'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards

As I promised yesterday, I'm beginning my examination of this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominees today. Unlike past years, I'm not starting with the nominees for Outstanding Commercial. Don't worry, I'll get to the category. Instead, I'm kicking off the series by examining the nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, of which there are only two, The Librarians (PBS) and The Tale of Silyan (Nat Geo). Watch their trailers, beginning with THE LIBRARIANS | Official Trailer.

America’s war on books is more than a war on words. THE LIBRARIANS, a new feature documentary from Academy Award® nominee and Peabody Award winner Kim A. Snyder.

In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of extremism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

That's powerful and an example of why I pay attention to awards shows; they bring films and shows to my attention that are worth watching for the subject matter.

Next, The Tale of Silyan | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films.

A down-on-his luck farmer develops a unique bond with a wounded white stork as he nurses the bird back to health.

This is a film I can recommend to my environmental science students, as it's about both wildlife and farming, two topics in that class. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Between the two, I think The Tale of Silyan is the favorite. First, it has a second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, which I'll examine over the jump, while The Librarians has only one. Second, it earned a nomination for Best Documentary at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in addition to Best Cinematography. The Librarians also earned a nomination at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Political Documentary, but not Best Documentary. Third, The Tale of Silyan earned nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and PGA Awards and wins at the Cinema Eye Honors Awards and Golden Trailer Awards. Yes, the trailer I embedded is a winner in its own right for Best Documentary Subject. Meanwhile, The Librarians earned nominations at the Satellite Awards and Cinema Eye Honors Awards. When the two films earned nominations at the same awards shows, The Tale of Silyan won awards and more and better nominations. Gold Derby hasn't created a predictions page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards yet, but I don't have to wait until they do; I can tell which nominee is more likely to win, especially since this is a juried award. The experts will prefer the craft and storytelling of The Tale of Silyan over the subject matter of The Librarians.

Follow over the jump for The Tale of Silyan's other nomination.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program

My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay – Tony Hardman (HBO)
Ocean with David Attenborough – Doug Anderson and Toby Strong (Nat Geo)
The Tale of Silyan – Jean Dakar (Nat Geo)
Tucci in Italy: "Le Marche" – Matt Ball (Nat Geo)
The Yogurt Shop Murders: "The End of Wondering" – Justin Zweifach and Christopher LaMarca (HBO)

While The Tale of Silyan earned a nomination for Best Cinematography at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, Ocean with David Attenborough won. That makes it my preliminary pick to win this category.

That's a wrap for today's installment. I plan on continuing this series tomorrow on National Piña Colada Day. Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show and its nine nominations look like a good choice for a day about Puerto Rico. Stay tuned.