A new home on YouTube
“POV Shorts,” the PBS series dedicated to independent short-form documentaries, is moving to Time Studios’ YouTube channel for its ninth season. The upcoming season is scheduled to launch on November 17.
The premiere will open with “Bloodlines, Mississippi” directed by Crystal Kayiza and “The Boys and the Bees” directed by Arielle Knight. These initial two films will also broadcast on PBS, but subsequent films in Season 9 will be exclusive to Time Studios’ platforms.
Season 9 lineup and Oscar qualifications
Following the premiere, the roster of Season 9 films includes “Hold Me Close” by Aurora Brachman and LaTajh Simmons-Weaver, “Tessitura” by Brit Fryer and Lydia Cornett, “In the Morning Sun” by Serville Poblete, “Artificial Love” by Arjun Fischer, “Buckskin” by Mars Verrone, “Still Standing” by Victor Tadashi Suárez and Livia Albeck-Ripka, “Who Loves the Sun” by Arshia Shakiba, and “A Derailment” by Nathan Truesdell.
Among the lineup, six films have already qualified for Academy Award consideration in the documentary short film category: “Bloodlines, Mississippi,” “The Boys and the Bees,” “A Derailment,” “Buckskin,” “In the Morning Sun,” and “Still Standing.”
Collaborative goals
This move follows a prior collaboration between “POV Shorts” and Time Studios on the Season 6 film “Sol in the Garden” by Débora Souza Silva and Emily Cohen Ibañez. Time Studios also recently partnered on distribution for the Co-Production Fund from American Documentary/POV Shorts and Chicken & Egg Films.
“Partnering with Time Studios means these stories reach people who might never seek out an independent documentary — which has always been the point,” said Opal H. Bennett, executive producer of POV Shorts and senior producer of POV, in a statement. Justine Simons, executive producer of video at Time, added that the partnership builds on the publication’s history of storytelling by bringing audiences short documentaries.
“Bloodlines, Mississippi” follows Dr. Foluso Fakorede and his team in the Mississippi Delta working to prevent avoidable amputations and address healthcare disparities. “The Boys and the Bees” follows two brothers as they tend hives and restore their family homestead in Georgia.