ITVS-FUNDED DOCUMENTARY ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL NOMINATED FOR ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
(San Francisco, CA, January 23, 2018) — ITVS is pleased to announce that the ITVS-funded film Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, has been honored with an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film. The awards will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on March 4, 2018.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters), tells the saga of the Sungs, a Chinese American family who own and operate Abacus Federal Savings in New York’s Chinatown — the only U.S. bank prosecuted in relation to the 2008 financial crisis. The film premiered in September 2017 on the PBS series FRONTLINE.
“We are thrilled that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has honored the ITVS-funded documentary Abacus: Small Enough to Jail with a nomination for Best Documentary, Feature Film,” said Sally Jo Fifer, President & CEO, ITVS. “To have the work of veteran filmmaker Steve James recognized by his peers is deeply satisfying. His story of a New York Chinese American family fighting to continue to serve an immigrant community is moving and insightful.”
About ITVS
ITVS is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that has, for over 25 years, funded and partnered with a diverse range of documentary filmmakers to produce and distribute untold stories. ITVS incubates and co-produces these award-winning films and then airs them for free on PBS via our weekly series, Independent Lens, as well as on other PBS series and through our digital platform, OVEE. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For more information, visit itvs.org
CONTACT
Donna Hardwick, ITVS 415-356-8383, ext 241 donna.hardwick@itvs.org