dilday. “As a storyteller, I was drawn to my role at American Documentary precisely because of our mission to amplify underheard voices and confront difficult histories in the public media landscape. And I believe that it is our collective responsibility to make sure that public media truly is a space for all, by providing diverse, interesting, and accessible content to a public that needs and demands it. Ken and his production teams have produced some of public television’s most memorable documentaries. As the documentary community looks to new models of collaboration, I’m excited to use my directing and producing talents on EMANCIPATION TO EXODUS, to tackle what is one of the most central and yet misunderstood stories in our country’s history.”

“Erika is an extraordinary journalist, filmmaker and media leader who will bring years of experience to a challenging story that spans decades of our history and continues to impact American life today,” said Burns. “I’ve wanted to explore Reconstruction and the nadir that followed its collapse since we completed The Civil War in 1990. Sarah, Dave and I are thrilled to be working with Erika on this project.”

Erika Dilday, a producer, journalist and media executive, is the executive director of American Documentary Inc. and executive producer of its award-winning documentary series POV on PBS and America ReFramed on WORLD Channel. Previously, she was the CEO of Futuro Media Group, a multimedia organization that gives a critical voice to the diversity of the American experience, and Executive Director of Maysles Documentary Center where she produced the acclaimed documentary, Albert Maysles’In Transit. Her latest film projects include Civil Warwith Rachel Boynton and Meanwhile with Catherine Gund.

About

About Ken Burns/Florentine Films

Ken Burns and his production company Florentine Films have been making documentary films for over 40 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The Statue of Liberty; Huey Long; Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery; Frank Lloyd Wright; Mark Twain; Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; Jackie Robinson; Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War; The Vietnam War, The Mayo Clinic: Faith - Hope – Science, Country Music, Hemingway, Muhammad Ali, Benjamin Franklin and, most recently, The U.S. and the Holocaust. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including sixteen Emmy® Awards, two Grammy® Awards, and two Oscar® nominations; and in September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia company 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, Sage Foundation, Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Abby Pucker, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee 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.

About PBS

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