Barnum Lives, Emmy Winner
A mixed media documentary on the life of PT Barnum has received five regional Emmy nominations from the New England Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The documentary mixes live drama with animation and was produced by American View/Borres Productions of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The documentary aired on Connecticut Public Television is expected to air again CPTV.
The nominations include:
- Outstanding Historical/Cultural Documentary – Frank Borres – Producer
- Outstanding Post-Production Direction – Frank Borres
- Outstanding Writing – Frank Borres
- Outstanding Program Editor – Theodore Waldron, Jr. and Brian Katsis
- Outstanding Graphic Arts – Theodore Waldron, Jr. and Brian Katsis
These make 36 lifetime Emmy Nominations for Producer/Director Frank Borres.
Barnum Lives is a half-hour documentary about America’s greatest showman,Phineas Taylor Barnum. As the 200th Birthday of P.T. Barnum neared, the producers decided that Barnum’s story hadn’t been told in a way that reflected his unique brand of entertainment. American View/Borres Productions, in association with Amazin’ Productions (Dan Makara, Executive Producer),challenged themselves to produce a program that would answer barnum’s critics who called him a huckster and a charlatan.
Barnum Lives tells the story of the documentary crew from Borres Productions was taping a segment for TV about Pa-Ib, the 4,000 year old Egyptian mummy on display at The Barnum Museum, when the museum’s Curator made an amazing discovery – P.T. Barnum’s Last Reel and Testament. Barnum’s story is unlocked and the ringmaster makes his own case with the support of friends Walt Whitman,Mark Twain and Queen Victoria. This stylized autobiography takes the viewer for a trip through the life of P.T. Barnum.
American View/Borres Productions set out to make a unique Barnum-like documentary in his image, using his own words, straight from books he authored and his quotations. Barnum Lives is a first-hand account in an effort to set the record straight.