'The Territory' leads nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Emmy Awards

I concluded Dove's 'Cost of Beauty' the sole PSA among the 2023 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial by telling my readers "Stay tuned for entries about the documentary nominees next." I begin these installments of the series with the nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, "The Accused: Damned Or Devoted?" from PBS, "Aftershock" from Hulu, "Last Flight Home" from Paramount+ and MTV, and today's featured program "The Territory" from National Geographic. Watch The Territory | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films.

The Territory, from director Alex Pritz, provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon.

Watching this trailer reminded me that I covered deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Observe World Wildlife Day 2021 by watching Vox's three-part series on the Amazon rainforest, where I wrote "authoritarians are a threat to the environment everywhere on the planet, even if they, like Jair Bolsonaro, aren't strictly 'fossil fools.'" The trailer may not mention Bolsonaro, but his influence is all over this clip. I'm glad he's no longer Brazil's President.

ABC News covered the movie in 'The Territory' profiles indigenous group's fight to protect rain forest | Nightline.

A National Geographic documentary followed Brazil's Uru-eu-wau-wau people in their years-long battle against deforestation.

I'm being a good environmentalist by repurposing a paragraph from 'Summer of Soul,' my pick for best documentary of 2021 for my reaction.

While that's a good hard-news interview that explores how and why [Alex Pritz] made the documentary, it's also a bit of stealth promotion, as [National Geographic] and ABC are both subsidiaries of Disney. To recycle what I wrote about CNN defending Big Bird, "It's not just news value that's driving it."

Considering that I originally wrote this about a "Nightline" segment, I shouldn't be surprised that it works as well for another "Nightline" segment.

Before I assess the chances for "The Territory" to win its categories, I'm looking at the other nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking. Follow over the jump for their trailers, the two other nominations for "The Territory," and one prediction.


The three other nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking have only this one nomination, so this is my one chance to spotlight them. I begin with The Accused: Damned or Devoted? | Trailer | Doc World.

Khadim Rizvi is running for Pakistan's highest office in the upcoming elections. The powerful cleric is on a mission to preserve the country's blasphemy laws, which prescribe a mandatory death sentence for disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad. A film by Mohammed Ali Naqvi.

Next, AFTERSHOCK | OFFICIAL TRAILER | Onyx Collective | ABC News Studios | Hulu.

When a Black mother dies, there is a ripple effect. AFTERSHOCK, an original documentary from Onyx Collective and ABC News Studios, premieres July 19th on Hulu. #AftershockDoc

Following the deaths of two young women due to childbirth complications, two bereaved families galvanize activists, birth-workers and physicians to reckon with one of the most pressing American crises today: the US maternal health crisis. Directed by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee.

Just as it did for "The Territory," ABC News covered the film in New documentary sheds light on epidemic of Black maternal deaths | Nightline.

From ABC News Studios/ Onyx Collective, “Aftershock” sheds light on the high maternal mortality rate for Black mothers. ABC News' Robin Roberts sits down with single fathers turning pain into purpose.

Again, a great news segment that is also stealth self-promotion. As I wrote above, "It's not just news value that's driving it." That takes away nothing from the value of either documentary; both are worthy of being boosted.

The final trailer is Last Flight Home | Official Trailer from MTV Documentary Films.

On an unremarkable suburban street, we find Eli Timoner in his final days and discover an extraordinary life, one filled with wild achievements, tragic loss and above all, enduring love from his incredibly close-knit family. LAST FLIGHT HOME shares an unforgettable and stunning verité account of a family courageously facing both life and death.

Director: Ondi Timoner
Producers: Ondi Timoner, David Turner
Executive Producers: Ondi Timoner, Ori Eisen, Mirit Eisen

#LastFlightHome #MTV

This is a much better slate of nominees than last year, when I felt the exclusion of Oscar-eligible films. I didn't even bother to handicap the field, as I was misled by the footnotes on Wikipedia about the category. BTW, "When Claude Got Shot" won. This looks like an expanded version of 2021's nominees, which MTV Documentary Films' "76 Days" won. My wife watched that and was impressed, so I would not count out "Last Flight Home." Just the same, I think "Aftershock" and "The Territory" have better chances, especially "The Territory." The latter's IMDB page shows that it has 19 wins and 33 nominations. "Aftershock" has one win and nine nominations, tied in total recognitions with "Last Flight Home," which has earned six wins and four nominations. Finally, "The Accused: Damned or Devoted?" has only three nominations and no wins. That's very close to how I would handicap the four entries. It's also how the experts at Gold Derby see the field with "The Territory" first, "Last Flight Home" second, "Aftershock" third, and "The Accused" last. After seeing their ranking, I'm confident about "The Territory" winning this category.

Now on to the other two categories in which "The Territory" earned nominations.

Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program

Judy Blume Forever • Prime Video • Amazon Studios
Davina Pardo, Directed by
Leah Wolchok, Directed by

Moonage Daydream • HBO Max • Neon Presents, Universal Pictures Presents, BMG, Live Nation Productions, Public Road Productions Present, in association with HBO Documentary Films
Brett Morgen, Directed by

Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields • Hulu • ABC News Studios, Bed By 8, Matador Content, Drifting Cloud Productions
Lana Wilson, Directed by

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio
Davis Guggenheim, Directed by

The Territory • National Geographic • National Geographic Documentary Films Presents a Documist and Associação Jupaú Film in association with Time Studios, Xtr, Doc Society Climate Story Fund / A Production of Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava
Alex Pritz, Directed by

The U.S. And The Holocaust • Episode 3: The Homeless, Tempest-tossed (1942 - ) • PBS • Florentine Films and WETA
Ken Burns, Directed by
Lynn Novick, Directed by
Sarah Botstein, Directed by

I am far less confident about "The Territory" winning this category, as Pritz is competing against the legendary Ken Burns and four films about entertainment, including two about Hollywood stars. All else being equal, I expect the Emmy voters will vote for one of those last two or "Moonage Daydream." As I keep repeating about awards shows, electorates matter. "The Territory" had better hope that all other things are not equal.

Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program

100 Foot Wave • Chapter VI - Force Majeure • HBO Max • HBO Presents, Topic Studios, Library Films, Amplify Pictures
Antoine Chicoye, Cinematography by
Mikey Corker, Cinematography by
Vincent Kardasik, Cinematography by
Alexandre Lesbats, Cinematography by
Chris Smith, Cinematography by
Laurent Pujol, Cinematography by
João Vidinha, Cinematography by
Michael Darrigade, Cinematography by

Secrets Of The Elephants • Desert • National Geographic • Oxford Scientific Films LTD and Earthship Productions for National Geographic
Toby Strong, Director of Photography
James Boon, Director of Photography
Bob Poole, Director of Photography

The 1619 Project • Justice • Hulu • Onyx Collective, Lionsgate Productions in association with One Story Up Productions, Harpo Films and The New York Times
Jerry Henry, Director of Photography

Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy • Calabria • CNN • CNN Original Series, RAW
Andrew Muggleton, Director of Photography

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio
C. Kim Miles, CSC, ASC, MySC, Director of Photography
Clair Popkin, Cinematography by
Julia Liu, Cinematography by

The Territory • National Geographic • National Geographic Documentary Films Presents a Documist and Associação Jupaú Film in association with Time Studios, Xtr, Doc Society Climate Story Fund / A Production of Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava
Alex Pritz, Cinematography by
Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wa, Cinematography by

Oh, look, more nominees with nature photography! That makes me happy. It only marginally helps "The Territory," as it's competing against "100 Foot Wave" and "Secrets Of The Elephants" for wild landscapes, seascapes, and animals and "Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy" for human landscapes and cityscapes. All of the nominees in this and the previous category have other nominations, so I'll examine their chances in the next two installments. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, welcome to blogging as professional development, as I promised my students that I would find Emmy nominees to recommend to them to watch. In addition to "The Territory," I'm recommending "Secrets of the Elephants" to my environmental science students. I also plan on recommending "Aftershock" and "Last Flight Home" to my Human Structure and Function students. I just hope I remember those recommendations when I teach that class next January.

Previous posts about the 2023 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• Dove's 'Cost of Beauty' the sole PSA among the 2023 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial