For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Della Cassia
248-305-3770
dcassia@dptv.org
Ken Burns Visits Detroit for Special Preview of Upcoming PBS Documentary Series
‘The Vietnam War’
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 @ 7:30 p.m.
Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor
DETROIT (March 30, 2017) – America’s most acclaimed filmmaker and former Ann Arbor resident, Ken Burns, will pay a special visit to his hometown on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, to preview and discuss his latest film, The Vietnam War airing on PBS stations nationwide in September 2017. During the event, which will take place at the Michigan Theater, Burns will also present a showcase of his work and discuss with the audience his upcoming projects and his work as a filmmaker and historian.
Burns is known for such award-winning epic documentaries as The Civil War; Jazz; Baseball; The Roosevelts; The National Parks; Jackie Robinson; The Central Park Five; Prohibition; The Dust Bowl; and many others. His films have won 15 Emmy Awards and received two Oscar nominations. He’s also been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
His latest documentary, The Vietnam War, slated to air in September 2017, is a 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken and longtime collaborator Lynn Novick. In an immersive 360-degree narrative, Burns and Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. The film features perspective from nearly 100 interview subjects, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians similarly impacted.
In addition to the April 19th event in Ann Arbor, Detroit Public Television (DPTV) will hold a special screening of The Vietnam War June 9th at the Detroit Institute of Arts as part of the Cinetopia International Film Festival featuring filmmakers Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, and later on August 23 at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Other screenings are also planned leading up to the broadcast premiere of the series. For more information, visit www.dptv.org/vietnam.
The son of an anthropology professor, Burns was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953. At the age of 10, he moved to Ann Arbor with his family when his father joined the faculty at the University of Michigan.
While in Ann Arbor he attended Tappan Junior High (now Tappan Middle School) and graduated from Pioneer High in 1971.
Tickets to the Ken Burns presentation at the Michigan Theater are $10 for DPTV and Michigan Theater members. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.michtheater.org.
For more information about Burns or upcoming screenings, contact Della Cassia at dcassia@dptv.org or 248-305-3770.
About Detroit Public Television
Detroit Public Television (DPTV) is the non-commercial, viewer-supported PBS-member station watched by more than 1.5 million people in Detroit and Southeast Michigan and another 1.2 million people throughout Canada. DPTV also manages WRCJ 90.9 FM, Detroit's classical and jazz radio station, in collaboration with the license-holder, the Detroit Public Schools. The radio station is located in the Detroit School of Arts. DPTV is licensed to the Detroit Educational Television Foundation and governed by a volunteer board of trustees from the local business, civic, and cultural communities.
