Executive Producer Chris White ’91 has dedicated himself to broadening the range of voices sharing their life stories with viewers.

In cinematic terms, POV means point of view, the perspective from which a story is told.

For Chris White ’91, the urgency of his work sharing real-life stories from different points of view was underscored last summer, as grief over the death of George Floyd reverberated across the country. 

“Long-form documentary is a powerful way of moving people, of highlighting our shared humanity, values, hopes, and aspirations, no matter our political beliefs, economic status, race, or gender,” says White, who is executive producer of American Documentary, the nonprofit behind the acclaimed PBS film series POV. “It’s an opportunity to broaden our view of the world and of other people’s experiences in a way that’s enriching, enlightening, and essential.”  

White was drawn to the documentary world by the work of Joe Berlinger ’83 and his 1992 film Brother’s Keeper, which examined an alleged murder in a family of four brothers in rural upstate New York. “The film opened my eyes to how exciting the nonfiction form could be to bring you into people’s lives and wrestle with much larger issues,” White says.  

He looks for equally powerful stories as he scouts for candidates at film festivals and reviews the nearly 1,000 documentaries each year that vie for the 16 slots available in any one season of POV, television’s longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction films. White and his team consult with PBS station programmers and independent filmmakers for feedback on their short list before finalizing in October their slate for the following year. 

On average, a third of the films are from other countries. This year’s slate spans the globe from India to Kenya to Chile and covers topics ranging from female political trailblazers to the challenges of elder care.

“I don’t go into a season looking for a film on a particular topic,” he says. “We are simply looking for the best films — about people whose experiences might [teach us] something about our world and ourselves.”

Since White became executive producer in 2015, American Documentary films have won 10 Emmys, 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, and four duPont-Columbia Awards. They’ve also garnered eight Independent Spirit Award nominations and seven Academy Award nominations.

In September, POV racked up four wins at the 2020 News and Documentary Emmys, including the Best Documentary prize for The Silence of Others, a hauntingly beautiful chronicle of the quest for justice by victims of the Franco regime four decades after the Spanish dictator’s death. The win was especially sweet for White, because the film was a POV coproduction. 

“We talk about awards, and they’re great. They bring films to a much higher level of public profile, which is deserved,” he says. “But the greatest thrill for me is when a film is premiering at its first festival, and I’m sitting in the audience watching these beautiful films unfold and taking in the collective response of the people around me. Those moments when you can palpably feel the emotional reaction of the audience are the most thrilling for me.”