On January 24, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced nominations for the 89th Annual Academy Awards. PBS programs, including “I Am Not Your Negro,” coming to INDEPENDENT LENS in a future season, and “Watani: My Homeland” received nominations.
A film by Raoul Peck, “I Am Not Your Negro” envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. The film draws upon James Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to explore and bring a fresh perspective to the current racial narrative in America. “I Am Not Your Negro” is nominated in the Best Documentary (Feature) category (more here).
Additionally, "Watani: My Homeland,” a film from Marcel Mettelsiefen and ITN productions, was nominated in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category. FRONTLINE subsequently aired the television version of the film, "Children of Syria,” on April 16, 2016.
POV will also air two Best Documentary (Short Subject) nominees in its 30th season. "Joe's Violin” tells the story of how a donated musical instrument forges an improbable friendship between 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Joseph Feingold and 12-year-old Bronx schoolgirl Brianna Perez. "4.1 Miles" follows local coast guard officers off the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of migrants have braved the Mediterranean to flee conflicts at home. Both will air on PBS in 2017.
Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars on Sunday, February 26 on ABC.
Click here for a full list of nominees.
PBS congratulates INDEPENDENT LENS “I Am Not Your Negro,” “Watani: My Homeland,” "Joe's Violin" and "4.1 Miles" on their Academy Award nominations!
