A multi award-winning documentary film producer and president of HBO Documentary Films, Nevins has shaped the direction of documentary filmmaking and has been instrumental in telling the stories of remarkable people in our times
Event schedule will also include a number of free events open to the public
Yale University will also honor Nevins with its Poynter Fellowship in Journalism
U.S. Trust is the lead corporate sponsor of the 4th Annual Visionary Leadership Award
NEW HAVEN, CT—The International Festival of Arts & Ideas today announced that it will honor Sheila Nevins, a documentary film producer and President of HBO Documentary Films for Home Box Office, with its 4th Annual Visionary Leadership Award on January 31, 2014. The Award, occurring outside the annual festival, honors a leader whose trailblazing work is changing the world, and connects the Festival's Ideas programs to every day impacts on the community. In addition to the award benefit luncheon, a complete schedule of events includes opportunities for the entire community to engage with Nevins’ extraordinary work.
In conjunction with her visit to New Haven and her Visionary Leadership Award honor, Nevins will be awarded the prestigious Poynter Fellowship in Journalism at Yale University. She will also speak and meet with students at Yale.
Nevins’ work as a documentary filmmaker and producer has been instrumental in telling important stories of figures both large and small. Their stories have had profound resonance in our broader culture, and her role in pursuing and producing their stories has shaped both our thinking about the world and the field of documentary filmmaking itself. She is one of the most highly awarded producers of our time: as an executive producer or producer, she has received 26 Primetime Emmy® Awards, 31 News and Documentary Emmys®, and 37 George Foster Peabody Awards. During her tenure at HBO Documentary Films, the unit’s critically acclaimed documentaries have gone on to win 23 Academy Awards®.
Said the Festival’s executive director, Mary Lou Aleskie, “Sheila is a remarkable woman who completely embodies the spirit of this award. Her vision, talents, and determination have made a big mark on the way we all think about ourselves and our world. She has paved the way for women producers in her field and succeeded brilliantly.
“Further, her work has made serious documentary films part of mainstream entertainment, much in the way that we see the Festival spotlighting art and ideas in fun and informative ways,” said Aleskie.
The Festival will honor Nevins’ achievements and vision on January 31, 2014 at 12:00pm, at an Benefit Luncheon at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale. The luncheon will include an on-stage conversation moderated by Laura Wexler, Professor of American Studies & Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Yale University. The conversation will also be recorded for later release in the Festival’s video podcast series.
Also scheduled are a number of free and open-to-the-public events, including a screening of the HBO Documentary film, Gloria: In Her Own Words. The film will be screened on January 30, 2014 at 6pm, at the Yale University Art Gallery. The screening will be followed by a conversation.
Schedule of Events
January 30 (Thursday)
4:00PM Gallery Tour: Art and Feminism.
Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street (meet in the lobby)
A gallery tour related to the subject of Nevins’ 2011 film, Gloria: In Her Own Words. Pamela Franks, the Yale University Art Gallery’s Deputy Director for Exhibitions, Programming, and Education and Interim Seymour H. Knox, Jr., Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, will lead a discussion that explores the depth of feminism in work in the Gallery’s collection. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
6:00PM Film Screening: Gloria: In Her Own Words.
Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street (Auditorium)
A screening of the HBO Documentary film. Gloria Steinem remains one of the most outspoken and visible symbols of the women’s movement even today. In this documentary, interviews of Steinem in her Manhattan apartment are blended with archival footage, photographs and press interviews to tell her story. Produced by Sheila Nevins and Peter Kunhardt. Directed by Peter Kunhardt. Followed by a Q&A and conversation. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
January 31 (Friday)
12:30PM Award Presentation, Luncheon, and Conversation
Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, 155 Temple St, New Haven
The benefit luncheon includes award presentation as well as a conversation moderated by Laura Wexler, Yale University Professor of American Studies & Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Tickets and tables are available at http://artidea.org/4th-annual-visionary-leadership-award.
Further afternoon activities to be announced
About the Visionary Leadership Award
The Visionary Leadership Award honors a leader whose trailblazing work is impacting the world, connecting the Festival's Ideas programs to every day impacts on the community and the world. The award honor and its associated events occur outside the annual Festival, and proceeds from the benefit luncheon support the The Jean M. Handley Fund for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
The Award was created in honor of the late Jean M. Handley’s leadership as a Founding Director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Ms. Handley provided thoughtful and effective leadership as a lifelong champion of many of the region’s arts, cultural, social, and educational organizations. She was also a role model for women: a person of extraordinary wisdom and an individual of exceedingly high standards who was generous with her talent and time.
Prior awardees include Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a journalist and civil rights leader; Jill Abramson, journalist and first female Executive Editor of the New York Times; and Zainab Salbi, the pioneering Founder and CEO of Women For Women International.
U.S. Trust is the lead corporate sponsor of the 4th Annual Visionary Leadership Award.
About Sheila Nevins
Sheila Nevins is president, HBO Documentary Films, for Home Box Office, responsible for overseeing the development and production of all documentaries for HBO, HBO2 and Cinemax. She was named to this position in February 2004.
For a complete biography of Nevins, go to http://artidea.org/biography-sheila-nevins
About the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a 15-day festival of performing arts, lectures, and conversations that celebrates the greatest artists and thinkers from around the world. Each June, the Festival takes over the theaters, open spaces, and courtyards of New Haven, Connecticut with performances and dialogues that tickle the senses, engage the mind, and inspire the soul.
More than 80% of Festival programs are completely free to the public, including events that feature some of the most prestigious jazz, classical, dance, and theater artists in the world. The Festival’s programs have an impact throughout the year, including engagement and educational programming such as the Festival Fellowship Program for underserved youth, and the Visionary Leadership Award held in autumn of each year.
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas was established in 1996 by Anne Calabresi, Jean Handley and Roslyn Meyer. The founders envisioned an annual celebration in New Haven - a small city rich with diversity and steeped in strong cultural and educational traditions - distinguished from established arts festivals by its fusion of ideas events. Their aim was to gather world-class artists and pre-eminent thinkers from around the globe, showcasing the city and the state as a major arts destination.
Festival 2013 was presented with major support from the State of Connecticut, as well as marquee sponsors Yale University, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, First Niagara, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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