We’re excited to share the full anthem film that we produced in partnership with Alstom to help launch their high-speed NextGen Acela trains (now the fastest in the country!). Our team worked on site in Hornell, NY to capture the people, history and the craftsmanship moving America forward.
Read more about the new train launch on NPR here and check out the full anthem film here.
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We’re thrilled to share that the new digital series “Particles of Thought” that we produced for PBS NOVA is available on all platforms! Check out the full series on Youtube and read the full article from Realscreen here.
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The producers of the award-winning PBS science strand ‘Nova,’ a GBH production, have announced the project Particles of Thought, a 10-episode longform video interview podcast hosted by world-renowned astrophysicist and author Hakeem Oluseyi.
Full video episodes will post to the ‘Nova’ strand’s YouTube channel and website bi-weekly beginning Tuesday (August 26) and running through December 16. Audio versions of the episodes will be available on Apple, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
Each episode sees Oluseyi (pictured) sit down with leading scientists and researchers behind some of today’s biggest breakthroughs in science, from AI and astrophysics, to neuroscience and genetic engineering, with Oluseyi digging in with questions that ignite the passions of these visionary thinkers as they push past the boundaries of human knowledge.
The series kicks off with a pair of episodes, about “fossil hunter” Dr. Kirk Johnson and deep-fake expert Dr. Hany Farid, respectively. Subsequent episodes find Oluseyi speaking with neuroscientists, astrophysicists, biologists and more.
Particles of Thought is a series from GBH and the producers of ‘Nova’, and is distributed by PRX. This series is produced by People’s Television. Adam Simon is the producer, and Nicholas Bruckman serves as executive producer. For GBH, Caitlin Saks is senior producer, and Devin Maverick Robins is managing producer of podcasts. Nadia Petschek Rawls is senior director of digital media. The executive producers for GBH are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt.
A conversation with director’s Nicholas Bruckman and Yoni Brook, and creator of the ‘Got Milk’ campaign, Jeff Goody, explores The Price of Milk – the 4-part docu-series that investigates the hidden truths behind the marketing phenomena and uncovers just how much of our society is drenched in dairy.
Read the full article on ADWeek here.
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Got irony? Back in the ’90s, “got” and “milk” were the two biggest words in the ad game. Created by Jeff Goodby—co-founder of the famed Bay Area agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners—the dairy-hawking “Got Milk?” campaign became a pop culture phenomenon that spilled into television commercials, magazine ads, billboards, merchandise, and even must-see TV series like Friends.
But here’s the twist: “Got Milk?” inspired very few people to go out and actually get milk. Dairy sales declined even as Goodby’s campaign raked in the dough and the ad world acclaim. That disconnect between advertiser and client is one of the narratives explored in The Price of Milk, a four-part docuseries premiering at the Tribeca Festival that showcases the many and varied complexities behind America’s dairy industry.
Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves a second chance. That’s why we’re so proud to share that our project, “For The Record” PSA, directed by Praise Paige and in collaboration with The Clean Slate Initiative, received a Webby nomination for “Best Branded Entertainment Video: Corporate Social Responsibility”! This is an incredible recognition uplifting the impactful work of The Clean Slate Initiative, a bipartisan organization working across the country and in Congress to pass and implement Clean Slate laws and expand who is eligible for record sealing. Learn more about their impactful work: cleanslateinitiative.org.
We’re thrilled to announce that Minted: The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT, our latest feature documentary directed by our CEO Nicholas Bruckman, is headed to Netflix!
Read the full Deadline article here and watch Minted on Netflix here.
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EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is set to premiere Nicholas Bruckman’s NFT documentary Minted in key global territories this week, including in North America.
The film, subtitled The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT, provides audiences with “a front-row seat to the explosive emergence of the turbulent NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon as it erupts into a $40 billion digital gold rush.” It debuts Wednesday on Netflix in North America, the UK, Africa, and Australia/New Zealand.
Minted held its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, followed by an international premiere at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. It was broadcast on the PBS series Independent Lens earlier this year.
In some sense, NFTs represent an inherent contradiction. They are digital assets – meaning, in theory, they can be reproduced endlessly and perfectly. But using block chain technology a single artwork or piece of music, for instance, can be made unique and therefore collectible. The market for NFTs took off four years ago, the timeframe when the documentary opens.
“It begins with the artist known as Beeple, whose record-shattering $69 million digital art sale sends shockwaves through the traditional art world,” notes a release. “Following Beeple and a pioneering group of multidisciplinary artists from the U.S., Latin America, and Africa, Bruckman explores the soaring highs and chaotic lows of this polarizing movement as it unfolds, examining the intersection of technology, artistic expression, and value.”
The release continues, “Against the backdrop of the NFT market’s dramatic rise and collapse, Minted places the phenomenon within the broader arc of art history and offers a nuanced perspective on its evolution and enduring impact.”
In a statement, Bruckman said, “I’m ecstatic to see Minted reach new audiences as it rolls out on Netflix. Love or hate NFTs, we hope the film entertains viewers and sparks big conversations about how art, finance, and tech are colliding.”
By some estimates, the market for NFTs will reach more than $350 billion by 2032. But similar to cryptocurrency, it’s a highly speculative enterprise, complicating any attempt at forecasts.
Minted is directed, written, and produced by Bruckman; produced and executive produced by Rahilla Zafar; and written and produced by Shawn Hazelett. The film is a production of Bruckman’s film, TV, and branded content studio People’s Television, Inc.
Range Media Partners negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmaker, with global sales agency CAT&Docs handling international sales of the film.
Bruckman’s credits include the Emmy-nominated Not Going Quietly (PBS POV, Hulu) about the late activist Ady Barkan, and the immigration documentary La Americana (PBS America Reframed, Nat Geo).
We’re excited to share that we are expanding our Directors Roster with the talented Aubrey Smyth.
Aubrey is a Cannes Lions Bronze award-winning commercial director and 3-Time Tribeca Film Festival film director with 9-Telly Award wins and a Webby Award nomination.
Her client collaborations include Disney, ABC, A+E, Amazon, Audible, Netflix, Google, and Lifetime with talents Mark Ruffalo, Priyanka Chopra, Laverne Cox, Hasan Minhaj, Busy Philipps, Aidy Bryant, and more.. The new roster includes Sundance, Gotham and Peabody Award Winners.
Check out more of Aubrey’s work here.
We’re always proud to uplift important causes, especially dealing with Veteran Mental Health. The General Mental Health PSA series that we produced with The Department of Veterans Affairs been recognized with a gold AVA Digital Award for Best Video PSA Campaign. For this campaign, we casted real veteran talent, and developed a stylized range of creative production approaches, building a series of PSAs that focuses on how VA supports Veterans experiencing specific mental health challenges.
Learn more about the VA’s mental health programs here.
Director Nicholas Bruckman’s documentary, Minted, which is now available on PBS Independent Lens, offers an illuminating account of the phenomenon, which straddled the worlds of art and technology and increasingly seems like a fizzled fad.
Read the full review on the Wall Street Journal here.
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Director Nicholas Bruckman’s documentary offers an illuminating account of the phenomenon, which straddled the worlds of art and technology and increasingly seems like a fizzled fad.
One of the savvier ways in which the documentary “Minted” explains the very recent phenomenon of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) is to take us back to the late 1950s and the French artist Yves Klein. “Klein always understood that the way his work was bought and sold would be an aspect of the experience of the piece,” says artist and interviewee Mitchell Chan. During one Klein exhibition, titled “Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility,” people would enter a gallery in which there was nothing hanging on the walls. The “works” were put up for sale. “Whenever you bought one of these,” says Mr. Chan, “you would get in exchange a certificate. And each one is unique. And, crucially, that certificate is not the art. It is a token that indicates you own the art. But it is not the art.”
When Mr. Chan adds that the phenomenon of NFTs—which exist on the online ledgers known as blockchains—is something that has been cooking for decades, he’s right. When he calls them “a huge step forward in what’s possible for artists,” he’s also right: Director Nicholas Bruckman focuses on several artists whose careers, and lives, were changed enormously by their entrance into the NFT realm, at least before that ephemeral market went down in virtual flames. Among them are the large-format photographer Justin Aversano, whose entry into the NFT universe eventually led to an auction at the real-world Christie’s; and the Cuban painter Kina Matahari, whose profits allowed the artist and her daughter to escape her repressive homeland.
With last Friday marking the one-year anniversary of Ady Barkan’s passing, we are proud to release – for the first time – the full, uncut conversation between Ady and Kamala Harris. The intimate, tearful conversation was filmed in 2019 during the making of our Emmy-nominated documentary, Not Going Quietly. People’s TV and our partners at Ady’s organization, Be a Hero, originally released only ten minutes of the interview, but the complete, 45-minute exchange has never been seen – until now – on X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Read the full Deadline article here and watch the full interview here.
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Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris dishes on her favorite way to unwind, in a newly released interview from 2019 with the late activist Ady Barkan.
“What I do to decompress is I cook,” then-Sen. Harris tells Barkan in the video, which posted to YouTube this morning. “So let me tell you, I woke up at five o’clock this morning and I’m making these Vietnamese short ribs, so you may smell the garlic and ginger and lemongrass on me right now, and it’s just about being with family and I just love being with family and cooking for them. That’s what I do to decompress.”
Harris was running for the Democratic presidential nomination at the time of the conversation with Barkan [watch the video below]. She eventually abandoned her White House bid, joined nominee Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate and after his election made history as the first woman and first person of color to serve as VP. On Tuesday, she could be elected the nation’s first female president.
The interview was originally recorded for the 2021 documentary Not Going Quietly, directed by Nicholas Bruckman, a film that explores Barkan’s advocacy for health care reform that he pursued vigorously even after he was diagnosed with ALS. The 42-minute video was released on the one-year anniversary of Barkan’s passing from ALS at the age of 39.
Barkan, communicating through a speech generating device, asked Harris to expand on her cooking enthusiasms. (It’s unclear how much time she’s been able to spend in the kitchen since becoming vice president – presumably, very little).
“I love doing a roast chicken,” Harris shared. “One of the things I love about being home is I have an herb garden and I have rosemary, I have thyme and sage, and I go in the garden and I chop all that up and then I grate lemon rind and I chop garlic and then I put all of that in the chicken and I roast it, slow roast it, and it’s one of my family’s favorites.”
The preliminary “how you unwind” question out of the way, Barkan got down to the meat of the interview – probing Harris about her stance on expansion of access to health care – then perhaps the top issue for Democrats.
“I’ve always been for Medicare for all and still am obviously, and Bernie’s bill is good, but we could do better,” she said, referring to legislation proposed by then fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont.
As observers of Harris’s current campaign will note, the VP has since changed her position on that issue. “Harris rejects Medicare-for-all altogether,” the Washington Post’s Dan Diamond reported in September, “saying she plans to build on the nation’s existing health-care system rather than replace it.”
At the lone presidential debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump in September, Harris said she supported private health care options. “What we need to do is maintain and grow the Affordable Care Act,” she said. (Trump has falsely claimed he didn’t try to repeal the Affordable Care Act while he was president).
On the campaign trail, Trump has maligned Harris as a “very low-IQ individual” (a taunt he has similarly directed at former Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Maxine Waters, while reserving the adjacent jibe “bird brain” for his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley). In the interview with Barkan, Harris offered what could be considered a preemptive rebuttal to Trump, describing herself modestly as “a fairly intelligent person.”
Her self-assessment came in the context of a discussion about assimilating complex medical information when a loved one is receiving treatment for a serious condition. Harris and her younger sister Maya faced that challenge when their mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, told them she had been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.
“That was one of the worst days of my life, truly,” Harris recalled to Barkan, becoming emotional. Of the health care system, she said, “There are elements of it that work and elements of it that do not work… We have a health care system that is very difficult to navigate and the experience of going through my mother’s illness with her was the experience of a number of things — seeing how you go to different specialists for different kinds of treatment and the medications that they’re prescribing is different. And, so, you’re looking at the charts. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, but I don’t know medicine, I don’t know the language of medicine and looking at charts and figuring out, ‘Well, this is not reflective of this chart in terms of the medication she’s supposed to be taking,’ or, ‘What’s on that chart is clearly a medication that I recognize her saying had really adverse impacts on her and she didn’t like it.’ So, it’s about being an advocate for your family member, somebody you love.”
(The portion of the interview relating to Harris and her mother’s cancer treatment was previously released a few months ago by Bruckman, the Not Going Quietly director).
People’s Television, the production company and creative studio founded by Bruckman, and Be A Hero, the progressive organization co-founded by Barkan, posted the full video today “in commemoration of Ady’s legacy and mission,” according to a press release.
“This footage highlights the power of Barkan’s legacy and arrives at a crucial time,” the release observes, “inviting viewers to see Harris’ character and reflect on health care access, economic justice, and the urgency of political engagement as we approach a pivotal election.”
Bruckman said in a statement, “Documenting this conversation I witnessed firsthand how Ady had an incredible ability to call leaders into moral clarity while calling us all into action. In releasing this conversation in its entirety, we hope to bring his voice into this urgent moment, and honor his commitment to a more just, compassionate country.”
“Ady was an incisive and big-hearted activist who knew the power of connecting our lived experiences to policy demands,” added Jamila Headley, executive director of Be A Hero. “His conversation with then-Senator Harris is a master class in how we can advance our fight for healthcare justice by sharing our stories, pointing out how policy is failing patients, and getting commitments from elected officials that make a difference in people’s lives.”
We’re thrilled to share our latest feature film, Minted: The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT, will be available for streaming on PBS Independent Lens.
Read the full article on Deadline here.
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Independent Lens, the Emmy-winning ITVS series that airs on PBS stations, has acquired TV and digital rights to Nicholas Bruckman’s latest documentary, Minted.
The film, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival, explores the boom-and-bust fortunes of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a market that reached a valuation of $40 billion, give or take a few billion, before crashing last year (however, the NFT market has recently experienced a resurgence).
How to explain an NFT? Digital content, by its nature, can be endlessly reproduced or copied. But leveraging blockchain technology, an NFT constitutes a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of digital content or artwork. If you have an NFT, you’ve got the only one, theoretically, and as a rare commodity it could, again theoretically, go up in value substantially. It’s a kind of asset.
Independent Lens says it will slate Minted as part of an upcoming season of the long-running show.
“Minted masterfully delves into the intricate and often perplexing world of the $40 billion NFT (non-fungible token) digital art sphere…,” notes a release about the documentary. “Filmed around the world through a combination of candid interviews, vérité footage, and powerful archival film, filmmaker Nicholas Bruckman expertly weaves together the multifaceted story of this groundbreaking and controversial phenomenon.”
“Independent Lens explores the world of digital artwork and capitalism in Minted,” said Executive Producer Lois Vossen. “Minted helps us understand how a digital work that anyone can download for free can be worth a delirious amount of money in the unpredictable relationship between technology, artistic value, and investment bubbles that can burst.”
Bruckman said in a statement, “I’m psyched to be working with Lois and her incredible team to bring the wild, often misunderstood world of NFTs and the artists behind them to audiences nationwide on Independent Lens.”
Minted is directed, written, and produced by Nicholas Bruckman, produced and executive produced by Rahilla Zafar, and written and produced by Shawn Hazelett. The film is a production of People’s Television, Inc., the award-winning film, TV, and branded content studio founded by Bruckman. He serves as People’s Television Inc.’s CEO.
Bruckman’s 2021 film Not Going Quietly documented the political activist Ady Barkan, who became a leading advocate for expanding health care access for all Americans even as he contended with the incurable neurodegenerative condition ALS. That film won the Audience Award at SXSW, Best Documentary Feature at the Next Generation Indie Film Awards, and the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Cordillera International Film Festival, among other prizes.
Independent Lens is celebrating a recent win of its own. Free Chol Soo Lee, the Independent Lens feature directed by Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, won Outstanding Historical Documentary at the 45th News & Documentary Emmy Awards last week.
Independent Lens, headed by founding executive producer Lois Vossen, showcases documentaries “united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers,” notes a release. IL, with 10 Oscar nominations to its credit, “has a legacy of acquiring critically acclaimed and high-profile documentaries from major festivals and markets. Past acquisitions include the highly acclaimed and award-winning Morgan Neville doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Academy Award-nominated and Peabody-winning Writing with Fire, Academy Award-nominated Hale County This Morning, This Evening, and Peabody Award-winning Dolores by Peter Bratt.
We’re ecstatic to announce that our ongoing digital series with the Simons Foundation, Stories of Impact, has been recognized with a Webby Nomination for Best Branded Video Series! Going on our 7th season, this series spotlights the community building work of the grantees within the foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division, uplifting their impactful work within science education. Learn more about their impactful work: simonsfoundation.org/stories-of-impact
A total solar eclipse occurs, on average, once every 18 years—a rare moment of wonder that brings people together across time and space. On April 8, 2024, Americans witnessed a total solar eclipse that darkened the sky from Texas to Maine. Close to a year in advance, we set out to document some of these stories, amplifying the Simons Foundation’sIn the Path of Totality initiative.
Although totality lasted only a handful of minutes, the connections formed will last a lifetime. Discover the stories of how this moment in time redefined our connection to science, one another, and the cosmos by watching the full campaign here.
Learn more about the In The Path of Totality Campaign: https://www.inthepathoftotality.org/.
We’re proud to announce that we’ve officially launching our new Directors Roster with five talented directors. The new roster includes Sundance, Gotham and Peabody Award Winners.
Read the full article on Shoot Online here.
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Emmy®-nominated Company Signs Five Directors to new Creative Roster to Bolster Their Branded Content and Advertising Division. The new roster includes Sundance, Gotham and Peabody Award Winners.
People’s Television, an Emmy®-nominated production studio and creative agency headed by CEO Nicholas Bruckman and creative director Ryder Haske, has announced the signing of directors Yoni Brook, Cutter Hodierne, Chris Hamilton, Ian Moubayed, and Praise Paige to its creative roster.
Known for widely-acclaimed independent features Not Going Quietly (SXSW), Minted (Tribeca), and Valley of Saints (Sundance), the company’s new commercial director acquisitions will significantly expand the studio’s breadth and creative expansion in the commercial and advertising arena. The company’s notable brand partners include Fortune 500 companies Meta, Amazon, and Endeavor, national nonprofits TED and Greenpeace, government agencies including the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and political work for Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaigns.
The new roster features a diverse array of voices whose award-winning work spans short-form, commercial, narrative, documentary, and docuseries:
“Our new commercial directors roster is about aligning creativity with purpose.” said CEO Nicholas Bruckman “Cutter, Yoni, Chris, Ian, and Praise are each uniquely powerful storytellers – we can’t wait to bring their vision to our partners around the world.”
“The goal with our roster is to help these talented directors offer their distinct styles to bold brands that value authentic storytelling and original perspectives, often through spotlighting important and underrepresented people and stories.” said Ryder Haske, Partner & Creative Director.
About PEOPLE’S TELEVISION
People’s Television is a full-service creative studio and production company based in New York City and Washington, DC that produces branded content for Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, global nonprofits, and political campaigns, as well as award-winning independent films and documentaries. They were included on the Inc5000 (2019) and Financial Times (2020) 1000 fastest growing companies list. Their feature films have been acquired by Hulu, Netflix, PBS, Nat Geo, and Vice Media.
Their documentary feature Not Going Quietly, executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, received 2 Emmy® and 3 IDA nominations, and won the SXSW Audience Award and Special Jury Prize. Their narrative feature Valley of Saints won the Sundance Audience Award and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Their most recent feature documentary, Minted, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in the Documentary Spotlight. They are currently in development on a number of documentary, narrative, and episodic film & TV projects.
People’s Television’s new director roster is open for collaborations directly with brands or via creative agencies and sales representatives.
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