FRONTLINE Wins Two News & Documentary Emmy Awards

FRONTLINE was a two-time winner at the 44th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, held in New York City Sept. 27 and 28.

The investigative series, which is broadcast nationwide on PBS and produced at GBH in Boston, was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its reporting on government crackdowns in Afghanistan and Russia.

The FRONTLINE documentary Afghanistan Undercover was named the winner of the “Outstanding Investigative News Coverage: Long Form” category. From a team including award-winning correspondent Ramita Navai and director and producer Karim Shah (see full credits list), the documentary investigates the Taliban’s crackdown on women in Afghanistan since the group’s August 2021 takeover of the country.

In the film, Navai reveals the harsh realities of life for women under the Taliban’s rule. She meets a group of female lawyers forbidden from working, rides along with an underground network of female activists on a rescue mission, secretly films in a Taliban prison where women are being held without trial or charge — and confronts Taliban officials about what she’s found. A Quicksilver Media production for GBH/FRONTLINE in association with ITV, the documentary aired on PBS in August 2022.

Another FRONTLINE documentary, Putin’s War at Home, took home the prize in the “Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Long Form” category. The documentary introduces audiences to some of the defiant Russians pushing back against President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on critics of the war in Ukraine.

Producers Gesbeen Mohammad and Vasiliy Kolotilov (see full credits list) chronicle the stories of activists and journalists risking arrest and imprisonment to protest, speak out about, or report on the Kremlin’s war effort — from a young woman whose TikToks have gone viral internationally, to a university professor whose parents live in Ukraine, to an artist facing up to 10 years imprisonment after posting anti-war stickers in a grocery store. The documentary, a Hardcash production for GBH/FRONTLINE in association with ITV, aired on PBS in November 2022.

“We are so proud of the intrepid journalists and filmmakers who’ve told these critical stories with courage and care, often in the face of danger,” says FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “We are honored to see these documentaries recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. We share this great news with our film teams, ITV, and, of course, with GBH, PBS and CPB and our viewers, who support FRONTLINE in our ongoing pursuit of truth.”

Including FRONTLINE’s nine nominations, PBS this year received 26 News & Documentary Award nominations and GBH received 15. FRONTLINE has now received 106 News & Documentary Emmy Awards to date.

Stream this year’s winning FRONTLINE documentaries below, in the PBS App or on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel:

Afghanistan Undercover (credits)

“Outstanding Investigative News Coverage: Long Form”

Putin’s War at Home (credits)

“Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Long Form”

This post, originally published Sept. 27, was updated Sept. 28 after night two of the News & Documentary Emmys.