The PBS-supported WORLD Channel brings a slate of docs to public broadcasting stations, starting this past Sunday, September 9 at 8pm with the kick-off of its America ReFramed series. Like POV and Independent Lens, America ReFramed will bring nonfiction indie films (60 or 90 mintues in length) to the air, in this case with a focus on “relevant domestic topics (healthcare, immigration, the workplace, and politics) with personal storytelling tied to programming social themes.” America ReFramed is curated by the American Documentary, Inc. team, who also produce POV.
Per WORLD’s Chris Hastings, “This show has been curated in a way to give our viewers what we hope will be a snapshot of a transforming American life. We are expanding our mission of diverse story-telling in public media by acquiring films where the camera focuses on places and demographics that truly offer the contemporary American story. We are proud to bring these amazing films to such a large forum for discussion. Our goal is to deliver content that has a purposeful mission, and the feature stories of America ReFramed fulfill that promise.”
Here’s are the films slated for the first three months (with more titles to be announced soon), descriptions courtesy of the network. You can find out if you have the WORLD Channel here.
“Chisholm ’72” (Sept. 9) tells the story of the first black woman to run for President in 1972.
“Street Fight” (Sept. 16) covers the turbulent campaign of young graduate running for Newark, New Jersey mayor against the four-term incumbent.
“La Americana” (Sept. 23) involves an immigrant coming to America to support her disabled daughter back in Colombia.
“Push: Madison v Madison” (Sept. 30) follows a Massachusetts high school basketball coach who becomes a father figure to his students.
“Passionate Politics” (Oct. 7) is the biography of Charlotte Bunch, a feminist activist and writer impassioned by global human rights.
“Trust” (Oct. 14) addresses the issue of urban poverty through Chicago inner-city youth who have faced abuse and trauma and use art and theatre as a form of therapy.
“Skydancer” (Oct. 21) is a story of the Mohawk tribe in upstate New York and their involvement in the construction of modern sky scrapers.
To Be Determined (Oct. 28)
“Medicine Game” (Nov. 4) pursues the story of two brothers from the Onodaga Nation and their struggle to live up to family’s expectations while paying lacrosse for Syracuse University.
“My Louisiana Love” (Nov. 11) shares a family post-Karin recovering from their loss and dealing with maintaining their cultural heritage as a tribe not recognized by the United States.
“Meat Hooked” (Nov. 18) depicts how the American culture interacts with food, specifically meat and how it relates to different heritages.
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