PBS' POV Releases Full Schedule for 31st Season Kicking Off June 18

PBS series POV kicks off its 31st Season with the national TV debut of the acclaimed documentary feature film QUEST this Monday, June 18 at 10 PM. POV is the longest-running independent documentary series on American television. Screeners and interviews available now. POV films have won 37 Emmy® Awards. - Adam Segal, The 2050 Group - Publicity

POV 2018 Schedule - Season 31

All programs air on Monday nights at 10 p.m. Check local listings.
Visit www.POV.org for more info and press materials.

QUEST
June 18, 2018
by Jonathan Olshefski
Filmed with vérité intimacy for nearly a decade, QUEST is the moving portrait of a family from North Philadelphia. Beginning during the Obama presidency, Christopher "Quest" Rainey and his wife, Christine'a "Ma Quest," raise a family while nurturing a community of hip-hop artists in their basement home music studio. Epic in scope, QUEST is a vivid illumination of race and class in America and a testament to love, healing and hope. Official Selection, 2017 Sundance Film Festival. A co-production of American Documentary | POV and ITVS. A co-presentation with Black Public Media.

Singing with Angry Bird
June 25, 2018
by Hyewon Jee
Jae-Chang Kim runs a children's choir in Pune, India. Although his quick temper earned him the nickname "Angry Bird," he has made significant changes in the lives of the choir children. But skeptical of the practical value of music education, their parents are reluctant to let them sing. In order to convince them, Angry Bird decides to train the parents with their children for a joint concert, showing them the power of music in bringing families closer together.

Brimstone & Glory
July 2, 2018
by Viktor Jakovleski
The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico, is a site of festivity unlike any other in the world. Conflagrant revelry engulfs the town while artisans show off their technical virtuosity. For the three- quarters of Tultepec residents who work in pyrotechnics, the festival anchors their way of life. It is an explosive event with unrestrained delight and real peril. Plunging headlong into the fire, Brimstone & GLORY honors the spirit of Tultepec's community and celebrates celebration itself.

The Workers Cup
July 9, 2018
by Adam Sobel
In 2022, Qatar will host the biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup. But right now, far from the bright lights, star athletes and adoring fans, the tournament is being built on the backs of 1.6 million African and Asian migrant workers. With unprecedented access, The Workers Cup gives voice to the men who are laboring to build sport's grandest stage while competing in a soccer tournament of their own. Official Selection, 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Lindy Lou, Juror Number 2
July 16, 2018
by Florent Vassault
For 20 years, Lindy has lived with an unbearable feeling of guilt. Committed to fulfilling her civic duty, Lindy sat with 11 other people on a jury that handed down the death penalty to a Mississippi man convicted of a double homicide. An overwhelming feeling of regret compels Lindy to track down her fellow jurors. A conservative, religious woman from the South, she manages to tackle this topic with humor, an open mind and sincere curiosity.

The War to Be Her
July 23, 2018
by Erin Heidenreich
In Waziristan, "one of the most dangerous places on earth", Maria Toorpakai defies the Taliban, disguising herself as a boy so she can play sports freely. But when she becomes a rising star, her true identity is revealed and death threats force Maria to leave her country. Undeterred, Maria decides to return facing the danger and to play the sport she loves.

Whose Streets?
July 30, 2018
by Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis
When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a BREAKING POINT for the residents of the St. Louis area and beyond. Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson, Missouri uprising. As the national guard rolls in, a new generation mounts a powerful battle cry not just for their civil rights, but for the right to live. Official Selection, 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Still Tomorrow
August 6, 2018
by Jian Fan
A village woman with no high school diploma becomes China's most famous poet, and her book of poetry the best-selling such volume in China in the past 20 years. Still Tomorrow follows Yu Xiuhua, a 39-year- old woman living with cerebral palsy, as she faces sudden fame. The film poignantly weaves her personal narrative with that of an ascendant, urbanizing China.

Nowhere to Hide
August 27, 2018
by Zaradasht Ahmed
Nowhere to Hide follows male nurse Nori Sharif in one of the world's most dangerous and inaccessible areas: the "triangle of death" in central Iraq. Initially filming stories of survivors and the hope of a better future as U.S. and Coalition troops retreat from Iraq in 2011, Sharif eventually turns the camera on himself. Through five years, Sharif and his family experience dramatic change as conflicts continue with Iraqi militias and the RISE of ISIS.

Voices of the Sea
September 3, 2018
by Kim Hopkins
Revealing stark realities for the poorest of rural Cubans with unique access and empathy, this is the story of a 30-something mother of four longing for a better life. The tension between wife and aging husband- one desperate to leave, the other content to stay-builds into a high STAKES family drama after her brother and the couple's neighbors escape. A co-production of American Documentary | POV and ITVS. A co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting.

The Apology
September 10, 2018
by Tiffany Hsiung
The Apology follows three former "comfort women" who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Seventy years after their imprisonment and after decades of living in silence and shame, the survivors give their first-hand accounts of the truth for the record, seeking apology and the hope that this horrific chapter of history not be forgotten. A co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).

93Queen
September 17, 2018
by Paula Eiselt and Heidi Reinberg
Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, 93Queen follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented and insider access, 93Queen offers a unique portrayal of a group of religious women who are taking matters into their own hands to change their own community from within. A co-production of American Documentary | POV and ITVS.

Survivors
September 24, 2018
by Arthur Pratt, Lansana Mansaray, Banker White and Anna Fitch
Through the eyes of Sierra Leonean filmmaker Arthur Pratt, Survivors presents an intimate portrait of his country during the EBOLA outbreak, exposing the complexity of the epidemic and the sociopolitical turmoil that lies in its wake. During one of the most acute public health crises of the modern era, Survivors reveals the bureaucratic missteps that took place, as well as remarkable stories of individual bravery and the deep humanity of those caught in the middle of this unfolding crisis. A co-production of American Documentary | POV and ITVS.

Dark Money
October 1, 2018
by Kimberly Reed
Dark Money, a political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable CORPORATE money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana-a FRONTLINE in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide-to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Through this gripping story, Dark Money uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold. Official Selection, 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Minding the Gap
Jan/Feb 2019
by Bing Liu
Bing Liu's debut film is a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown. In his quest to understand why he and his friends all ran away from home when they were younger, Bing follows 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a father and 17-year-old Keire as he gets his first job. While navigating a complex relationship between his camera and his friends, Bing explores the gap between fathers and sons, between discipline and domestic abuse and ultimately that precarious chasm between childhood and becoming an adult. A co-production of American Documentary | POV and ITVS. A co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).

306 Hollywood
Spring 2019
by Elan Bogarin and Jonathan Bogarin
After their grandmother passes, brother and sister Jonathan and Elan Bogarin begin an epic excavation of their grandmother's belongings. Using actors to lip sync taped conversations and dramatic animated effects, 306 Hollywood is a magical realist documentary bending the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction. From their grandmother's home in New Jersey to ancient Rome, from fashion to physics, the film embarks on a journey in search of what life remains in the objects we leave behind. A co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting.

ABOUT POV

Produced by American Documentary, Inc., POV is public television's premier showcase for nonfiction films. Since 1988, POV has been the home for the world's boldest contemporary filmmakers, celebrating intriguing personal stories that spark conversation and inspire action. Always an innovator, POV discovers fresh new voices and creates interactive experiences that shine a light on social issues and elevate the art of storytelling. With our documentary broadcasts, original online programming and dynamic community engagement campaigns, we are committed to supporting films that capture the imagination and present diverse perspectives.

POV films have won 37 Emmy® Awards, 21 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards®, the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. The POV series has been honored with a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, three IDA Awards for Best Curated Series and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award for CORPORATE Commitment to Diversity. Learn more at www.pbs.org/pov/.

To post a comment, you must register and login.