The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to recognize Emmy Award-winning husband and wife team Marilyn and Hal Weiner, as the April Filmmakers of the Month.
Through their Washington, DC-based production company, Screenscope, Marilyn and Hal Weiner have produced, written, and directed more than 225 documentaries and four public television series (Journey To Planet Earth, Women At Work, Faces Of Man and The World Of Cooking). They also have produced three feature films (Family Business, The Imagemaker, and K2).
Their current PBS series, Journey To Planet Earth, is narrated and hosted by Academy Award winner Matt Damon. The 13th episode of the series, Extreme Realities, recently screened at the Environmental Film Festival. They are currently in production on the 14th episode of the series. In North America, each episode reaches an average audience of about 3.1 million viewers. The series is also broadcast in most major overseas television markets, yielding a worldwide television audience of more than 40 million viewers per episode.
The Weiners have won Emmy Awards for The Earth Summit Pledge, commissioned by the United Nations to open the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and Streets of Sorrow, a documentary about a support group formed to help people cope with the violent death of a family member. They also are recipients of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science's Silver Circle Award for "outstanding contributions to the television industry." Additionally, the Weiners have won more than 130 top international awards, including 39 CINE Golden Eagles. Their films have been shot on location in more than 30 countries on five continents, translated into numerous languages, and broadcast throughout the world.
Marilyn was appointed by Mayors Anthony Williams and Marion Barry and served as a DC Commissioner for the Arts and Humanities for six years. She served on the Board of Directors of Filmfest DC, which runs this month; the Committee to Promote Washington, DC; the Washington Urban League; Women in Film & Video (WIFV); and the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company. Hal is the founder of the Independent Media Producer's Association. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors of the Council on Non-Theatrical Events and the Washington Urban League and was an Honorary Advisor to American University's School of Communications. He also is often a guest lecturer at area universities and organizations about the art of film production.
The Weiners reside in Ward 3 of the District of Columbia.
MPTD launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital. The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of MPTD’s mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include Sankofa Producer Shirikiana Aina, Long Story Short Media Founder Jessica Stuart, award-winning filmmaker Brad Allgood, and Heavy Contrast Film Productions Founder Damien Coor.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Marilyn and Hal and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.