Saluting ‘American Sons’ and ‘The Inquisitor’

This winter, PBS will host the broadcast premieres of two BPM-funded films: American Sons (Jan 12) and The Inquisitor (Feb. 23). The two are examples of how the National Multicultural Alliance, independent filmmakers, PBS, and the soon-to-shutter Corporation for Public Broadcasting used to collaborate to bring compelling American stories to the public.

American Sons follows a group of US Marine Corps veterans of the war in Afghanistan and their families as they deal with the after effects of military combat service. The Inquisitor profiles the life and career of legal and political trailblazer Rep. Barbara Jordan. 

BPM-Funded Stories from the American Experience

American Sons was made possible by a $350K grant provided by the Jacquie Jones Memorial Fund. Andrew J. Gonzales (director/producer) and Laura Varela (producer) accepted the award during the PitchBLACK Awards ceremony in 2024. The film was chosen to receive the award by a panel of representatives from each of the five NMCA member organizations (BPM, the Center for Asian American Media, Latino Public Broadcasting, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and Vision Maker Media). It beat out 11 other films that had been submitted for consideration.

The Inquisitor, by Angela Tucker, was the recipient of $50K in funding provided in part by a grant from New York Community Trusts’ Pare Lorentz Grant.

The CPB closes its doors on Jan. 30. NMCA member organizations and ITVS who’ve historically used CPB funding to distribute grants and other types of support to independent films are all working hard to identify other sources of revenue. Without it, their ability to continue granting awards for worthy projects like American Sons and The Inquisitor, will be significantly reduced, causing the pipeline of stories from our communities to contract.

BPM and its NMCA partners remain dedicated to seeking funders who believe in the benefits and necessity of public media content that reflects the nation’s population. We understand how important this type of funding can be for filmmakers like Andrew, Laura and Angela. 

If you or someone you know is in a position to contribute substantially to BPM or the other NMCA organizations, we’d love to meet with you. Meanwhile, make time to watch American Sons this month and The Inquisitor in February. These are films American taxpayers helped make possible and we believe every American should watch them.