8 NEH-Funded Films To Watch This Winter
Tell Them We are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
This 90-minute documentary examines the impact Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have had on American history, culture, and national identity from the earliest attempts at education to today’s campuses.
Air date: February 19, 2018 on PBS Independent Lens
Director/Producer: Stanley Nelson; Marco Williams co-director & co-producer
NEH grant
Tribal Justice
Two Native American judges reach back to traditional concepts of justice in order to reduce incarceration rates, foster greater safety for their communities, and create a more positive future for their youth. By addressing the root causes of crime, they are providing models of restorative justice that are working.
Air Date: Premiered Aug. 21, 2017 on PBS POV. Check local listings for rebroadcast or stream online at Makepeace Productions.
Director/Producer: Anne Makepeace
NEH grant
GI JEWS: Jewish Americans in World War II
GI JEWS: Jewish Americans in World War II tells the profound and unique story of the 550,000 Jewish men and women who served in World War II. These brave men and women fought for their nation and their people, for America and for Jews worldwide. Like all Americans, they fought against fascism, but they also waged a more personal fight— to save their brethren in Europe.
Air date: April 11, 2018 on PBS
Director/Producer: Lisa Ades
NEH grant
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart
This two-hour documentary offers an in-depth examination of Hansberry’s complex life, exploring the influences that shaped Hansberry’s childhood, art, and activism.
Air date: Premiered January 19, 2018 on PBS American Masters. Check local listings for rebroadcast or stream online.
Director/Producer: Produced by Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry. Written and directed by Tracy Heather Strain.
NEH grant
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith
Between 1957 and 1965 in New York, dozens of jazz musicians jam night after night in a dilapidated Sixth Avenue loft, not realizing that much of what they play and say to each other is being captured on audio tape and in still pictures by the gentle and unstable genius, former LIFE Magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith, who lives in the loft space next door. A 90-minute documentary about photographer W. Eugene Smith and the vibrant New York City jazz culture of the 1950s and 1960s.
Air date: Available on DVD and streaming online and through the Starz network. Check WNYC for details.
Director/Producer: Written, produced, and directed by Sara Fishko.
NEH grant
This is Bob Hope
A two-hour film that explores the entertainer’s life with unprecedented access to his personal archives and clips from his classic films, radio shows, and television specials.
Air date: Premiered December 2017 on PBS American Masters. Check local listings for rebroadcast or stream online.
Director/Producer: Written and directed by John Scheinfeld. Michael Kantor, executive producer for American Masters.
NEH grant
Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive
A 90-minute documentary film exploring the life, work, and surrounding mythos of the 19th-century American writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Air date: Premiered October 30, 2017 on PBS American Masters. Check local listings for rebroadcast or stream online.
Director: Eric Strange
NEH grant
Into the Amazon
Into the Amazon tells the remarkable story of the journey taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and legendary Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon into the heart of the South American rainforest to chart an unexplored tributary of the Amazon.
Air date: Premiered January 9, 2018 on PBS American Experience. Check local listings for rebroadcast or stream online.
Director: John Maggio
NEH grant