''POV'' (also written ''P.O.V.'') is a
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
public television series which features independent nonfiction films. ''POV'' is an initialism for ''point of view''.
''POV'' is the longest-running showcase on television for independent
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
s. PBS presents 14–16 ''POV'' programs each year, and the series has premiered over 400 films to U.S. television audiences since 1988.
''POV''s films have a strong first-person, social-issue focus. Many established directors, including
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
,
Jonathan Demme,
Terry Zwigoff,
Errol Morris
Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNama ...
,
Albert and
David Maysles,
Michael Apted,
Frederick Wiseman,
Marlon Riggs, and
Ross McElwee have had work screened as part of the ''POV'' series.
The series has garnered both critical and industry acclaim over its 30+ years on television. ''POV'' films have won every major film and broadcasting award including 45
Emmys, 26
George Foster Peabody Awards
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, 15
duPont-Columbia Awards, three
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, three
George Polk Documentary Film Awards and the
Prix Italia. ''POV'' and ''
America ReFramed'' are projects of the independent non-profit,
American Documentary, Inc
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
Episodes
Reception
Richard Roeper of ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' wrote for the episode, 'And She Could Be Next', "Powerful and absolutely vital."
See also
* ''
Independent Lens
''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...
'' (PBS series)
References
External links
''POV'' official site*
American Documentary, Inc.(series production company)
{{PBSTV
1988 American television series debuts
1980s American documentary television series
1990s American documentary television series
2000s American documentary television series
2010s American documentary television series
2020s American documentary television series
PBS original programming
Peabody Award-winning television programs