Private Project

Projections of America

During the darkest hour of the WWII, a team of idealistic filmmakers hoped the power of the movies could reshape the world. Led by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Riskin, the filmmakers created twenty-six short documentaries about American life shown to millions of people around the world. The “Projections of America” films told stories of cowboys and oilmen, farmers and window washers, immigrants and school children, capturing the optimism and messiness of American democracy. The gorgeously crafted films were idealized versions of what America could be, created by politically engaged filmmakers who while fighting tyranny abroad, wanted also to fundamentally change America itself. But seventy years later, the films have disappeared. John Lithgow narrates this story of war, idealism, and the power of cinema.

  • Peter Miller
    Director
    AKA DOC POMUS, JEWS AND BASEBALL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, A CLASS APART, SACCO AND VANZETTI, THE INTERNATIONALE
  • Peter Miller
    Writer
  • Antje Boehmert
    Producer
    THE BLOODY TRUTH, SEPIDEH, CALL ME IGGY
  • Peter Miller
    Producer
    AKA DOC POMUS, JEWS AND BASEBALL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, A CLASS APART, SACCO AND VANZETTI, THE INTERNATIONALE, PASSIN' IT ON, JAZZ, THE WAR, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
  • Christian Popp
    Producer
    LA LÉGENDE DORÉE, BEYOND PUNISHMENT, DIE STAATSAFFÄRE , THE E-WASTE TRAGEDY, SEPIDEH, EIN VORBILDLICHES EHEPAAR, ES KOMMT NOCH DICKER
  • John Lithgow (Narrator)
    Key Cast
    3rd Rock from the Sun, Interstellar, How I Met Your Mother, Kinsey, Shrek
  • Amy Linton
    Editor
    AKA DOC POMUS, JEWS AND BASEBALL, SACCO AND VANZETTI, DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    52 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 30, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    France, Germany, United States
  • Language:
    English, French, Swiss German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • International Festival of Films on Art
    Montreal
    March 28, 2015
    North American Premiere
  • Cosima Cinema
    Berlin
    February 10, 2015
    Sneak preview
  • Stony Brook Film Festival
    Stony Brook, NY
    July 22, 2015
    U.S. Premiere
  • San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    July 23, 2015
    West Coast premiere
  • Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
    Philadelphia
    November 9, 2015
    Philadelphia
  • National Archives
    Washington, DC
    October 14, 2015
  • Boston Jewish Film Festival
    Boston, MA
    November 15, 2015
  • Dallas VideoFest
    Dallas, TX
    October 18, 2015
    Metta Media Award
  • Virginia Film Festival
    Charlottesville, VA
    November 6, 2015
  • WNC Film Series
    Asheville, NC
    September 22, 2015
  • Santa Fe Film Festival
    Santa Fe, NM
    December 5, 2015
  • San Diego Jewish Film Festival
    San Diego
    United States
    February 1, 2016
    Best Documentary
  • International Film Fest North Hollywood
    North Hollywood
    United States
    April 16, 2016
  • Salem Film Festival
    Salem, MA
    United States
    March 6, 2016
Distribution Information
  • PBS International
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Peter Miller

Peter Miller's award-winning documentaries include the theatrically released A.K.A. DOC POMUS, JEWS AND BASEBALL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, and SACCO AND VANZETTI. With Carlos Sandoval, he directed the Latino civil rights documentary A CLASS APART, which was recently acquired by Eva Longoria to become a feature film. With Renée Silverman, he produced, directed and shot SOSÚA: MAKE A BETTER WORLD, about a theater project uniting Jewish and Latino teenagers, and
REFUGEE KIDS: ONE SMALL SCHOOL TAKES ON THE WORLD, now in film festivals. His musical film THE INTERNATIONALE was short-listed for an Academy Award nomination. A long-time producer for Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, he’s served in various producing roles on landmark PBS programs including JAZZ, THE WAR, and the Peabody Award-winning FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT. Peter’s latest film, PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA, tells a story of how documentary film can help us imagine a better world – a goal he aspires to in his own filmmaking work.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Projections of America films are twenty-six brilliant but forgotten documentaries that helped to change the world. As a passionate fan of non-fiction film, this was an irresistible subject for me to take on.

I was approached about the project by the Berlin-based company DOCDAYS PRODUCTIONS and their Producer Antje Boehmert. They had seen an earlier documentary I had made that, by coincidence, featured a short clip from one of the Projections films. I had known nothing about the Projections series, but as soon as I learned about it, I was convinced that its story needed to be told. And when I watched the films themselves – beautifully crafted, character-driven stories that reflected what America could be if it lived up to its ideals – I was hooked.

Our filmmaking work reflected the international spirit of our subject. DOCDAYS PRODUCTIONS and my own company, WILLOW POND FILMS, produced the film in Berlin and New York. We tracked down eyewitnesses to our story, including children from France and Germany who had watched the Projections films in bombed-out theaters during the 1940s. Our chief historian was from Manchester, England, and we filmed with members of Robert Riskin’s family and his filmmaking team from Southern California to Northern Vermont. Our film editor, Amy Linton, cut the documentary in Atlanta, and our original score was written and performed in Berlin.

The story of these forgotten movies is of great filmmaking, high ideals, and the audacity of imagining a better world in the midst of the worst conflict in human history. We made our film at another difficult point for relations between the U.S. and Europe. My hope is that the story of the Projections of America documentaries can provide a model for how we can once again communicate with one another to help bridge dangerous divides.

I’m eager to share with the world the genius of these remarkable movies, which have remained hidden for much too long.