Benjamin Bratt to Narrate PBS’s Series “Latino Americans”

“– Landmark Six-Hour Documentary Features Interviews with Nearly 100 Latinos and More Than 500 Years of History, Premieres Fall 2013 –

PASADENA, CA; JANUARY 14, 2013 — Today at the Television Critics Association meeting, PBS announced actor Benjamin Bratt will narrate LATINO AMERICANS, a landmark three-part, six-hour documentary series that is set to air nationally on PBS in the fall of 2013. It is the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape the United States over the last 500-plus years and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S.”

Find out more in the “What’s Showing” category.

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PBS/CPB Producers Academy

“The 2011 Workshop will be held at WGBH Boston during the week of Saturday, October 15 through Friday, October 21. It has been developed for producers who create or intend to create works for public broadcasting, either through a station or independently. It is an opportunity for these producers to work intensively on the skills that will benefit them most, through classes and through direct contact with some of public television’s most talented personnel.”

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PBS Challenge Fund

The PBS Challenge Fund is accepting proposals for television project proposals will national appeal that will attract new audiences.

“The Program Challenge Fund was created to support high-profile, primetime, limited series for the national public television schedule.  The Program Challenge Fund is jointly administered by CPB and PBS, which make funding decisions based on mutually established programming goals and objectives.

CPB and PBS have refined the purpose of the Program Challenge Fund in an effort to bring additional impact to the National Program Service schedule. The Program Challenge Fund funds high-visibility, high-impact, limited series that offer a definitive take on a subject or break new ground in popular, public service media.  CPB and PBS expect a successful Program Challenge Fund program to be the highlight of a given season’s schedule, have the potential to generate publicity, and attract new audiences to PBS broadcast and online content. ”

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Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

POV Calls for Documentary and Film Submissions

“POV, public television’s premier showcase for independent, non-fiction film seeks programs from all perspectives to showcase in its annual national PBS series. All subjects, aesthetic approaches and lengths are welcomed.”

Here are some of the guidelines:

• Non-fiction only.
• Works by independent filmmakers.
• Works that have not been broadcast nationally. 
• Works that are complete or near completion.
• Works not previously submitted to POV
• Works of any length will be considered. Works that comply with PBS underwriting guidelines.

For more information, visit the POV submissions page.

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Authur Vining Davis Foundation offers public television grants

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations offers grants to public television series with lasting educational value particularly in the areas of history and science.  There are no yearly deadlines.

Proposals for “capstone” grants to complete production funding are preferred. Initial research and pre-production funding are seldom supported. Neither multi­year grants nor annual funding of continuing series are normally considered. Recent “capstone” produc­tion grants have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000.

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For more information about program financing, visit the Funding and Grants category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.