Documentary

Symphony for our World
Documentary

Nat Geo Wild, X Ambassadors Set Mother Earth to Music with ‘Symphony for our World’

April 22, 2018 Lori Acken 2

On Sunday, April 22, Nat Geo Wild celebrates Earth Day — and the splendor of Mother herself — with the unique one-hour special Symphony for our World. And as the special’s stunning trailer says, it’s an event you have to hear to believe.   The perfect way to relax after your Earth Day efforts, Symphony for our World combines the gasp-inducing nature footage National Geographic and its television channels are known for with an original symphony created by Hans Zimmer’s Emmy- and BAFTA-nominated Bleeding Fingers Music, featuring composers Austin Fray and Andrew Christie. The duo’s five-part composition brings viewers on a journey through five […]

Elvis Presley The Searcher on HBO
Documentary

‘Elvis Presley: The Searcher’ on HBO: We Sit Down With Priscilla Presley And Music Documentarian Thom Zimny!

April 2, 2018 Lori Acken 6

Let’s start with what you do know about Elvis. Like “Hound Dog” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” “The Pelvis” nickname coupled with said pelvis’ Ed Sullivan Show debut. The stint in the Army, where he met a pretty girl named Priscilla. The feel-good films and the triumphant ’68 TV special. And the endless tabloid fodder that followed, even after his 1977 death at just 42. But do you know why Elvis moved the way he moved? Chose the songs he sang? Suffered so beneath the weight of the very fame he craved? Priscilla — Elvis’ only bride and lifelong confidante — […]

Katie Couric America Inside Out
Documentary

‘America Inside Out With Katie Couric’: The Veteran Journalist Puts Everyday Faces to National Agonies

April 2, 2018 Lori Acken 0

For her 2017 National Geographic documentary Gender Revolution, veteran journalist Katie Couric crisscrossed the nation to put compelling faces and poignant personal stories to America’s complex relationship with gender identity. The experience proved so fulfilling that Couric hit the road again, delving into more crackling social issues that both inspire and undermine unity in our “United” States, challenging our individual moral compasses and coloring our outlooks far beyond any neighborly chat over the backyard fence. Issues like gender inequality; the plight of American Muslims; the economic uncertainty of the white working class; the intersection of history and oppression in our […]

Man Among Cheetahs Naborr
Documentary

‘Man Among Cheetahs’: We Ride Along with Filmmaker Bob Poole to Spot Nat Geo Wild’s Big Cat Week Stars

December 5, 2017 Lori Acken 1

On a brilliant early September day, acclaimed wildlife filmmakers Bob and Gina Poole await visitors on a tiny airstrip in Kenya’s Mara Naboisho Conservancy. When we — 10 international journalists primed for adventure — land, there’s time for quick hellos before everyone leaps into waiting safari vehicles. There is somebody else we need to meet. And he’s a bit unpredictable. In their specially outfitted Land Rover, the Pooles lead the caravan to a nearby stand of acacia trees. The twitch of a tail beneath one draws our eyes to magnificent cheetah Forester, a feline star of the Pooles’ latest film, […]

Story of Us With Morgan Freeman
Documentary

‘The Story Of Us With Morgan Freeman’: Nat Geo Expands Freeman’s “Story” Franchise From God to Man

October 3, 2017 Lori Acken 1

Several years ago, Morgan Freeman and his producing partners Lori McCreary and James Younger traveled the globe to explore the uniting power of faith for National Geographic’s smart and intensely moving The Story of God With Morgan Freeman, which bowed in 2016. Critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated, the series debuted a shorter second season last January, even as the group was already at work on another approach to spotlighting global unity in a time where we can’t even get along with our neighbors. “Story of God felt so eye-opening to all of us,” Younger explains. “Then we realized that religion is […]

Swim Team POV PBS
Documentary

Swim Team: Lara Stolman’s Insightful PBS Film Spotlights Autism, Athleticism and the Power Of Hope

October 2, 2017 Lori Acken Comments Off on Swim Team: Lara Stolman’s Insightful PBS Film Spotlights Autism, Athleticism and the Power Of Hope

Michael “Mikey” McQuay Jr., Robert Justino and Kelvin Truong each have the lanky bodies and lean muscles that are hallmarks of champion swimmers. Star members of the Jersey Hammerheads swim team, the boys idolize Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, and are laser focused on the starting block and lightning fast in the water — earning medal upon medal in local, regional and statewide competitions near their New Jersey homes. All three are also on the autism spectrum — a challenge that could make achieving their full athletic potential improbable. But these guys and their dozen-plus teammates have a pair of […]