In our multi-part The Road To Emmy series of feature stories these past few months, it became clear that in some very notable cases gratification over a project went well beyond gaining peer recognition via a nomination or even nominations.
For example, Philip Kaufman, who directed the HBO telefilm Hemingway & Gellhorn (which earned 15 Emmy noms), first and foremost cited feedback from one of war correspondent Martha Gellhorn’s children who said, “You captured the essence of my mother.”
Even more poignantly, consider filmmaker Joe Berlinger who this year garnered three Emmy nominations for two of his documentaries: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (which he and Bruce Sinofsky directed) in the categories of Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming; and Paul Simon’s Graceland Journey: Under African Skies for Outstanding Nonfiction Special (with Berlinger as the sole director).
Earlier this year, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory earned an Oscar nomination for Best Feature Documentary as well as a DGA Award nomination.
While the flurry of industry recognition is welcomed, it pales by comparison to the far deeper fulfillment this work gave Berlinger. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is the third documentary in a trilogy addressing the case of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. who were arrested in 1993 for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, and found guilty, with Baldwin and Misskelley sentenced to life in prison and Echols landing on death row. Berlinger and Sinofsky embarked on the first documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills nearly two decades ago, originally intending to chronicle the story of three teenagers gone bad with the committing of a heinous crime. Instead the film–which won an Emmy in 1997–cast doubt on the verdict and was instrumental in marshalling support for the teens as wrongfully convicted. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, an Emmy nominee in 2000, was a vehicle for further advocacy on behalf of the convicted trio, with Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory uncovering additional inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case and then including a final modification after Echols, Baldwin and Misskelly–having served 18 years in prison–were set free last year through a legal maneuver known as an Alford plea.
“One of the greatest experiences of my life was walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards this year–even though we didn’t win the Oscar,” related Berlinger. “I was walking with Jason Baldwin who seven months earlier was serving a life sentence without parole. Bruce [Sinofsky] and I felt we had to continue making these films in order to continue to shine a light on this story and help these men who had been wrongfully convicted. It’s been a two-decade journey. I started out as a young guy and now I’m over 50. My first child was born during the making of the first film [in the trilogy]. Now that kid is in college. My second child was born during the making of the second film. It’s been a long road given the drawn out appeals process. And to end up on the red carpet with Jason after all that meant everything.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More