Who has changed America? People who broke societal barriers and surpassed the limits of their craft to become AMERICAN MASTERS. Independent filmmakers share the powerful stories of our cultural giants.
American Masters presents these four documentaries for your Emmy® consideration.
The series has earned 78 Emmy® nominations and 28 Emmy Awards, including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special.
We celebrate the talented producers, directors and team members who brought us these documentaries, available to view below.
For Your Emmy® Consideration:
AMERICAN MASTERS – Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series:
- Executive Producer, Michael Kantor
- Series Producer, Julie Sacks
1) Dr. Tony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s. The physician-scientist and immunologist has since served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations in the U.S. In 2020, he found himself in the spotlight again as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe. Beginning with the inauguration of President Joe Biden and spanning two years, American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci captures America’s most prominent physician, as he reflects on the pandemics that have shaped his 50-year career.
For Your Emmy® Consideration:
- Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program – Mark Mannucci
- Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program – Jim Ball
- Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program – Chris Kronus
- Outstanding Music Composition For A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) – Aaron Keane and Jim Crew
2) Roberta Flack
From “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly” and beyond, Roberta Flack gave voice to a global soundtrack of beauty and pain, love and anguish, hope and struggle. American Masters: Roberta Flack illuminates where reality, memory and imagination mix to present music icon Roberta Flack, a brilliant artist who transformed popular culture, in her own words. With exclusive access to Flack’s archives of film, performances, interviews, home movies, photos, hit songs and unreleased music, the film documents how Flack’s musical virtuosity was inseparable from her lifelong commitment to civil rights.
For Your Emmy® Consideration:
- Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program – Antonino D’Ambrosio
3) Groucho & Cavett
Dick Cavett, a writer for Jack Parr on “The Tonight Show,” met Groucho Marx at the funeral of playwright George S. Kaufman in 1961. When Cavett made the transition from writer to comedian in 1965, he was encouraged and mentored by Marx. In 1968, Cavett became the host of his own talk show and Marx became a frequent guest capturing what Cavett calls, “the last of Groucho’s greatness.” American Masters: Groucho & Cavett chronicles the pair’s relationship through new interviews with Cavett, footage from Marx’s visits to “The Dick Cavett Show” and other rare recordings.
4) The Adventures of Saul Bellow
American Masters: The Adventures of Saul Bellow illuminates how Bellow transformed modern literature and navigated through the issues of his time, including race, gender and the Jewish immigrant experience, through rare archival footage and interviews with Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie and many others. The film traces Bellow’s rise to eminence and examines his many identities: reluctant public intellectual, “serial husband,” father, Chicagoan and Jewish American. It also sheds light on his willingness to confront social issues, his criticisms of American society and materialism and his provocative political views.
For Your Emmy® Consideration:
- Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program – Avner Shahaf
- Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program – Tal Rabiner