News Articles

Southwestern Adventist University Communication Professors Nominated for Two Emmys

October 10, 2018 | Keene, Texas | Darcy Force

emmy nom SWAU — *The film* Truth has been nominated for two Emmy Awards; winners will be announced on Nov. 10, 2018, in Houston, Texas. Photo provided by Southwestern Adventist University

Southwestern Adventist University’s department of communication has earned two nominations in the highest honor in the television industry – the EMMY® Awards. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominated Truth in the category of Historic/Cultural - Program Feature/Segment in the annual Lone Star Chapter Regional EMMY® Awards. The nominees, Kyle Portbury, Glen Robinson, and Michael Agee, all current professors from the department, will attend the televised awards ceremony in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 10, 2018, where the winners will be announced.

Produced by Southwestern’s Institute of Christian Film, Truth tells the story of women’s rights activist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth and her extemporaneous speech delivered in 1851 at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio.

“We are extremely honored to receive an EMMY® nomination for Truth,” said communication department professor and the film’s writer/director Kyle Portbury. “This nomination demonstrates the film’s capacity to continue the conversation Sojourner began 167 years ago. It’s a conversation as relevant today as it was in 1851.”

Kyle Portbury and students work on Truth film, nominated for two Emmy Awards. — *Kyle Portbury (center) and students work on film editing at Southwestern Adventist University. The SWAU film* Truth has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. Photo provided by Southwestern Adventist University

Sojourner Truth was born in slavery as Isabella Baumfree in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York. Sometime after gaining her freedom in 1827, she became a well-known anti-slavery speaker. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army and tried unsuccessfully, after the war, to secure federal land grants for former slaves. Sojourner died on November 26, 1883, at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Truth is a graphic novel style animation featuring the voices of a number of current communication students and staff members along with professional voice actors. It is the first episode in the Institute of Christian Films series, True Heroes, with episode two, Resistance currently in production.

Truth has aired numerous times on Southwestern’s television station KGSW along with screenings at several film festivals around the country and will shortly be available through the North American Division's Adventist Learning Community resource department. Additionally, the films writer/director Kyle Portbury received an EMMY® nomination for outstanding achievement in directing. Truth was shown at the 2018 Sonscreen Film Festival, hosted by the NAD.

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