American Documentary

Overview

THE OFFICIAL SELECTION, TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY WILL PLAY AS PART OF THE 34TH SEASON OF POV ON PBS IN 2021

New York, N.Y. — November 2, 2020— POV today announced the acquisition of the U.S. broadcast rights for Landfall, directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, will air as part of the series’ 34th season, which kicks off on PBS in June 2021.

Following its world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, Landfall won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Florida Film Festival, and will be streaming at DOC NYC from November 11 - 19, 2020.

Taking a holistic look at Post-María Puerto Rico,Landfall adopts an interconnected episodic structure focusing on the unique stories of farmers, fishermen, educators, real estate agents and newcomers alike, everyone eager to rebuild. Naturalistic and personal, the film combines intimate scenes of everyday life in Puerto Rico with informal, conversational interviews with subjects.

As the island grapples with a devastated infrastructure and multi-billion dollar debt, outside investors descend—not to bail out communities, but to cash in. The next generation of Puerto Ricans find themselves at an inflection point between the dream of a socialist utopia and the reality of recolonization. The new Puerto Rico poses a question of global urgency: when the world falls apart, what does a just recovery look like?

Filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo said, “Landfall is a cautionary tale about unjust recovery, and what happens when powerful interests try to privatize public services in the wake of disaster. Now that we're all facing the biggest disaster of our lifetimes, we need public media like POV to champion the visionary, ethical, and independent media we need for a healthy society. I can't think of a better home for my film."

Chris White, executive producer of POV said, “Cecilia’s masterpiece is both a sharp condemnation of the continued colonial exploitation of Puerto Rico and a warm embrace of the land and her people. Rendered with a singular vision and deep affection, you’ll be swept into solidarity with these native Puerto Ricans who resist and rebuild.”

The Landfall deal was negotiated by Justine Nagan and Chris White on behalf of POV, and Ines Hoffman Kanna on behalf of Landfall. The film is a co-production of Blackscrackle Films, LLC, ITVS, and American Documentary | POV, in association with Field of Vision, and Latino Public Broadcasting, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

About POV

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. It's on POV where American television audiences were introduced to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied, The Act of Killing and American Promise and innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Nanfu Wang, and Laura Poitras. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries.

Over a generation, POV has championed accessibility and innovation in nonfiction storytelling. POV Engage works with educators, community organizations and PBS stations to present hundreds of free screenings every year, inspiring dialogue around today's most pressing social issues. The series' interactive arm, POV Spark, creates and advances experiential forms of storytelling and programming, redefining U.S. public media to be more inclusive of emerging technologies and interactive makers.

POV films and projects have won 42 Emmy Awards, 25 George Foster Peabody Awards, 14 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 Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Open Society Foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from Acton Family Giving, Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Bertha Foundation, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Charitable Trust, Park Foundation, Sage Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, 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.