The Better Angels Society

Film production, outreach and education - The Society provided over $11.3 million in funding for The production and distribution of documentary films produced by ken burns and lynn novick which are broadcast on pbs television stations and available on pbs' digital platforms. Films supported in 2023 included The american buffalo, which aired in 2023, The american revolution, leonardo davinci, crime & punishment, and emancipation to exodus and lbj & The great Society. In addition, through its Better Angels stories initiative, The Society supported american documentary films by a number of other filmmakers. Films supported by The Society which aired on pbs member stations in 2023 included The lie detectors, zora neale hurston: claiming a space, ruthless: monopoly's secret history, The sun queen, casa susanna, The bussing battleground, The harvest: integrating Mississippi's schools, max roach: this drum also waltzes and The war on disco.

Legacy - in 2023 The Society awarded The fourth annual library of congress lavine/ken burns prize for film to support american historical documentary filmmaking and encourage a growing community of documentary filmmakers working on bringing america's stories to light. It oversaw The second year of The Better Angels lavine fellowship program, a mentoring program for promising films that were not selected as finalists for this prize but demonstrate The potential for excellence. In addition, The Society recognized next generation Angels, middle and high school students who have developed history documentary films, through its awards program. The Society also continued to build The ken burns public dialogue initiative, a partnership with georgetown university to advance The use of history documentary films in higher educational settings, and bring academic discourse to The public.