Documentary Production and Distribution News

Burns' "Prohibition" Documentary Raises Questions about Democracy and Role of Government

(Washington) Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, director of the upcoming PBS film series Prohibition, will call for a national discourse on the tenuous relationship between civility and democracy in American history using his new film as a starting point at a National Press Club Speakers Series luncheon on Monday, October 3.

"This year as we think about the 150th anniversary of the start of our Civil War, we must remember that the lack of civility in our political language threatens the very basis of American society," Burns said. "I believe civility is essential to our ability as a nation to confront together difficult issues even when we may disagree."

Prohibition, a three-part film series chronicling the rise and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, is scheduled for PBS broadcast on October 2. Mr. Burns will discuss Prohibition as one of America's most notorious civic failures as an object lesson in the challenge of legislating human behavior and its relevance to today's political discourse.

Called one of the "most influential documentary makers" of all time, Mr. Burns was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. His films have won twelve Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations. Co-founder of Florentine Films, Mr. Burns has directed and produced such acclaimed historical documentaries as the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge, The National Parks, and the landmark The Civil War, the highest-rated series in the history of American Public Television. Future projects include films on the Dust Bowl, the Roosevelts, the Vietnam War and the Central Park Jogger case.

The Press Club luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Remarks will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. For details, go to: www.press.org

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www.press.org