Yaddo Filmmaker Wins Emmy Award

Saratoga Springs, NY (September 6, 2001) — Yaddo filmmaker Elizabeth Thompson's (www.thompsonfilms.com) documentary Blink was among the winners at the 22nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences last night following a black-tie dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Blink, originally broadcast on the PBS series P.O.V. in July of 2000, won in the Outstanding Coverage of a Continuing News Story (Programs) category. Other nominees in that category were episodes of ABC's Nightline and PBS's Nova and Frontline.

Blink examines the dramatic story of one-time white supremacist leader Gregory Withrow, whose subsequent flight from the militant White Aryan Resistance captured the imagination of the national media when Withrow was found beaten and "crucified," his hands nailed to a board.

Ms. Thompson, who was a guest artist at Yaddo last year, was the producer, director, and writer for Blink, with funding provided by ITVS/Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This spring, Ms. Thompson was invited to screen Blink at the Human Rights Watch Festival, the Bermuda International Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, and the National Council on Foundations Film Competition. Ms. Thompson lives in Palo Alto, California, and is a lecturer in the Stanford University Graduate Program in Documentary Film.

"The coveted Emmy was awarded to programs and program segments, as well as to individuals, for outstanding achievement in news and documentary programming," said Bill Small, the Academy's Vice Chairman for News and Documentaries. "The recipients were chosen by blue ribbon panels composed of broadcast industry professionals. A total of 121 nominations were drawn from over 1,450 entries, all of which were originally broadcast during the 2000 calendar year."

For more about the film, including additional clips, and for more about Elizabeth Thompson, visit her web site at: www.thompsonfilms.com. For more about the Emmys, visit www.emmyonline.org

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