2024 Prize for Film Finalists Announced
THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR SIXTH ANNUAL
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LAVINE/KEN BURNS PRIZE FOR FILM
$200,000 Cash Prize To Be Awarded to One of Six Film Finalists
Read more at this feature in Variety
Washington, DC – July 24, 2024 – The Library of Congress, The Better Angels Society, Ken Burns, and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation today announced the six finalists for the sixth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film (Prize for Film). The prize provides critical recognition and resources to exemplary documentary films that tell compelling stories about American history.
The Prize for Film was established in 2019 by the Library of Congress and The Better Angels Society, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging with Americans about their history through documentary film. This award is bestowed annually by the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, in partnership with The Better Angels Society and provides a cash prize of $200,000 to one winner, a secondary prize of $50,000 to one runner-up, and $25,000 to each of four other finalists. Core underwriting for this prize is provided by a generous gift from Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine through the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation.
The Sixth Annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film will be awarded on September 17, 2024, at a ceremony featuring the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, and Ken Burns, along with special guests to be announced. Bank of America is the presenting sponsor for this year’s event.
The 2024 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film Finalists are:
AREA 2, directed by James Sorrels
City leaders tacitly permitted Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and his “Midnight Crew” of detectives to torture dozens of Black detainees in his notorious “Area 2” police station between 1972 and 1991. Area 2 chronicles the epic fight for justice through the journeys of three Midnight Crew torture survivors.
BEHIND THE LINES, directed by John Benitz
Based on The New York Times bestselling books, Behind the Lines is a documentary about a passionate historian who travels around the world to find and preserve letters written during times of war. The film becomes an examination of war itself as told by those who witnessed it firsthand.
DORY PREVIN: ON MY WAY TO WHERE, directed by Julia Greenberg & Dianna Dilworth
Dory Previn was a successful lyricist for Hollywood films in the 50s and 60s who in the 70s transformed into an influential cult singer-songwriter, and famously went public about her schizophrenic diagnosis, ultimately accepting her voices and anticipating a modern-day neurodiversity movement.
MAGIC & MONSTERS, directed by Norah Shapiro
Founded in 1965, the Minnesota Children’s Theatre Company gained worldwide acclaim. However, in the 1980s, its founder was convicted of child sexual abuse, revealing a dark history within the theater. Now, a group of former child actors seeks justice and healing, offering a blueprint for reckoning with institutional trauma post-#MeToo.
OUT OF THE INKWELL: THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD,
directed by Asaf Galay
The Fleischer brothers were a family of New York Jewish immigrants whose inventions helped create America’s animation industry. Their cartoons were hilarious and strange, reflecting the world they lived in. It’s a rags to riches to rags again story, of a family whose influence on animators working today was profound.
WEDNESDAYS IN MISSISSIPPI, directed by Marlene McCurtis Throughout Freedom Summer of 1964, teams of activist Black and White women from northern cities risked all to fly into Mississippi, conducting undercover civil rights work to leave a lasting legacy for local empowerment and national progress. This was Wednesdays in Mississippi, a landmark all-women achievement too long overlooked.
A diverse range of late-stage American history documentary features were submitted for consideration earlier this year, which were reviewed by an internal committee comprised of filmmakers from Florentine Films and historians from the Library of Congress. The National Jury will now review the six finalists and determine the top two. This year’s Jury is chaired by Dr. Carla Hayden and composed of historians Dr. David G. Gutiérrez, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, and Dr. Claudio Saunt; award-winning documentarians Julianna Brannum, Sam Pollard, and Betsy West; and Jacqueline Glover, former senior vice president, HBO Documentary Films and currently the executive director of Harvard University’s Black Film Project. Dr. Hayden will then consult with Ken Burns to select the winning film.
The Prize for Film is also supported by an Honorary Committee of acclaimed thought leaders drawn from different corners of the media and cultural landscape, united by a common interest in supporting work that highlights our country’s history through documentary film. The 2024 Honorary Committee is comprised of Director of Art in Embassies at the U.S. Department of State Megan Beyer, filmmakers Patricia Cardoso and Melissa Haizlip, presidential historian Alexis Coe, historian Rebecca Erbelding, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Anthea Hartig, Senior Director of Arts Programming and Development at PBS Christopher John Farley, documentary filmmakers Dawn Porter and Sally Rosenthal, New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Ilyon Woo, PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Judy Woodruff, and poet Kevin Young, who also serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Since 2019, when the Prize for Film started, nearly $2 million has been distributed among filmmakers. Winning films have included FLANNERY (Directed by Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco, S.J.); HOLD YOUR FIRE (Directed by Steven Forbes); GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY: THE BANKRUPTCY OF DETROIT (Directed by Sam Katz and James McGovern); BELLA! THIS WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE HOUSE (Directed by Jeff L. Lieberman); PHILLY ON FIRE (Directed by Ross Hockrow and Tommy Walker); and DROP DEAD CITY – NEW YORK ON THE BRINK IN 1975 (Directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn). These – and other finalist films – have gone on to have theatrical releases, to be included and recognized at major festivals, and to stream on PBS and other platforms.
To learn more about the sixth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, visit www.thebetterangelssociety.org.
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About Ken Burns
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; and, most recently, The American Buffalo. Future film projects include Leonardo da Vinci, The American Revolution, Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
About The Better Angels Society
The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film. They are the pre-eminent organization supporting American history documentary filmmakers in ways that advance education and civic engagement. The Society works to ensure that films about American history by emerging and established filmmakers are completed, broadcast, promoted, and shared with wide audiences. The organization raises funds to support individual films in partnership with public media and
provides recognition and mentoring to student filmmakers through programs like The Next Generation Angels Awards in partnership with National History Day®.
About The Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation
Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine established the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation to focus a significant portion of their philanthropic efforts toward leveling the playing field for individuals and families. The Foundation works to address pressing social challenges in education, community and public service, health and welfare, discrimination, and poverty. The Foundation supports the multi-disciplinary efforts of organizations that serve to strengthen society through research, innovation, public policy, direct service, and advocacy.
About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Explore collections, reference services, and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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