Two Grand Valley faculty member's films nominated for Emmy Awards

Two documentary films by two Grand Valley faculty members have been nominated for two different Emmy Awards, which will be presented May 14 in Detroit.

“Lake Invaders” has been nominated for an Emmy for Best Topical Documentary by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The film was directed by John Schmit, associate professor of film and video in Grand Valley’s School of Communications. Primary filming was done by students during spring 2008, as part of a new Nature Documentary Production course.

“The Death of an Imam,” has been nominated for an Emmy in the Documentary-Historical category. The film was co-produced by Brian J. Bowe, a visiting assistant professor in the School of Communications. Bowe is also a doctoral student at Michigan State University, where he worked on the project. Co-producers at MSU are Geri Alumit Zeldes, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism, and Salah D. Hassan, an associate professor in the Department of English and core faculty in Muslim Studies. Bowe also composed the film’s soundtrack.