Filmed entertainment arm of HBO
HBO Documentary Films
is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network
HBO
that produces non-fiction feature films and miniseries.
The division releases between 10 and 15 documentaries per year for the network and provides
limited theatrical distribution
of certain films prior to their initial broadcast on HBO's linear television and streaming services.
History
[
edit
]
The unit's longtime chief was
Sheila Nevins
, who initially served as Director of Documentary Programming from 1979 to 1982; upon returning in 1986, she headed HBO's documentary unit under various executive capacities (as Vice President of Documentary Programming, as Senior [later, Executive] Vice President of Original Programming and, beginning in 2004, as President of HBO Documentary Films) and served as executive producer of most of its documentary productions until she left the network in March 2018. Under Nevins, HBO's documentaries have won 35
News and Documentary Emmy Awards
, 42 Peabody Awards, and 26
Academy Awards
as well as 31 individual Primetime Emmy Awards honored to Nevins.
[1]
[2]
In December 2017, Nevins announced she would be stepping down from her position, with Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller set to replace her.
[3]
[4]
The network's first successful documentary was the six-part 1979 miniseries
Time Was
, a
Dick Cavett
-hosted retrospective that took a historical look at an individual decade in the 20th century?from the 1920s up to the 1970s?over the course of each episode. 1981's
She's Nobody's Baby
?produced in conjunction with
Ms.
magazine?traced the evolution of the societal role of American women during the 20th Century; the special earned HBO its first Peabody Award, the first to be won by a pay television service and the first of many HBO documentaries to receive the prestigious award.
[5]
[6]
HBO also produced a series of informational documentaries in partnership with
Consumer Reports
starting in 1980, detailing information on subjects encompassing product safety, personal finance and health.
[7]
[8]
One such documentary,
AIDS: Everything You and Your Family Need to Know..But Were Afraid to Ask
, which aired in 1987 at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., was hosted by Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop
and provided factual information on the
AIDS and HIV
viruses.
[7]
[9]
In 2006, film director
Spike Lee
made a two-part four-hour documentary on
Hurricane Katrina
,
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
. Also in 2006, documentary artist
Lauren Greenfield
directed
Thin
, a feature-length film about four young women struggling with
eating disorders
seeking treatment at the Renfrew Clinic in Florida. 2008 saw the U.S. television premiere of
Baghdad High
, which depicted the lives of four boys attending a high school in the
Iraqi capital city
over the course of one year, through a video diary filmed by the documentary's principal subjects who were provided cameras to film the project.
[10]
In November 2008, HBO paid low seven figures for the U.S. television rights to the Amy Rice?Alicia Sams documentary
By the People: The Election of
Barack Obama
. The film?which had a limited theatrical release in New York City and Los Angeles, and aired on HBO in November 2009?covered Obama's 2006 trip to Africa, his presidential primary campaign, the
2008 general election
and his
first Presidential inauguration
.
[11]
In November 2012, HBO aired the four-part documentary,
Witness
, which devoted each part to one of four conflict regions?
Juarez
,
Libya
,
South Sudan
and
Rio de Janeiro
?as covered by a team of photojournalists based in those regions.
[12]
On March 28, 2013, the channel premiered the
Alexandra Pelosi
-directed
Fall to Grace
, about the infidelity scandal that led to the 2011 resignation of New Jersey governor
Jim McGreevey
and resulted in him coming out as
gay
.
[13]
[14]
That same year, HBO produced and distributed
Life According to Sam
a documentary film based on the life of
Sam Berns
.
[15]
[16]
[17]
In February 2015, HBO premiered a six-part documentary from
Andrew Jarecki
,
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
, chronicling the mystery surrounding the
New York real estate heir
's alleged involvement in the unsolved 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathie Durst; the 2000 execution-style killing of writer
Susan Berman
; and the 2001 death and
dismemberment
of Durst's neighbor, Morris Black. The miniseries gained broader exposure after Durst was arrested on
first-degree murder
charges in relation to Berman's death on March 14, 2015 (one day prior to the docuseries's finale). The evidence leading to his arrest included an envelope left by Berman after her murder and provided to the filmmakers for analysis by her stepson, Sareb Kaufman, with misspelled
block letter
handwriting matching an anonymous envelope sent to police in December 2000 to alert them to Berman's murder, and a rambling apparent confession by Durst?unaware that the microphone attached to him for his interview with Jarecki was still recording?to the murders of all three victims.
[18]
[19]
HBO has also produced recurring documentary series, among the earliest and most notable being
America Undercover
, a monthly one-hour series of topical documentaries covering subjects in an un-sensationalized manner.
[20]
[21]
The
America Undercover
banner would go on to spawn two regular sub-series:
Real Sex
(a late night magazine-formatted series of specials that ran from 1992 to 2009, featuring frank explorations on a variety of mainstream and non-mainstream sexual matters
[7]
) and
Autopsy
(a series of specials that aired between 1994 and 2008, in which
forensic pathologist
Dr.
Michael Baden
provides analysis on criminal, suspicious and health-related death cases). One of
America Undercover
's
most notable specials was 1985's
Soldiers in Hiding
, focusing on
homeless
veterans of the
Vietnam War
living in the wilderness, which was the first
Academy Award
nomination for a cable television service in the Best Documentary category (although HBO has had some of its documentaries enter limited theatrical release to qualify for Oscar nominations in later years).
[7]
HBO is also noted for its
Sports of the 20th Century
documentary brand. One of its most notable documentaries from that series was
Dare to Dream
, a 2005 film about the
U.S. Women's Soccer Team
and the roles of
Mia Hamm
,
Kristine Lilly
,
Brandi Chastain
,
Joy Fawcett
and
Julie Foudy
in the team's rise to prominence in sports.
Through a partnership with
Vice Media
, the network ran a monthly docuseries,
Vice
, featuring in-depth reports from host/creator/
Vice
magazine co-founder
Shane Smith
and a team of correspondents investigating political and cultural topics and using an
immersionist
filmmaking style. Running for six seasons from April 2013 to December 2018, the show won an Emmy Award for "
Outstanding Informational Series or Special
" in 2014.
[22]
Vice
was cancelled on February 1, 2019, as part of a broader corporate reorganization at Vice Media; a companion daily news show,
Vice News Tonight
, was cancelled on June 10, 2019, when HBO announced it would be terminating its seven-year partnership with the company. (The
Vice
docuseries moved to Showtime and
Vice News Tonight
moved to
Vice on TV
in March 2020.)
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
In 2020, HBO premiered
The Vow
, a documentary series revolving around
NXIVM
directed by
Jehane Noujaim
and
Karim Amer
.
[27]
[28]
The series was renewed for a second and final season, which premiered in October 2022.
[29]
In 2021, HBO premiered
Allen v. Farrow
, a documentary series examining the
allegations
made by Dylan Father against her father Woody Allen.
[30]
The first episode garnered over a million viewers, the most for an HBO documentary series since
The Case Against Adnan Syed
in 2019.
[31]
The series went on to earn several
Primetime Emmy Award
nominations.
[32]
In 2022, HBO acquired television and streaming rights to
All That Breathes
directed by
Shaunak Sen
, and
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
directed by
Laura Poitras
, both of which went on to be nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
.
[33]
[34]
[35]
In 2023, HBO premiered
Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York
directed by
Anthony Caronna
, and executive produced by
Liz Garbus
,
Dan Cogan
and
Charlize Theron
.
[36]
and
Telemarketers
directed by
Adam Bhala Lough
and
Sam Lipman-Stern
, executive produced by
Josh Safdie
,
Benny Safdie
,
David Gordon Green
and
Danny McBride
, revolving around two employees set to expose the
telemarketing
industry.
[37]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Vicki Salemi (September 16, 2017).
"Executive Producer Sheila Nevins Shares Five Career And Life Lessons"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
July 22,
2020
.
- ^
"The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Announces Winners at the 38th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards"
(PDF)
.
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
. October 5, 2017. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 7, 2017
. Retrieved
July 22,
2020
.
- ^
Lewis, Hilary (December 16, 2017).
"Sheila Nevins Stepping Down From HBO Documentary Films After 38 Years"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
August 9,
2023
.
- ^
Petski, Denise (December 19, 2017).
"HBO Taps Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller As Co-Heads Of Doc & Family Programming"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
August 9,
2023
.
- ^
"41st Annual Peabody Awards"
.
Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
. May 1982.
- ^
"HBO Shows that Brought Home Peabodys"
. Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Archived from
the original
on June 7, 2020
. Retrieved
September 16,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Bill Mesce (October 11, 2013).
"It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: An Original Voice"
.
Sound on Sight
. Archived from
the original
on December 17, 2013
. Retrieved
February 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Monitor: CU on HBO".
Broadcasting
. October 15, 1979. p. 61.
- ^
Shayne Pepper (June 2014).
"HBO and the Story of HIV/AIDS"
.
Communication Currents
– via NEIU Digital Commons.
- ^
Mike Hale (August 4, 2008).
"Girls, Gunfire and Despair: 'Baghdad High' Chronicles Senior Year for 4 Iraqi Boys"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
March 19,
2019
.
- ^
Michael Jones (November 6, 2008).
"HBO inaugurates Obama doc"
.
Variety
.
- ^
Jakob Schiller (November 21, 2012).
"HBO's Witness Goes Inside the Pulse-Pounding World of Conflict Photographers"
.
Wired
.
- ^
"Fall to Grace"
. HBO
. Retrieved
March 22,
2013
.
- ^
Carl Swanson (March 22, 2013).
"Jim McGreevey Needs Your Approval"
.
New York
. Retrieved
March 22,
2013
.
- ^
"Life According to Sam"
. Retrieved
June 29,
2017
.
- ^
Robin Marantz Henig (2005-01-30).
"Racing With Sam"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2017-06-30
.
- ^
"Sam Berns 10/23/96 - 01/10/14"
.
progeriaresearch.org
.
- ^
Mike Hale (February 6, 2015).
"
'The Jinx,' 6-Part HBO Documentary on Robert Durst"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
Catherine E. Shoichet; Eliott C. McLaughlin (March 24, 2015).
"Robert Durst denied bail; new details emerge in case"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
"Cablecastings: HBO realities".
Broadcasting
. March 26, 1984. p. 7.
- ^
"Truth is steamier than fiction in new HBO documentaries".
Broadcasting
. April 2, 1984. p. 66.
- ^
"HBO's 'VICE' Wins Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series or Special"
.
Sound & Picture
. August 18, 2014
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
Keach Hagey (February 1, 2019).
"Vice Media eliminates 10% of its workforce, including its flagship HBO show"
.
The Wall Street Journal
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
(subscription required)
- ^
Denise Petski (September 24, 2019).
"Showtime Acquires 'Vice' Weekly Newsmagazine For Spring Premiere"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
Oliver Darcy (June 10, 2019).
"HBO cancels 'Vice News Tonight,' severing relationship with Vice Media"
.
CNN Business
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
Nellie Andreeva (August 16, 2019).
"
'Vice News Tonight' Lands At Viceland Cable Network"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
May 18,
2020
.
- ^
Pederson, Erik (April 18, 2019).
"HBO Sets Docuseries On NXIVM, Self-Help Group Tied To Sex-Trafficking Case"
.
Deadline Hollywood
.
Archived
from the original on August 28, 2019
. Retrieved
May 17,
2020
.
- ^
"HBO Documentary Series to Look Inside the NXIVM Organization"
.
HBO
. April 18, 2019. Archived from
the original
on May 24, 2020
. Retrieved
May 17,
2020
.
- ^
"HBO Original Documentary Series THE VOW Part Two Debuts October 17"
.
WarnerMedia
. August 29, 2022.
Archived
from the original on August 29, 2022
. Retrieved
August 29,
2022
.
- ^
"HBO Documentary Films' Four-Part Documentary Series ALLEN v. FARROW, From Award-Winning Investigative Filmmakers Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering And Amy Herdy, Debuts February 21"
.
WarnerMedia
. February 5, 2021
. Retrieved
August 9,
2023
.
- ^
Maglio, Tony (February 23, 2021).
"
'Allen v Farrow' Has Biggest Debut for an HBO Docuseries in 2 Years (Exclusive)"
.
www.yahoo.com
. Retrieved
February 23,
2021
.
- ^
Carey, Matthew (July 13, 2021).
"
"We Hear You, We Believe You": 'Allen v. Farrow' Director Says Emmy Nominations Send Message To Sex Abuse Survivors"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
Ravindran, Manori (May 19, 2022).
"HBO Documentary Films Buys Cannes Title and Sundance Winner 'All That Breathes' (EXCLUSIVE)"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
August 9,
2023
.
- ^
Carey, Matthew (September 8, 2022).
"HBO Documentary Films Acquires Laura Poitras Oscar Contender 'All The Beauty And The Bloodshed' Ahead Of TIFF North American Premiere"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
September 8,
2022
.
- ^
Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (January 24, 2023).
"Oscar Nominations 2023: 'Everything Everywhere' Leads With 11 Nods, Followed by 'Banshees' and 'All Quiet'
"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"HBO Original Docuseries LAST CALL: WHEN A SERIAL KILLER STALKED QUEER NEW YORK Debuts July 9"
.
Warner Bros. Discovery
. June 21, 2023
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"HBO Original Docuseries TELEMARKETERS Debuts August 13"
.
Warner Bros. Discovery
. July 26, 2023
. Retrieved
August 9,
2023
.
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