Biography

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tod lending

chicago

filmmaker

Tags: biographical documentaries  public television  political/social issue documentaries  television  u.s. broadcast television  u.s. cable television  u.s. public television  

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Title/Occupation:  Cinematographer  Director  Producer 

Services Provided:  Film Festivals/Marketers 

Gender: Male

Biography:  TOD LENDING Filmmaker’s Biography Mr. Lending is an Academy Award™ nominated and national Emmy winning producer/director/writer/editor/cinematographer whose work has aired nationally on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO; has been screened and awarded at national and international festivals; and has been televised internationally in Europe and Asia. He is the president and founder of Nomadic Pictures, a documentary film production company that is based in Chicago. Mr. Lending’s feature length documentary, Legacy, which he produced, directed, wrote, and filmed was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001. Legacy tells the inspiring story of how members of one African-American family, filmed over a five year period, recovered from the loss of their child, broke free of welfare, overcame addiction, and escaped the specter of violence in their community. The film aired on Cinemax/HBO in the summer of 2000, was a critical success at the Sundance Film Festival 2000, and received a prime-time national PBS release in the fall of 2002. The film was awarded the Reel Screen Innovation in Documentary Award, was nominated for a national Emmy and two IDA awards and was broadcast internationally. In addition, Legacy inspired the creation and passing of a federal bill entitled: The Legacy Act of 2003. This bill provides low-income housing to grandparents raising grandchildren. Mr. Lending also directed, co-series produced, wrote, and co-edited the international award winning PBS series No Time to be a Child, a $1.4 million three-part documentary series that aired nationally on PBS and was a co-production with Detroit Public Television. The series of documentaries are about children overcoming the effects and consequences of violence in war-zone communities, their homes, and in situations of poverty. In addition to Lending’s national Emmy for the ABC Afterschool Special Shades of a Single Protein, documentaries in the No Time to be a Child series (Growin’ Up Not A Child, Breaking Ties, and Time to Speak) have garnered Lending numerous awards including a national Emmy nomination for Outstanding Documentary and Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, New York Festival World Medals, Cine Eagles, among others. Lending’s Emmy nominated feature-length documentary, entitled OMAR & PETE, followed two men before their release from prison, and then two years thereafter. The film examines the social and economic barriers that these men confront as they work at reintegrating into their communities and families. The project aired nationally on PBS through the POV series and garnered major support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Foundation for Child Development through a Journalism Fellowship in Child and Family Policy. Lending also co-produced, filmed, and directed the national PBS award winning short, ROSEVELT’S AMERICA. Shot over two years, this inspiring story is about a Liberian refugee who, after surviving torture and losing his home, brought his family to the US to rebuild their lives. Presently he’s completing AIMEE’S CROSSING, a film for national PBS that follows a female juvenile offender through her therapy inside prison, and her parole on the outside. Mr. Lending was a University of Maryland Journalism Fellow in Child and Family Policy. His work has garnered major grants from the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child and Family Foundation, Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Houlsby Foundation, U.S. Office of Education, Chicago Community Trust, and the Continental Bank Foundation. Selected Awards and Honors Academy Award Nominee, Legacy Best Social and Political Documentary, BANFF, Legacy Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, Legacy Council on Foundation Honor, Legacy Prism Commendation, NIDA, Robert Wood Johnson Found., EIO,, Legacy Reel Humanitarian Award, Tambay Filmfest, Legacy Official Selection, Sundance Documentary Competition, Legacy Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award, Florida Film Festival, Legacy Offical Selection, Edinburgh International Film Fest., Legacy Audience Award, SeoulDoc (Seoul, Korea), Legacy Silver Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival, Legacy Two IDA nominations, International Documentary Association, Legacy Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, Legacy Victim Service Award , Illinois State Attorney’s Office, Legacy Silver Medal, Houston World Fest., Legacy ReelScreen Innovation in Documentary Award, Legacy Official Selection, Cinema du Reel, Legacy Special Invitation, Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival, Legacy Special Invitation, Independent’s Night at Lincoln Center (NYC), Legacy Official Selection, Thesaloniki International Documentary Film Festival (Greece), Legacy "Travelin' Shoes" Award, I.T.C., Legacy National Emmy nomination for Best Documentary, OMAR & PETE Henry Hampton award winnger from Council on Foundations, OMAR & PETE University of Maryland Casey Journalism Fellowship, OMAR & PETE Special Selection United Nations Film Festival, OMAR & PETE Cine Gold Eagle, OMAR & PETE Golden Gate Award Selection San Francisco International Film Festival, OMAR & PETE Special Selection Chicago International Film Fest., OMAR & PETE Cine Golden Eagle, Rosevelt’s America Chris Award, Columbus Film Fest., Rosevelt’s America Riverrun Film Fest., Best Short Doc., Rosevelt’s America WorldFest-Houston International Film Fest, Best Short Doc., Rosevelt’s America Action Cut Short Film Festival, Best Doc., Rosevelt’s America New York Festival, World Medal, Time to Speak Univ. of Maryland's Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, Time to Speak Cine Gold Eagle, Time to Speak Chris Bronze Plaque, Columbus Film Fest., Time to Speak National Ed. Media Market, Bronze Apple, Time to Speak Cine Gold Eagle, Breaking Ties National Headliner award, Breaking Ties National Ed. Media Market, Bronze Apple, Breaking Ties National News and Doc. Emmy Nomination, Outstanding Doc. Special, Growin’ Up Not A Child National Ed. Media Market, Gold Apple, Growin’ Up Not A Child University of Maryland's Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, Growin’ Up Not A Child Chris Bronze Plaque, Columbus Film FEst., Growin’ Up Not A Child New York Festival, World Medal, Growin’ Up Not A Child National Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special, Shades of a Single Protein Chicago Emmy, The Principal Grant Awards Sundance Institute: WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING Annie E. Casey Foundation: AIMEE’S CROSSING John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: AIMEE’S CROSSING Richard H. Dreihaus Foundation: AIMEE’S CROSSING Annie E. Casey Foundation: OMAR & PETE John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: OMAR & PETE Corporation for Public Broadcasting: OMAR & PETE Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Foundation WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING Foundation for Child Development Journalism Fellow National Endowment for the Humanities: AHG Annie E. Casey Foundation: Legacy John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: Legacy J.R. Houlsby Foundation: Legacy Richard H. Driehaus Foundation: Legacy Corporation for Public Broadcasting: No Time to be a Child (series) John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Found.: No Time to be a Child—Growin' Up Not a Child Ford Foundation: No Time to be a Child—Growin' Up Not a Child U.S. Office of Education: Seeing Things Chicago Community Trust: Seeing Things Continental Bank Foundation: Seeing Things