MPT recognizes the importance of local and independent filmmakers and their unique ability to capture truths about the world with artistic integrity, intelligence, and balance. MPT supports these artists and gives viewers access to their voices and viewpoints. These producers' programs provide viewers with a better understanding of the world, an open door to the arts, and actionable information to improve their daily lives.

Welcome, producers! Please scroll to the bottom of this page for special information about submitting your work or program ideas to MPT.

Happy Campers

Monday, June 23rd @ 9:00 PM (premiere); Tuesday, June 24th @ 2:00 AM

In a waterfront campground off the coast of Virginia, tenants live spitting-distance apart in rows of rust-bitten RVs. And while blue collar Inlet View is nothing like The Hamptons, beneath a few trailer park stereotypes lies an improbable utopia where anyone who makes it past the gate is welcome. When their shabby Shangri-La is sold for luxury development, the residents face eviction and risk losing their neighbors. In the process, they reveal what it truly means to live a rich life.

Lou's Legacy: A Reporter's Life at the Washington Blade

Saturday, June 28th @ 10:00 PM (premiere); Sunday, June 29th @ 2:00 AM

A look at the story of two DC icons: legendary newspaper reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and Donnell Robinson, a beloved drag performer who has been entertaining Washington’s LGBTQ community as “Ella Fitzgerald” since 1975. The documentary traces DC’s LGBTQ history through the lens of Lou’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade, where he chronicled stories the mainstream media often ignored or erased. As Lou reports a news story about Ella’s triumphant return to the stage after a three-year hiatus due to Covid, the two trailblazers reflect on their parallel journeys — and discuss the rising backlash facing the LGBTQ community, including laws targeting drag performers.

Headwaters Down: Ep. 101  (aired locally as Headwaters Down)

Monday, June 23rd @ 8:00 PM  (MPT2/Create)

Five friends take a 13-day, 250-mile journey from the headwaters of the James River to the fall line in Richmond, VA, exploring the troubled history of the river's environment and the lives that have been lived along the banks. Along their journey, they struggle to stay positive through threats of violence, the loss of a boat, and news of sewage leaks and coal train derailments along the river.

Headwaters Down: Ep. 102 (aired locally as Headwaters Down: Tidal River)

Monday, June 30th @ 8:00 PM  (MPT2/Create)

A sequel to the 2022 film, Headwaters Down, this documentary follows five friends as they attempt to finish their multi-year journey of documenting Virginia's James River, one of the most consequential waterways in North America. Picking up the story in Richmond, Virginia and continuing for 110 miles to the Chesapeake Bay, the film crew uses sea kayaks to explore the tidal waters and the historical impact of the James river.

Deconstructing the Beatles (local MPT version)

Airdate(s):  Series Marathon: 

Ep. 1 - The Beatles Come to America -  Saturday, July 12th @ 10:00 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:00 AM
Ep. 2 - Deconstructing Rubber Soul -  Saturday, July 12th @ 10:30 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:30 AM Ep. 3 - A Trip Through Strawberry Fields -  Saturday, July 19th @ 10:00 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:00 AM
Ep. 4 - A Stroll Down Penny Lane -  Saturday, July 19th @ 10:30 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:30 AM 
Ep. 5 - Deconstructing A Day in the Life-  Saturday, July 26th @ 10:00 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:00 AM
Ep. 6 - The Beatles Go East -  Saturday, July 26th @ 10:30 PM ; Sunday, July 13th @ 2:30 AM 

Even more than 50 years since the band broke up, The Beatles' influence endures, thanks to songs and records that continue to captivate audiences of all ages. As with all classic works of art, these masterpieces keep revealing new and surprising elements the closer we look. Producer/composer/entrepreneur/educator Scott Freiman dives deeply into the creative process behind these timeless records, taking us on an educational, entertaining journey through the development of the Beatles' classic songs and records, and of the band itself. 

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Food, Fiber & the Female Farmer

Saturday, July 26th @ 7:00 PM

Going back to the horse-and-buggy days, to becoming the leading industry in the state, agriculture has always been prominent in the Old Line State. "Food, Fiber, & the Female Farmer" is a documentary capturing the work of a group of six extraordinary women from Maryland, preserving and sustaining food sources and applying best agricultural practices.

Barnstorming

Sunday, July 27th at 5:00 PM

In the 1920s and 1930s, gypsy "barnstorming" pilots would set down their single-engine planes in a field and invite farmers, townspeople and children to experience flight for the first time. In 1999, modern-day barnstormers Andrew King and Frank Pavliga revived this tradition when they landed their antique airplanes on an eastern Indiana alfalfa field and treated the farmer's two sons to their first flights. The pilots returned year after year, each time bringing with them other pilots with their own vintage airplanes. Soon, it evolved into an annual event for the entire community, with neighbors dropping by the farm to see aerial maneuvers and to enjoy a picnic, dancing, late-night stories and camping. 

The Last Independent Automaker

Series Marathon - Sunday, July 6th from 3:00 - 6:00 PM (Eps. 101- 106) / Episodes also air weekly on Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM throughout the month

At half the size of its Big Three competitors, American Motors Corporation had to innovate throughout its 30-year history to survive. AMC factories provided new opportunities and a pathway to the middle class for thousands of minorities, women and immigrants. However, the perfect storm of economics, mismanagement, and betrayal would eventually bring everything crashing down.

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