Historical N.C. Documentary 'Birth of a Colony' Honored with Regional Emmy Award

Jan. 30, 2013 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, N.C. -- A documentary film capturing the early history of North Carolina has received a regional Emmy Award. "Birth of a Colony" examines the time from the arrival of Europeans to the end of the Tuscarora War in 1713.

Horizon Productions (www.horizonvp.com) contracted with UNC-TV to produce the documentary in cooperation with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Horizon President Donna Mitchell and producer and creative lead Tim Finkbiner accepted the Best Documentary/Historical Film award at the Midsouth Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 26, in Nashville, Tenn.

The UNC-TV original production was painstakingly written and produced by Horizon Productions in association with the Department of Cultural Resources. A history advisory panel for the project included Dr. Jeffrey Crow, then Cultural Resources’ Deputy Secretary for Archives and History, and Michael Hill, supervisor of Archives and History’s Research Branch; N.C. Historical Commission Chairman Jerry Cashion; and historians Harry Watson, Pamela Grundy and Lindley Butler.

"Birth of a Colony" was broadcast on UNC-TV, and copies were distributed to schools throughout the state. The film is now available to educators online at http://video.unctv.org/video/2149619983/ and on DVD, and an accompanying educational guide is also available online from Cultural Resources at http://ncdcr.gov/Portals/0/documents/birth-of-a-colony-education-guide/BOCActIEducatorGuide.pdf.

The documentary includes original footage shot in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, rare artifacts, archival footage, and interviews with key historians.

Public screenings for the film were held in the Archives and History/State Library Building and at the N.C. Museum of History last summer.

For additional information call the Department of Cultural Resources at (919) 807-7385 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources:

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives.

Cultural Resources champions North Carolina's creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state's economy. To learn more, visit www.ncdcr.gov and www.ncculture.com.