Pamela Yates facts for kids
Pamela Yates is an American filmmaker who makes documentary movies. She is also a human rights activist, which means she works to protect people's basic rights and make sure everyone is treated fairly. Pamela has directed films about very serious topics like war crimes (bad actions during war) and genocide (when a large group of people is targeted and killed). Her films often focus on how the law can help bring justice.
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About Pamela Yates
Pamela Yates grew up in the Appalachian coal-mining area of Pennsylvania. She later moved to New York City and earned her college degree in 1976 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Pamela is a very respected filmmaker. She has won many important awards for her work. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, which is a special honor given to talented people. Her film When the Mountains Tremble won an award at the Sundance Film Festival. She also produced Loss of Innocence, which won an Emmy Award, and was an executive producer for "Witness to War," which won an Academy Award.
One of her recent films, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, was very important. It was used as key evidence in a trial in Guatemala against Ríos Montt, who was accused of genocide. This means the film helped show what happened during a time when many people were killed because of who they were.
Pamela also helped start Skylight Pictures. This company makes films and media that focus on human rights and finding justice for people.
Her Films and Work
Pamela Yates's films often explore difficult but important topics.
State of Fear
Her 2006 film, State of Fear: The Truth about Terrorism, was about what a special group called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found out about a long conflict in Peru. This film was translated into 44 languages and shown in 157 countries, helping many people around the world learn about these events.
The Reckoning
The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court, released in 2009, is about the International Criminal Court. This court handles very serious international crimes like war crimes and genocide. Pamela was nominated for two Emmys for this film: Best Documentary Film and Outstanding Investigative Journalism. It was also nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Granito: How to Nail a Dictator
Her 2011 film, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, is a follow-up to When the Mountains Tremble. In Granito, Pamela used her old film footage and records to help provide evidence for a trial in Spain. This trial was trying to prosecute the genocide in Guatemala. The film was shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Emmy. Pamela received a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on this film, which, as mentioned, was important evidence in the Ríos Montt genocide trial. In 2015, the film won the White Camel award at the FiSahara.
Awards and Honors
Pamela Yates has received many awards for her powerful films:
- Four of her films—When the Mountains Tremble, Poverty Outlaw, Takeover, and Teatro!—were nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. When The Mountains Tremble won this award in 1984.
- Her film, State of Fear: The Truth about Terrorism, won the 2006 Overseas Press Club Award for "Best Reporting in Any Medium on Latin America."
Awards and nominations for Granito: How to Nail A Dictator include:
- Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival, 2011
- Emmy Nomination, Outstanding Investigative Journalism: Long Form, 2013
- Opening Night Film, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 2011
- Grand Prix for Best Creative Documentary, Paris International Human Rights Film Festival
- Peace & Reconciliation Prize, The Geneva International Human Rights Festival, 2011
- Jury Grand Prize, The Politics on Film Festival, 2011
- Honorable Mention, Overseas Press Club Award, 2012
- Founder's Award, Traverse City Film Festival, 2011
Selected Films
Here is a list of some of the films Pamela Yates has directed or produced:
- Resurgence: The Movement for Equality vs. The Ku Klux Klan (1981)
- When the Mountains Tremble (1983)
- Nicaragua: Report from the Front (1983)
- Teatro! (1990)
- Takeover (1990)
- Poverty Outlaw (1997)
- Outriders (1999)
- Brotherhood of Hate (1999)
- Battle for Broad (2000)
- Cause for Murder (2002)
- Presumed Guilty: Tales of the Public Defenders (2002)
- State of Fear: The Truth about Terrorism (2005)
- Living Broke in Boom Times (2007)
- The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court, (2008)
- Granito: How to Nail a Dictator (2011)
- Rebel Citizen (2015)
- 500 Years (2017)
- Borderland (2024)
