documentaries

Sheila Nevins has been one of the most influential voices in the documentary landscape for more than three decades. As the head of HBO Documentary Films since 1979, the so-called Dominatrix of Docs has produced more than 1,000 documentaries and has won more primetime Emmys than any other individual (32 to date). On a day-to-day basis, Nevins is in charge of developing and producing all the documentaries for HBO, HBO2, and Cinefax. Now 78, Nevins has written a book loosely based on her life.

The venerable Sunday public-affairs mainstay is joining forces with the American Film Institute for a film festival to be held in November in Washington D.C. Submissions for what is expected to be a slate of seven short-length documentary films are now being accepted. It’s a surprising extension of a TV mainstay that is in the midst of its 70th year on the air.

The tall tales and colossal career of Andre the Giant will be told in an upcoming HBO documentary. WWE, HBO Sports and the Bill Simmons Media Group will produce “Andre The Giant,” a documentary film examining the life and career of one of professional wrestling’s truly biggest stars. Andre Rene Roussimoff, a native of France, […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A&E network is set to air a documentary series focused on the Ku Klux Klan. Announced Monday, “Generation KKK” aims to expose the missions of this racist, anti-Semitic organization and show its impact on American families as Klan members grapple with the consequences of breaking free. Throughout eight one-hour episodes, the […]

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Norman Lear, age 94 and a native New Yorker, thought he knew a few things about the obstacles of housing in the Big Apple. But when he began exploring the subject for “America Divided,” Lear said he was “horrified at how little I knew. Someone making a reasonable living with […]

Joseph Sledge was convicted of a double murder in Bladen County, N.C., and spent 37 years in prison. Then, new evidence proved he couldn’t have been the killer. A new documentary from WRAL Raleigh, N.C. (DMA 25), An Obvious Suspect, examines the Sledge case and how he is adjusting to life now. The documentary, hosted […]

Cancer is perhaps the most-feared of all diseases — which is exactly why Ken Burns sees it as a vital topic, if never a welcome one. The three-part, six-hour Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, premieres on PBS stations on Monday. It traces the story of the disease from its earliest accounts in ancient Egypt to the latest scientific breakthroughs and their impact on real-life patients.

The success of The Jinx and Netflix’s push into documentaries has helped fuel a resurgence of interest in non-fiction filmmaking and television programs.

The nation buzzed about the Sunday finale of the HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst as if it was the shocking twist of a Shonda Rhimes drama series or a marriage proposal gone wrong on The Bachelor.

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix is making a push into documentaries, with the subscription service announcing deals to premiere four new films in the next few months. Netflix has always made non-fiction films available to subscribers, but until recently they have been projects initially made for theatrical release or on television networks. Netflix said Thursday […]

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A leader in the reality TV genre is donating $6.7 million for the University of Missouri-Columbia to create a program in documentary journalism. The university on Tuesday announced the donation from journalism school graduate Jonathan Murray. Murray has created and been executive producer for unscripted entertainment TV programs such as MTV’s […]

A proposal put forth by Edward R. Murrow 54 years ago that big corporations regularly sponsor primetime documentaries deserves a fresh look today. Why should all the corporate do-good money wend its way to PBS? If I were the commercial networks, I would target the likes of Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Facebook, Cisco and Verizon. They have been driving the never-ending media revolution and making billions without giving back much in the way of what actually passes through their devices, networks and apps.

NEW YORK (AP) – CNN says it is starting a new unit to make feature-length documentaries to show both on television and in movies theaters. Its first project, “Girl Rising,” tells the story of several girls fighting tough odds to achieve their dreams. It features voiceovers by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington and Selena […]