The Festival Returns for Third Year, June 16 – July 31
(Arlington, VA) May 29, 2014 – Today, PBS announced that 25 short films will be part of the third annual PBS Online Film Festival, June 16 – July 31, 2014. The PBS Online Film Festival showcases diverse films from Independent Lens and POV and collaborations with public television producers, including the Center for Asian American Media, Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) and Vision Maker Media.
The PBS Online Film Festival showcases powerful stories from filmmakers across the country while providing an opportunity to reach an engaged and digitally savvy audience. Attracting more than one million video streams and more than 50,000 votes in its first two years, the PBS Online Film Festival has become a popular annual online event.
This year’s selections feature several locally produced short films from PBS member stations, including Alaska Public Media, Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), CET/ThinkTV (Cincinnati/Dayton), KLRU (Austin, TX), KQED (San Francisco), Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Vermont PBS, Wisconsin Media Lab and WCVE (Richmond, VA).
“PBS and member stations are committed to experimenting with new platforms to reach diverse audiences with high-quality and engaging content,” said Ira Rubenstein, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS Digital. “PBS is the home for independent film, both online and on-air, and we’re proud that the Online Film Festival has become an annual celebration of unique films representing a diverse array of voices and viewpoints.”
The films will be available for streaming across all PBS digital platforms, including PBS.org, Roku, Xbox, YouTube and PBS social media channels. Attracting more than one million video streams and more than 50,000 votes in its first two years, the PBS Online Film Festival has become a popular annual online event. Viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite film to win the “People’s Choice” award. For updates on the festival, follow #PBSolff on Twitter.
Short films featured in the PBS Online Film Festival include:
Independent Lens
Tryouts
Being a teenager isn’t easy, especially for Nayla, a Muslim-American girl who wants to join her high school’s cheerleading squad.
Border Bedazzlers
Hoping to heal the divide between Mexico and the United States an inspired group of artists turn the border wall into a giant canvas.
POV
The Jazz Ticket
Vince Womack has built a high school jazz powerhouse in one of L.A.’s toughest districts.
Center for Asian American Media
Why We Rise
Three brave young New Yorkers reveal what it’s like to grow up without having legal immigration status.
Latino Public Broadcasting
El Doctor
Worlds collide when an Arizona family hires an undocumented day laborer.
El Reloj
Experience a day in the life of a Zapotec grandfather and his city-born granddaughter.
National Black Programming Consortium
You’re Dead to Me
A mother and daughter revisit issues with each other on a tragic anniversary date.
My Dear Americans
An Indian-American husband and wife adjust to immigrant life in an American suburb.
7 Day Gig
A young man sits Shiva, mourns for his father’s death with strangers from the Internet.
Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC)
Dog Save the Queen
The Million Dollar Corgi Quest comes to the Island of Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
Islands
Vaine escapes her brutish “protector” and shares a daily, wordless love play with Tamatoa.
Vision Maker Media and Wisconsin Media Lab
Lady Thunderhawks
The Lady Thunderhawks varsity basketball team has become a pillar of hope for an entire community.
Alaska Public Media
I Am an Aurora Hunter
Alaskan Todd Salat is one of the best aurora borealis photographers in the world.
Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN)
Westland
Explore the life and art of reclusive Winslow, Arkansas, artist Tim West.
Diamond John
John Wesley Huddleston tries to support his wife and five daughters by digging for gold.
CET & ThinkTV
Overpass Light Brigade
Overpass Light Brigade tells the story behind Wisconsin’s Holders of the Lights.
Sorry About Tomorrow
Baldwin is using time travel in hopes of undoing everything that has recently been done to him and those he loves.
KLRU
Yellow Wallpaper
A woman descends into insanity as she struggles against the patriarchal institution that confines her.
Digging for Water
When a well drill becomes stuck at 225 feet, a Haitian community must dig it out by hand in order to get water.
KQED (Film School Shorts)
Will
Set during the attacks of 9/11, a young girl wishes she could go back in time.
First Match
A teenage female wrestler on an all-boy wrestling team faces her biggest challenge.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting
A Part of Me, A Part From Me
Lawrence goes to an old house by the lake and relives painful memories of his lost love.
Vermont PBS
North Star
Witness a haunting, poetic re-creation of a slave escaping from the South to New England.
Mad River Rising
An aging farmer escapes his retirement home and finds himself back at his boyhood farm.
WCVE PBS
Calls from Home: Prison Radio in Appalachia
From the heart of Appalachia, a radio station broadcasts hip-hop and shout-outs behind bars.
About PBS
PBS, with its over 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 109 million people through television and over 28 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.
CONTACTS:
Jennifer Byrne, PBS: 
703-739-5487, jrbyrne@pbs.org
Melissa Mills, PBS: 703-739-8134, mkmills@pbs.org
Maryellen Mooney, Goodman Media for PBS: 212-576-2700, mmooney@goodmanmedia.com