Can it be Awards Season already? The Primetime Emmy nominations were announced today, and the lion's share of the nods went to American: The Story of Us, from Nutopia and HISTORY; Deadliest Catch, from Original Productions and Discovery Channel;  Life, from Discovery Channel, BBC, SKAI and RTI Spa; and The National Parks: America's Best Idea, from Florentine Films, WETA and PBS. Two docs about political figures--By the People: The Election of Barack Obama and Teddy: In His Own Words, about the late Senator Edward Kennedy--took a total of five nominations for HBO. While PBS' American Experience series earned three nods, including two for  Barak Goodman's My Lai. Nerakhoon (The Betrayal), the Academy Award-nominated doc from Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath, and Steven Sebring's Patti Smith: Dream of Life both eanred nominations fro PBS' POV. Strand. The Primetime Emmy Awards will be telecast August 29.

The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be announced next week in New York at the National Academy of Television Arts and Science.

Awards

Directors Guild of Canada Awards--Nominees
Allan King Award for Excellence in a Documentary:
Ballet High (Dir.: Elise Swerhone)
The Experimental Eskimos (Dir.: Barry Greenwald)
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Dir.: Peter Raymont)
Love Letters (Dir.: Tim Southam)

Primetime Emmy Awards--Nominees    

Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming:
America The Story of Us--Division (Cinematographer: Dirk Nel; HISTORY; Prod.: Nutopia for History)
Deadliest Catch--No Second Chances (Cinematography Team; Discovery Channel; Prod.: Original Productions, LLC for Discovery Communications)
Life--Challenges of Life (Cinematography Team; Discovery Channel • A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
The National Parks: America's Best Idea--The Scripture Of Nature (Cinematographer: Buddy Squires; PBS; Prods.: Florentine Films, WETA Washington, DC)
Whale Wars--The Stuff of Nightmares (Cinematography Team; Animal Planet; Prod.: Lizard Trading Company, LLC, for Animal Planet)

Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming:
The Amazing Race--I Think We're Fighting The Germans, Right? (Dir.: Bertram van Munster; CBS; Prod.: World Race Productions Inc.)
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama (Dirs.: Amy Rice, Alicia Sams; HBO; Prods.: Green Film Company, Citi Productions, Class 5 Films and GOOD in association with HBO Documentary Films)
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)--Lust for Glory (Dirs.: Bill Jones, Ben Timlett; IFC; Prods.: Bill & Ben Productions, Eagle Rock Entertainment Production, in association with IFC)
My Lai (Dir.: Barak Goodman; PBS; Prod.: Ark Media for American Experience)
Terror in Mumbai (Dir.: Dan Reed; HBO; Prod.: Quicksilver Media in association with HBO Documentary Films)

Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming:
America The Story of Us--Division (Editor: Matt Lowe; HISTORY; Prod.: Nutopia for History)
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama (Editors: Sam Pollard, Geeta Gandbhir, Arielle Amsalem; HBO; Prods.: Green Film Company, Citi Productions, Class 5 Films and GOOD in association with HBO Documentary Films)
Deadliest Catch--No Second Chances (Editors: Kelly Coskran, Josh Earl; Discovery Channel; Prod.: Original Productions, LLC for Discovery Communications)
Life--Challenges of Life (Editors: Martin Ellsbury, Sharon Gillooly; Discovery Channel; A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
Whale Wars--The Stuff of Nightmares (Lead Editor: Eric Myerson; Editors: Andy Schrader, Joseph McCasland; Animal Planet; Prod.: Lizard Trading Company, LLC, for Animal Planet)

Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media-Nonfiction:
The Biggest Loser Digital Experience (NBC.com; Prods.: NBC.com)
The Jimmy Fallon Digital Experience (Prods.: Jimmy Fallon, Gavin Purcell, Sara Schaefer, Robert Angelo; LateNightWithJimmyFallon.com; Prods.: LateNightWithJimmyFallon.com/NBC.com)
Top Chef: Las Vegas (Bravo.com; Prod.: Bravo Digital)

Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program:
Nick News With Linda Ellerbee - The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (Exec. Prods.: Linda Ellerbee, Rolfe Tessem; Supervising Prod.: Wally Berger; Prods.: Mark Lyons, Martin Toub;  Nickelodeon; Prod.: Nickelodeon in association with Lucky Duck Productions)
When Families Grieve (Exec. Prods.:  Christina Delfico, Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern, Rob Burnett, David Letterman: Supervising Prod.: Andrew Ames; Prod.: Kevin Clash; PBS; Prods.: Sesame Workshop in association with Worldwide Pants Incorporated and Lookalike Productions)

Outstanding Nonfiction Special:
Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story (Exec. Prods.: Max Burgos, John Gore Prods.; James Goddard, Sarah Townsend; EPIXHD; Prods.: Salient Media, Halyon Films in association with Ella Communications)
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama (Prods.: Amy Rice, Alicia Sams, Edward Norton, Stuart Blumberg, William Migliore; HBO; Prods.: Green Film Company, Citi Productions, Class 5 Films and GOOD in association with HBO Documentary Films)
Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (Exec. Prod.: Clint Eastwood; Prod.: Bruce Ricker ; TCM; Prods.: Rhapsody Productions in association with TCM, Arena/BBC and Warner Home Video)
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again (Supervising Prod.: Ken Aymong; Prod.: Ken Bowser, Declan Baldwin; NBC; Prod.: • Barking Dog Productions)
The Simpsons: 20th Anniversary Special - In 3-D! On Ice! (Exec. Prods.: Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Chilnick; FOX; Prod.: Warrior Poets)
Teddy: In His Own Words (Executive Prod.: Dyllan McGee; Supervising Prod.: Jacqueline Glover; Prods.: Peter Kunhardt, Sheila Nevins; HBO; Prods.: Kunhardt McGee Productions in association with HBO Documentary Films)

Outstanding Nonfiction Series:
American Experience  (Exec. Prod.: Mark Samels; Senior Prod.: Sharon Grimberg; Series Prod.: Susan Bellows; Prods.: Ric Burns, Mary Recine, Bonnie Lafave, Robin Espinola; PBS; Prod.: Steeplechase Films for American Experience)
American Masters (Exec. Prod: Susan Lacy; Series Prod.: Prudence Glass; Supervising Prod.: Julie Sacks; Prods.: John Beug, Jeffrey Jampol, Dick Wolf, Peter Jankowski; Prods.: Wolf Films and Strange Pictures LLC in association with Rhino Entertainment and Thirteen's American Masters for WNET.org)
Deadliest Catch (Executive Prods.: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, Paul Gasek, Tracy Rudolph; Co-Exec. Prod.: Matt Renner; Supervising Prod.: Ethan Prochnik,; Prod.: Eric Lange; Discovery Channel; Prod.: Original Productions, LLC for Discovery Communications)
Life (Exec. Prods.: Catherine McCarthy, Michael Gunton, Susan Winslow; Prod.: Paul Spillenger; Series prod.: Martha Holmes; Discovery Channel; Prod.: A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
Monty Python: Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut): (Exec. Prods.: Christine Lubrano, Harold Gronenthal, George Lentz; Supervising Prod.: Andrew Winter; Series Prods.: Bill Jones, Ben Timlett; IFC; Prods.: Bill & Ben Productions, Eagle Rock Entertainment Productions, in association with IFC)
The National Parks: America's Best Idea (Prods.: Ken Burns, Duncan Dalton; PBS; Prods.:  Florentine Films, WETA Washington, DC)

Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking:
Brick City (Executive Prods.: Marc Levin, Mark Benjamin, Forest Whitaker, Mala Chapple; Sundance Channel; Prods.: Sundance Channel Presents A Brick City Production)
My Lai (Exec. Prod.: Mark Samels; Senior Prod.: Sharon Grimberg; Series prod.: Susan Bellows; Prod.: Barak Goodman;  PBS; Prod.: Ark Media for American Experience)
Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) (Exec. Prods.: Simon Kilmurry, Cara Mertes; Prod.: Ellen Kuras; PBS; Prod.: Pandinlao Films, LLC in association with American Documentary/POV)
Patti Smith: Dream of Life (Exec. Prods.: Simon Kilmurry, Steven Sebring, Margaret Smilow; Prod.: Margaret Smilow; PBS; Prods.: Clean Socks and Thirteen for WNET.ORG in association with American Documentary | POV)
Pressure Cooker (Exec. Prod.: Jeff Skoll; BET; Prod.: Non Sequitur Productions)
Sergio (Exec. Prods.: Sheila Nevins, Nancy Abraham; Prods.: Greg Barker, John Battsek, Julie Goldman; HBO; Prods.: Silverbridge Productions, Passion Pictures in association with Screen Pass Pictures, Impact Partners, Motto Pictures, BBC Storyville and HBO Documentary Films)

Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single OrMulti-Camera):
The Amazing Race--I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right? (Sound Editors: Eric Goldfarb, Julian Gomez, Andrew Kozar, Paul C. Nielsen, Jacob Parsons, Rich Remis, Jennifer Nelson, Michael Bolanowski; Music Editor: Rick Livingstone; CBS; Prod.: World Race Productions Inc.)
America The Story of Us--Division (Sound Supervisor: Phitz Hearne; HISTORY; Prod.: Nutopia for History)
Life--Challenges of Life (Sound Editor: Kate Hopkins; Discovery Channel • A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
The National Parks: America's Best Idea--The Scripture Of Nature (Supervising Sound Editor/Dialogue Editor/Sound Effects Editor: Erik Ewers; Dialogue Editors/Sound Editors Craig Mellish;, Ryan Gifford; Sound Effects Editors: Dave Mast, Margaret Shepardson-Legere; Music Editor: Jacob Ribicoff; Dialogue Editor: Meagan Frappiea; PBS; Prods.: Florentine Films, WETA Washington, DC)
Teddy: In His Own Words (Sound Editor: Neil Cedar; HBO; Prods.: Kunhardt McGee Productions in association with HBO Documentary Films)

Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming
The Amazing Race--I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right? (Lead Production Audio: Jim Ursulak; Prod. Mixers: Dean Gaveau C.A.S., Jerry Chabane; Re-Recording Mixer: Troy Smith; CBS; Prod.: World Race Productions Inc.)
Deadliest Catch--No Second Chances (Re-Recording Mixer: Bob Bronow; Discovery Channel; Prod.: Original Productions, LLC for Discovery Communications)
Life--Challenges of Life (Sound Mixers: Graham Wild, John Rigatuso; Discovery Channel • A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
The National Parks: America's Best Idea--The Scripture Of Nature (Re-Recording Mixer:Dominick Tavella; PBS; Prods.: Florentine Films, WETA Washington, DC)
Spectacle Elvis Costello with Bruce Springsteen - Part 1 & 2 • (Audio Post Mixer: Sue Pelino; Musix Mixers: Jay Vicari, John Harris; Sundance Channel; Prods: Rocket Pictures, Spybox Pictures, Prospero Pictures, Reinvention Entertainment)

Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming:
America The Story of Us--Division (Writer: Jenny Ash; Contributing Writer: Ed Fields; HISTORY; Prod.: Nutopia for History)
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations--Prague (Writer: Anthony Bourdain; Travel Channel; Prod.: Zero Point Zero Production, Inc.)
The Buddha (Writer: David Grubin; PBS; Prod.: David Grubin Productions, Inc.)
Life--Challenges of Life (Writer: Paul Spillenger; Discovery Channel • A BBC/Discovery Channel/SKAI Co-Production in association with RTI Spa)
The National Parks: America's Best Idea--The Last Refuge (Writer: Dayton Duncan; PBS; Prods.: Florentine Films, WETA Washington, DC)

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grants

Development
Detroit Hustles Harder (Dirs.: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady; US)
Can Motor City rise from its ashes? There is a growing feeling that as Detroit goes, so goes the nation. This film tells the dramatic story of a city and its most innovative people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.
Politics Not as Usual  (Dir.: Margarita Martinez; Colombia)
Antanas Mockus goes on the campaign trail in a bid for the Colombian presidency. Mockus' candidacy is a grassroots, socially networked movement of a new kind, and his campaign may hold keys to the future of South American politics.
The Path (working title) (Dir.: Senain Kheshgi; US)
In a coming-of-age story, a Pakistani teenage girl grows up during one of the most violent times in her country's history.

Production and Post-Production
The Anderson Monarchs (Dir.: Eugene Martin; US)
Girls at an inner-city soccer club transcend race, poverty, crime and stereotypes to successfully play the game they love.
Better This World (Dirs.: Katie Galloway, Kelly Duane de la Vega; US)
Two childhood friends from Midland, Texas set out to prove the strength of their political convictions to themselves and their mentor: a revolutionary activist turned FBI informant.
Dear Mandela  (Dir.: Dara Kell, Christopher Nizza; US /South Africa)
In the year leading up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, three young leaders in South Africa's Shack Dwellers Movement resist mass eviction while putting Nelson Mandela's promise of a 'better life for all' to the test.
Donor 150 (Dir.: Jerry Rothwell; UK)
The filmmaker weaves together a 21st century tale of identity and genetic inheritance to reveal what may perhaps be the family of the future.
Girl Model (working title) (Dirs.: Ashley Sabin, David Redmon; US)
First-hand accounts of the modeling industry by scouts, agencies and a 13-year-old model reveal a complex supply chain between Siberia and Japan.
Granito (Dir.: Pamela Yates; US)
A classic documentary film deeply intertwined with Guatemala's turbulent history is revisited decades later, and proves to be a crucial player in a present-day case against genocide.
Pit No. 8 (Dir.: Marianna Kaat; Estonia /Ukraine)
Set in the heart of a once-thriving Ukrainian coal mining region now overcome with poverty, the film is a timely portrait of parents and teenagers trying to earn a living in abandoned coal pits.
Shenandoah, PA  (Dir.: David Turnley; US)
In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, four of the town's star white football players are charged with beating to death Luis Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant. A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer turns his eye towards creating a deeply felt portrait of a community on trial.
The Interrupters (Dir.: Steve James; US)
Using an innovative approach to breaking cycles of violence in inner cities, former gang leaders and ex-cons in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods take a stand to "interrupt" shootings and protect their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.
The Law in These Parts (Dir.: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz; Israel)
Using interviews, archival footage and deep historical research, this film explores the formal legal mechanisms of Israel's forty year military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Mosuo Sisters (Dirs.: Marlo Poras, Yu Ying Wu Chou; US /China)
When they lose the only jobs they've ever known, two spirited daughters from China's last remaining matrilineal ethnic minority are thrust into the worldwide economic downturn.
The Undocumented (Dir.: Marco Williams; US)
The skyrocketing number of deaths of illegal immigrants along the Arizona border is viewed through multiple prisms in light of the state's proposed new immigration law.
Turkey Creek (Dir.: Leah Mahan; US)
Settled by emancipated slaves in the 1860s, Turkey Creek is surrounded today by an airport, a Wal-Mart, two highways and an industrial canal that threaten the historic Mississippi community and its fragile wetlands. When the twin disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the BP spill devastate the Gulf Coast, residents join with other endangered coastal communities in the fight of their lives--and for a sustainable future for us all.
Within the Eye of the Storm
After Bassam, a Palestinian, and Rami, an Israeli, each experience personal tragedy, the two men turn from enemies to brothers.

Discretionary
Losing Sacred Ground
Losing Sacred Ground tells from the perspective of indigenous elders and activists eight compelling stories of indigenous people resisting the destruction of their culture and lands, and explores climate change, biodiversity loss and sacred site destruction. 

Festivals

Independent Lens Audience Award: Mine (Dir./Prod.: Geralyn Pezanoski)

Phuket Film Festival
Audience Appreciation Award:  Bitter/Sweet (Dir.: Jeff Hare)