POV

Amanda Hirsch is a blogger and freelance writer and editor, as well as a performer. Her blog, Creative DC, showcases and inspires creative living in the Washington, DC area. Prior to making the leap into freelancing in 2006, Amanda was the editorial director of PBS.org, where she was responsible for the quality and performance of web content tied to PBS programs, as well as web-original productions. She has delivered workshops and presentations on interactive storytelling for the Sundance Institute, National Film Board of Canada, American Press Institute, Online News Association, PBS/NPR Interactive Summit and the PBS/CPB Producers Academy. Amanda performs with Washington Improv Theater, and debuted her one woman show, Brushstrokes, in connection with the 2008 Capital Fringe Fest. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Jordan, her dog, Cosmo, and the occasional rat.

Her favorite documentaries are:

1. Winged Migration
2. Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
3. Ryan
4. Hoop Dreams
5. The War Room

 

• Outside the Frame: Q&A with NPR Social Media Strategist Andy Carvin
• Outside the Frame: Twitter: The Mother of All Travel Documentaries
• Outside the Frame: Q&A With Guerilla Artist Keri Smith
• Outside the Frame: Q&A With "Fans, Friends and Followers" Author Scott Kirsner
• Outside the Frame: Q&A with PBS Interactive's Angela Morgenstern

See all posts by Amanda Hirsch

Andrew is POV's Associate Producer in the Production and Programming department. Prior to joining us, he was with the National Hockey League and also at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. His work and studies in Italian Cinema earned him the Immersion Award from the Milan International Film Festival and his filmmaking resume includes documentary work with Alexandra Kerry. Andrew has a dual bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.

Andrew's favorite documentaries are:

1. Heima - Dean DeBlois
2. American Dream - Barbara Kopple
3. Dark Days - Marc Singer
4. Antonio Gaudí - Hiroshi Teshigahara
5. Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait - Douglas Gordon & Philippe Parreno

 

• Rooftop Films Kicks Off!
• "The Way We Get By" comes to New York
• The 2010 POV Call for Entries Starts Now!
• Watch the Short Film City of Cranes Online
• Watch Boomtown Online and Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

See all posts by Andrew Catauro

Anne is POV's director of development and special projects; she has been active in the independent media arts and public television as a producer, programmer and fundraiser for over 12 years. She currently manages American Documentary's fundraising activities, content research and program licensing. Prior to joining the AmDoc staff in 2002, she was a production associate at American Masters in New York and then series coordinator for Frontline in Boston. In 1997, she moved to Austin, Texas, where she served as associate director of the Austin Film Society, and worked on numerous documentary and narrative film projects. She served as vice president of the board of Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers and has been a panelist for numerous arts and media organizations.

 

• SXSW: Lots of Docs, But (Sadly) No Time for 'Office Space'
• An Interview with Janet Pierson of SXSW
• The 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
• 72 Hours at SXSW
• SXSW Documentary Feature Winners

See all posts by Anne del Castillo

Catherine joined POV Interactive as senior producer in 2008. Before joining P.O.V., she was the editorial producer for Columbia University's Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. Previously, she worked for the American Museum of Natural History's Science Bulletins, where she wrote and produced weekly multimedia news updates and produced a number of Web sites for Picture Projects, including 360degrees.org, an award-winning examination of the American criminal justice system. Catherine received her AB from Duke University and an M.A.H. from the University at Buffalo in Comparative Literature and Media Studies. She has taught courses on documentary video production and filmmaking at the University at Buffalo and interactive design at the Cooper Union School of Art. She is currently completing an M.S. at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Catherine's favorite documentaries are:

1. Happy Mother's Day by Joyce Chopra and Ricky Leacock
2. Salesman by Albert and David Maysles
3. Tokyo-Ga by Wim Wenders
4. Spin by Brian Springer
5. Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog

 

• Links and Events Roundup
• In Theaters Now: "Food, Inc."
• "Made in L.A." Screening on Capitol Hill
• Catching up With "My American Girls" Director Aaron Matthews
• More About the Japanese Political Campaign

See all posts by Catherine Jhee

As POV's senior manager for communications, Cathy publicizes POV's programs and initiatives to media and consumers. She joined P.O.V. in 2003 after five years as manager of program press relations at PBS. Previously, she served as public relations director at Bravo and the Independent Film Channel; Group W Satellite Communications, where she managed PR for TNN: The Nashville Network; Westwood One Radio Networks; and D.L. Blackman, where she promoted classical music artists and IMAX movies. She was also the manager of press, advertising and promotion for NBC and ABC Radio.

Cathy's favorite documentaries are:

1. Inheritance - James Moll
2. Innocence Lost trilogy - Ofra Bikel
3. The Natural History of the Chicken - Mark Lewis
4. Street Fight - Marshall Curry
5. Suicide Killers - Pierre Rehov

 

• A Night at the Museum: Campaign Plays at MoMA, With a Surprise Guest

See all posts by Cathy Fisher

Chris is POV's director of programming and production. He and his team work closely with the executive director in the areas of programming, production and PBS station relations. Previously, he worked as associate producer and production office manager on the documentary Blue Vinyl (HBO, 2002). Chris spent a number of years as vice president of sales and acquisitions at Angelika Films International, and at BNN-TV in New York as associate producer on projects for the History Channel and the Smithsonian Museum. He also produced the children's program An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance for the Museo Italo-Americano in San Francisco.

Chris's top five documentaries (this month) are:

1. First Person Plural, Deann Borshay Liem
2. Hybrid, Monteith McCollum
3. Tintin and I, Anders Østergaard
4. Fog of War, Errol Morris
5. Crumb, Terry Zwigoff

 

• Speed Pitching at the Realscreen Summit

See all posts by Chris White

Cynthia is the vice president for American Documentary | POV From 2000 to 2003, she served as POV's director of communications, during which she increased national coverage of P.O.V. documentaries by 700 percent and won an EPPSilon Award for the Farmingville campaign. In her new expanded role, Cynthia's responsibilities include overall development of the organization, programming/content development and delivery and strategic planning. In addition, she continues to maintain oversight of POV's communications and marketing department, driving the department's communications and brand development. Cynthia has built strategic partnerships with Pentagram, Inc., Harpo Studios, Netflix, ABC News' Nightline, WNYC New York Public Radio and Ms. Magazine, among others. Cynthia is a founding board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. She is an advisor to REEL New York (Thirteen/WNET New York), the Heinz Awards, the Rockefeller Foundation, White House Conference on Libraries, Latino Public Broadcasting, the Banff Centre in Canada, United Nations Women's Conference and the Center for Democratic Communications (South Africa), among many others.

Cynthia's favorite documentaries are:

1. The Devil Came on Horseback by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg
2. Every Mother's Son by Tammy Gold and Kelly Anderson
3. My Country, My Country by Laura Poitras
4. Iraq in Fragments by James Longley
5. Glass Jaw by Michael O'Reilly

 

• Sundance Recap: Docs and My Drama

See all posts by Cynthia Lopez

David has worked on the POV website, POV Interactive, since its infancy, helping to develop and nuture it as well as producing special features. David also oversees and administers POV's internal network, maintaining hardware and software for the POV staff. Prior to joining POV, David, served on the staff of CyberEd, an 18-wheeler Internet classroom that toured nationwide. Since 1997, David has worked independently as a computer consultant, including systems, networks, databases, and Web design and construction.

David's favorite documentaries are:

1. Eyes on the Prize - Henry Hampton (Executive Producer)
2. Crumb - Terry Zwigoff
3. The Thin Blue Line - Errol Morris
4. Roger & Me - Michael Moore
5. The Camden 28 - Anthony Giacchino

 

• Making a Difference in the Classroom
• Moore or Less: Slacker Uprising
• What happens when you're sick and uninsured in America?
• Traces of the Trade at Upstate Films
• Word Play

See all posts by David Nanasi

Eliza is POV's director of community outreach and education, and she works with public television stations, educators and community-based organizations to present community screenings of POV films and to develop and distribute accompanying educational resource materials to teachers nationwide. Before joining POV in 2000, she taught English in Spain and Mexico. Eliza is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University.

Eliza's favorite documentaries are:
1. The Last Waltz - Martin Scorsese
2. In the Realms of the Unreal - Jessica Yu
3. The Thin Blue Line - Errol Morris
4. Don't Look Back - D.A. Pennebaker
5. Grey Gardens - Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer

 

• Media That Matters: More Than a Festival
• Reel Justice Film Conference in Bronx Later This Month
• Host an Election Day House Party
• Critical Condition: Get Involved
• 2008 Media that Matters Festival: High Impact Shorts

See all posts by Eliza Licht

Irene worked at POV from 2000-2009, developing POV's Youth Views into a year-round project that works with youth, educators and youth-serving organizations to use P.O.V. films as a tool for youth engagement. An award-winning community organizer and filmmaker, she is a graduate of Educational Video Center's High School Documentary Workshop and City-as-School High School.

Irene's favorite documentary films include:

1. Hotere - Merata Mita
2. Tongues Untied - Marlon Riggs
3. Paris is Burning - Jennie Livingston
4. Maquilapolis - Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre
5. In the Light of Reverence - Christopher McLeod

 

• An International Conversation About Youth & Media Literacy
• POV's Youth Views: Get Out of the Screening Room...
• Raising Voter Rights Awareness around Election Day and APA Heritage Month
• Join POV at the NYC Grassroots Media Conference

See all posts by Irene Villaseñor

Jessica is POV's Outreach and Development Coordinator. She assists in coordinating community screenings of POV films, producing educational materials and provides general assistance to the Community Engagement and Education and Development department.

Jessica's favorite documentaries are:

1. a.k.a. Don Bonus - Sokly "Don Bonus" Ny and Spencer Nakasako
2. Hearts and Minds - Peter Davis
3. High School - Frederick Wiseman
4. Paris is Burning - Jennie Livingston
5. Sound and Fury - Josh Aronson

 

• Inspiring Passionate Dialogues at Community Screenings
• Radical Math and Documentary Films
• Docs from the Past: Ilha das Flores

See all posts by Jessica Lee

Ruiyan joined POV in 2006 and works on developing and producing materials for POV's website. Before coming to POV, she worked in the Interactive and Broadband department at Channel Thirteen/WNET. Ruiyan was born in Shanghai and graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Modern Culture and Media.

Ruiyan's favorite documentaries are:

1. The Gleaners and I - Agnes Varda
2. Harlan County, USA - Barbara Koppel
3. Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story - Garrett Scott
4. The Up Series - Michael Apted
5. San Soleil - Chris Marker

 

• Watch "New Muslim Cool" and "Beyond Hatred" Online
• Watch "Beyond Hatred" on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
• World Refugee Day
• "New Muslim Cool" Premieres on POV Next Tuesday Night!
• Links and Events - June 2009

See all posts by Ruiyan Xu

Simon served as chief operating officer of American Documentary for six years before assuming the role of executive director in Fall 2006. Since joining AmDoc in 1999, he has played a key role in helping to set strategic direction for the organization and implementing new initiatives, including the Diverse Voices Project, POV's co-production initiative in support of emerging filmmakers; POV's Borders, PBS' Webby Award-winning online series; and True Lives, a second-run series for independent documentaries on public television. In addition, he worked to secure pioneering partnerships with both Netflix and Docurama to expand the distribution opportunities for POV filmmakers and enhance branding for POV Previously, Simon was associate director at Teachers & Writers Collaborative, a nonprofit literary arts and education organization and publisher, where he is now a member of the board of directors. He has also served as a board member and treasurer for Elders Share the Arts and East Harlem Block Schools, and as an informal advisor and funding panel member for other organizations including the New York City Center for Arts Education, the Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers and New York State Council on the Arts. Simon attended the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Columbia University Business School's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.

 

• An Interview with Sky Sitney, Artistic Director of Silverdocs
• An Interview with John Biaggi, Director of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
• "Made in L.A." Wins the Hillman Prize!
• Gaming and Social Media
• Greenhouse Fund – Notes from the Field

See all posts by Simon Kilmurry

Theresa Riley joined POV in 2002 and is responsible for overseeing editorial and production for POV Interactive, POV's website. She is an award-winning Web producer and editor whose work has been featured on PBS Online, onmagazine.com and time.com. In 1998, she joined PBS Online as the editor for news, history and documentary film Web sites. She co-produced a number of companion sites for PBS programs including the award-winning Ken Burns' Frank Lloyd Wright Web site, Wonders of the African World with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Conquistadors with Michael Wood and Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure.

Theresa's favorite documentaries are:

1. Titticut Follies - Frederick Wiseman
2. Gimme Shelter - Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
3. Don't Look Back - D.A. Pennebaker
4. Street Fight - Marshall Curry
5. The Times of Harvey Milk - Rob Epstein and Richard Schmiechen

 

• Chat with the Director and Star of "New Muslim Cool" on Monday Night
• What Does Your Fridge Say About You?
• Yo!TV Interviews Hamza Pérez
• Earth Day Update: The Invisible Creek Not So Invisible Anymore
• President Obama and His "Entourage"

See all posts by Theresa Riley

Tom Roston is the POV blog's first guest columnist. He comes to us as a ten-year veteran of Premiere magazine, where he was a Senior Editor, and where he wrote the column, Notes from the Dream Factory. Tom was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Brown University and started his career in journalism at The Nation and then Vanity Fair. Tom has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, GQ, New York, Elle and other publications.

Tom's favorite documentaries are:

1. Koyanisqaatsi - Godfrey Reggio
2. Hoop Dreams - Steve James
3. The Up series - Michael Apted
4. Crumb - Terry Zwigoff
5. Capturing the Friedmans - Andrew Jarecki

 

• Doc Soup: Keeping Violence Off-Screen in "Beyond Hatred"
• Doc Soup: Thinking About the Name Game and Documentaries
• Doc Soup: Fundraising Woes
• Doc Soup: The Last Word on "Dear Zachary"
• Doc Soup: A Review of "Dear Zachary"

See all posts by Tom Roston

Yance works closely with POV's executive director and programming director to evaluate films submitted to POV She is instrumental in curating the series, a showcase of acclaimed documentary film on PBS. Yance frequently represents POV | American Documentary at conferences, festivals and markets, procuring work from filmmakers both nationally and internationally. Yance also oversees POV's annual call for entries, which yields upwards of one thousand entries, and coordinates POV's annual programming advisory board. Yance is a Programming Consultant and Pre- Screener for film festivals around the country, including the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Black Maria Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, Latino Public Broadcasting, Creative Capital and the Sundance Film Festival. She has served on festival juries at Full Frame and Silverdocs, appeared on panels at Sunny Side of the Doc and DocuClub and served on the IFP Advisory Committee. A graduate of Hamilton College and the production workshop at Third World Newsreel, Yance is a former Production Stage Manager for the Girls Choir of Harlem and has worked as a Production Manager on numerous independent productions for the Discovery Health and History channels. Ford has also worked in various capacities on the documentaries The Favorite Poem Project, Juanita Anderson, Executive Producer, Brian Lanker's They Drew Fire (PBS), and Barry Levinson's Yesterday's Tomorrows (Showtime).

Yance's favorite documentaries include:

1. Hands on a Hard Body
2. Tongues Untied
3. Harlan County, USA
4. Cul de Sac
5. When We Were Kings
6. The Thin Blue Line
7. Night and Fog

 

• Kim Longinotto: Not a "Fly on the Wall"
• Queen for a Night at the Cinema Eye Awards
• I've Got My Eyes on You
• True/False 2009 Wrap Up
• Getting Started at True/False 2009

See all posts by Yance Ford