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The Better Angels Society
Formation2011[1]
Type501(c)(3), charitable organization[1]
45-4587107[1]
Location
  • Washington, DC
Websitewww.thebetterangelssociety.org

The Better Angels Society is a 501(c)3 organization that was founded by supporters of Ken Burns to raise funds for his work from individuals of wealth and private family foundations.[2] They have grown into the preeminent organization dedicated to engaging Americans with their history through documentary film. Katherine Malone-France was appointed President & CEO in 2023,[3] taking the reins from Amy Margerum Berg who served as the organization's president between 2016-2023.[4]

The Better Angel Society assists a diverse group of emerging and established filmmakers by providing funds to complete, broadcast, promote, and share their documentaries in ways that reach and inform as many people as possible through robust educational and civic outreach programs.

According to their website, they support:

  • Ken Burns and Florentine Films
  • Lynn Novick and Skiff Mountain Films
  • The Better Angels Stories initiative through public media partnerships with American Experience (GBH), American Masters (WNET), and WETA
  • American history documentaries through the annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film and the Better Angels Lavine Fellowship
  • Building the next generation of American history documentarians by providing students with the tools and opportunities to tell the stories of our shared history through The Next Generation Angels Awards

The organization's mission is "to educate, engage and provoke thoughtful discussion among people of every political persuasion and ideology. We work to ensure historically significant films are completed, broadcast, promoted, and shared in ways that reach and inform as many people as possible through robust educational and civic outreach. The Society is currently raising funds for Ken Burns’s films in production and planned over the next ten years."[5]

The Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film

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In 2019, a partnership between The Better Angels Society, the Library of Congress, and the Crimson Lion Foundation announced the creation of the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, an award “to recognize exemplary accomplishment in historical documentaries,” and “to recognize a filmmaker whose documentary uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history.”[6] The grant is funded by Jeannie Lavine and her husband Jonathan Lavine, co-managing partner of Bain Capital[7] through a $15 million gift to The Better Angels Society.[8]

The winner receives a $200,000 finishing grant to help with the final production of the film.[9] All films that meet the criteria are reviewed by The Better Angels Society and passed to the Internal Review Committee, who further narrow the selections. A National Jury then selects the top six before the winner and runner-up are selected by the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in consultation with Burns.[10]

The first winner of the prize was “Flannery,” a film on Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor by filmmakers Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco.[11] Flannery's life later inspired a Hollywood adaptation directed by Ethan Hawke.[12] The runner-up was “Mae West: Dirty Blonde,” a film on actress Mae West that premiered as part of PBS American Masters on June 16, 2020.[13]

In 2023, the winning film, Drop Dead City: New York on the Brink in 1975 was featured in The New York Times. The runner-up, The Disappearance of Miss Scott, is set to premiere on PBS' American Experience at a future date.[14]

Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film Awards[15]
Year Winner Runner-up Finalists
2019 Flannery Mae West: Dirty Blonde Mr. Soul! The Adventures of Saul Bellow
The First Angry Man 9to5: The Story of a Movement
2020 Hold Your Fire Cured After Antarctica Beethoven in Beijing
Punch 9 for Harold Washington Storming Caesar's Palace
2021 Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit Free Chol Soo Lee Double Exposure
(working title)		 Exposing Muybridge
The Five Demands Bonnie Blue: James Cotton's Life in the Blues
2022 Bella!
Philly on Fire 		Virgil Thomson: Creating The American Sound
 Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American
Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend Cannabis Buyers Club
2023 Drop Dead City: New York on the Brink in 1975 The Disappearance of Miss Scott The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools The Incomparable Mr. Buckley
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes Modernism Inc: The Eliot Noyes Design Story

Next Generation Angels Awards

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Alongside the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for film, The Better Angels Society launched the Next Generation Angels Awards as a youth component to the larger prize,[16] recognizing six individual documentary filmmakers in the junior and senior high school divisions, in partnership with National History Day.[17] The winner of the Senior division receive the Anne Harrington Award, named for a late longtime friend and colleague of Ken Burns.[18] All winners receive mentorship with Ken Burns and Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film finalists.

Educational outreach

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In 2017, philanthropist David Rubenstein, through The Better Angels Society, pledged to support the launch of UNUM, a digital platform where users can access clips from across Burns's films, explore themes that run through American history, and relate them to issues of the present.[19] The Better Angels Society also helped support the development of the Ken Burns Classroom on PBS Learning Media, which launched in 2019.[20]

Georgetown University events

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In 2019, The Better Angels Society launched a partnership with Georgetown University,[21] which began with events featuring Ken Burns and Lynn Novick previewing her film series “College Behind Bars.”[22] Georgetown and The Better Angels Society hosted another event in 2020 featuring Burns in a conversation around immigration.[23]

Trademark dispute

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In 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of The Better Angels Society on its trademark infringement claims against New York-based nonprofit Institute for American Values, which launched its own Better Angels initiative after the 2016 presidential election as a grassroots effort to “reunify Red and Blue America.” The organization is now called Braver Angels.[24] The case was noted for demonstrating that the need to defend trademark rights extends to charitable nonprofits, so that donors know which organization they are supporting.[25]

Films supported

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https://www.thebetterangelssociety.org/home/we-support/films/

References

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  1. ^ a b c "BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY INC". www.open990.org. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  2. ^ "Bloomberg Big Decisions: Filmmaker Ken Burns".
  3. ^ "Documentary non-profit Better Angels Society appoints new CEO". The Better Angels Society. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Amy Margerum Berg steps down from Aspen Institute to work for Ken Burns organization". The Aspen Times. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. ^ Viola, Kissane. "The Better Angels Society". www.thebetterangelssociety.org. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. ^ Hipes, Patrick (5 March 2019). "Library Of Congress And Ken Burns Team On Historical Documentary Prize". Deadline. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. ^ Jacobius, Arleen (18 March 2019). "Bain exec's foundation partners with filmmaker Ken Burns to offer $200,000 grant". Pensions&Investments. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  8. ^ "This Boston couple just donated $15 million to 'help create the next Ken Burns'". The Boston Globe. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. ^ McNairy, Dave (16 October 2019). "Ken Burns, Library of Congress to Present Documentary Award to 'Flannery'". Variety. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  10. ^ Daly, Lauren (24 November 2019). "BOOKLOVERS: Daley Interviews Filmmaker Ken Burns about his new film award and winning subject: Famed writer Flannery O'Connor". South Coast Today. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  11. ^ Lauren, Messman (16 October 2019). "Flannery O'Connor Documentary Wins New Award From Library of Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  12. ^ Ho, Rodney (25 October 2023). "Ethan Hawke directs daughter Maya in Flannery O'Connor film 'Wildcat'". Spokane Review. The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  13. ^ "American Masters Announces Three Documentaries That Celebrate Women Trailblazers". Broadway World. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  14. ^ "The Disappearance of Miss Scott". The Better Angels Society. 25 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film". The Better Angels Society. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Joplin student earns chance to meet Ken Burns through History Day contest". The Joplin Globe. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Entries open for second annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film". Realscreen. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  18. ^ "2019 NEXT GENERATION ANGELS AWARDS". National History Day. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Ken Burns Launches UNUM – New Media Initiative to Present Issues and Spark Conversations". Broadway World. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  20. ^ Fitzgerald, Kate (21 November 2019). "Ken Burns Classroom Launches on PBS LearningMedia". WV Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  21. ^ "2018-2019 Annual Report" (PDF). The Better Angels Society. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Power of Education and Narrative Focus of Ken Burns Georgetown Visit". Georgetown University. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  23. ^ O'Meara, Jimmy (28 February 2020). "Filmmaker Ken Burns: Educate About Nuances of American Past". The Hoya. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  24. ^ Grzincic, Barbara (18 November 2019). "IN BRIEF: Ken Burns' nonprofit wins trademark war of 'Better Angels,' judge rules". Reuters. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  25. ^ Brittain, Blake; Jahner, Kyle (18 November 2019). "Ken Burns-Affiliated Nonprofit Wins 'Angels' Trademark Case (1)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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