Miami, Florida – Just in time for Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s April 5th premiere of their newest documentary, HEMINGWAY, join South Florida PBS on Zoom on March 9th for the South Florida PBS installment of Conversations on Hemingway with filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, writer Cristina Garcia and author/journalist Brin-Jonathan Butler.
The South Florida PBS conversation, in partnership with Books & Books @ the studio Key West, FIU’s Casa Cuba, and The Hemingway House & Museum, will focus on the South Florida connection: Hemingway, the Sea and Cuba. The discussion will be moderated by Ann Bocock, host of South Florida PBS’ book review program, Between the Covers. Hemingway documentary will premiere on South Florida PBS’ WPBT and WXEL on April 5th at 9 PM.
In conjunction with the broadcast of HEMINGWAY on PBS, the author’s publisher, Scribner, will publish The Hemingway Stories, a new collection of the legendary writer’s greatest short stories featured in the documentary series. The Hemingway Stories features an introduction from award-winning writer Tobias Wolff, who is interviewed in the series.
HEMINGWAY paints an intimate picture of the writer—who captured on paper the complexities of the human condition in spare and profound prose, and whose work remains deeply influential around the world—while also penetrating the myth of Hemingway the man’s man, to reveal a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure. The film also explores Hemingway’s limitations and biases as an artist.
“Having studied Hemingway throughout my life, I’m overjoyed that PBS has created this new program and excited to learn more about Hemingway’s life and work,” said Dolores Sukhdeo, President and CEO of South Florida PBS. “I’m delighted that South Florida PBS was chosen as 1 of 9 stations across the country to host a special virtual discussion ahead of the premiere and can’t wait to watch both the program and local discussion”.
In three two-hour episodes, HEMINGWAY tracks the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the author who, in his final years, suffered from chronic alcoholism, traumatic brain injuries and serious mental illness. In 1961, at the age of 61, Hemingway died by suicide, leaving behind an unparalleled body of artistic work and a complicated emotional legacy for those closest to him.
Narrated by long-time collaborator Peter Coyote, the series features an all-star cast of actors bringing Hemingway (voiced by Jeff Daniels), his friends and family vividly to life. Through letters to and from his four wives—voiced by Meryl Streep, Keri Russell, Mary-Louise Parker and Patricia Clarkson—the film reveals Hemingway at his most romantic and his most vulnerable, grappling at times with insecurity, anxiety and existential loneliness.
Hemingway, the Sea and Cuba is part of a nine-part national conversation series that is open to the public and will take place remotely, creating a unique opportunity for people throughout the country to participate. People can register for one or more of the various virtual events at www.pbs.org/hemingwayevents.
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About South Florida PBS:
SOUTH FLORIDA PBS is Florida’s largest public media company, including Public Broadcasting stations WXEL-TV, serving the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast and WPBT2, serving Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and the Health Channel, the only 24/7 channel dedicated to health in the nation. SOUTH FLORIDA PBS connects organizations and institutions across our region and preserves South Florida's history. Leading the way in this global society, SOUTH FLORIDA PBS serves diverse communities from Key West to the Sebastian Inlet and from the Atlantic Ocean west to Lake Okeechobee. SOUTH FLORIDA PBS is committed to creating and presenting unique arts, education and cultural heritage programming, and tells different local stories across a variety of digital media platforms. Some of our award-winning productions include James Patterson’s Kid Stew, Changing Seas, Art Loft and Your South Florida. For more information, visit https://www.southfloridapbs.org
About PBS LearningMedia:
A free service that includes thousands of contextualized learning materials aligned to state and national standards, will offer a host of educational offerings related to HEMINGWAY for middle and high school teachers. Resources will include video clips, activities, discussion questions and lesson plans focusing on a range of topics relevant to English Language Arts, social studies, media literacy and health teachers, and include suggestions for incorporating these materials into remote learning environments. PBS and WETA will also offer virtual professional learning opportunities for educators to help them navigate the resources and build the skills to bring topics related to Hemingway’s life and writing to life in their classrooms.
About PBS Books:
A multi-platform initiative celebrating the love of reading, has built a robust, nationwide outreach plan to complement the film and engage communities in partnership with thousands of libraries and their local PBS stations. Activities will include a virtual exhibition showcasing the most beloved articles in the Hemingway collections of libraries and individual readers, an aggressive social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter, a National Book Club conversation with the filmmakers on Thursday, April 8, a variety of Hemingway-themed booklists, and more to help foster discussion about this iconic American writer and his continuing impact today.
About HEMINGWAY
The program will be available to stream for free on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV and Chromecast. PBS station members can view the documentary via PBS Passport, as part of a full collection of Ken Burns films. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website. HEMINGWAY is a production of Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, written by Geoffrey C. Ward, and produced by Sarah Botstein, Lynn Novick and Ken Burns. The film was co-produced by Salimah El-Amin and Lucas Frank, with associate producers Vanessa Gonzalez-Block and Jonah Velasco. Original music produced by Johnny Gandelsman, with additional music created by longtime Florentine collaborator David Cieri. The executive in charge for WETA is John F. Wilson.
Corporate funding for HEMINGWAY was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by the Annenberg Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and by “The Better Angels Society,” and its members John & Leslie McQuown, the Elizabeth Ruth Wallace Living Trust, John & Catherine Debs, the Fullerton Family Charitable Fund, the Kissick Family Foundation, Gail M. Elden, Gilchrist & Amy Berg, Robert & Beverly Grappone, Mauree Jane & Mark Perry; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.
About WETA
WETA is the leading public broadcaster in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia with educational initiatives and with highquality programming on television, radio and digital. WETA Washington, D.C., is the second largest producing-station of new content for public television in the United States, with productions and co-productions including PBS NEWSHOUR, WASHINGTON WEEK, THE KENNEDY CENTER MARK TWAIN PRIZE, THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR POPULAR SONG, LATINO AMERICANS, ASIAN AMERICANS and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO. More information on WETA and its programs and services is available at www.weta.org.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’ premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter. For images and additional up-to-date information on this and other PBS programs, visit PBS PressRoom at pbs.org/pressroom.