People’s Century

As the millennium approaches, the Peabody Board anticipates numerous programs examining the major events, achievements, and tragedies of the 20th century. This landmark series by the BBC and WGBH-TV has set the highest standard for others to emulate. Executive producers Peter Pagnamenta for the BBC, and Zvi Dor-Ner for WGBH, have assembled outstanding production teams on both sides of the Atlantic and have come up with a unique approach to the telling of the story of our years. They have chosen to rely on the first-hand, eyewitness testimonies of the people who lived through the wars, social movements, and cultural developments of the years spanning 1900 through 1999. From the “killing fields” of World War I, to the rise of sport and its relationship to national identity; from the rise and fall of Communism, to the power of movies and television to touch us all, vivid personal recollections provide the narrative underpinning for the poignant and powerful images of our times. When completed, the series will comprise 26 hours and will be seen throughout Europe and North America, as well as in South Korea and Japan. For creating a television series of international scope and achievement, to be shared and appreciated by audiences around the world, a Peabody to BBC and WGBH-TV for People’s Century.