POV at a Glance
Season Reel
“[R]ighteous cinema, righteous causes… an eclectic series that isn’t always political and always sticks to its mandate, namely ‘point of view’ movies.”” — The Wall Street Journal
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 38 Emmy Awards, 23 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award.
Submissions
POV is proud to partner with independent producers and provides a national platform to bring their stories to the American public. More than 800 programs are submitted for consideration each year. The films undergo a rigorous review process involving independent media professionals, public television station programmers and PBS. Once selected, POV works with filmmakers to craft a strategic broadcast plan which includes a national press campaign, outreach and educational activities in partnership with public television stations, educators and community-based organizations, a stand-alone website and other materials and services geared to providing the most effective springboard possible for the film.
POV now accepts submissions on a rolling basis. To be considered for the 2020 season, entries must be submitted by Saturday, July 20, 2019. Visit cfe.pov.org to review our guidelines and submit your film for consideration. For additional questions, email cfe@pov.org.
Funding
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyncote Foundation. Additional funding comes from The John S. and James Knight Foundation, Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Bertha Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Chicago Media Project, Sage Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, 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.