Bush 41 Documentary "41ON41" To Be Honored With Gracie Award For Outstanding Directing

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation is very pleased to announce that "41ON41," a documentary which examines the personal life of President George H.W. Bush through the eyes of 41 extraordinary storytellers, will be recognized in Los Angeles tonight when twin sister filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters of Lookalike Productions accept The Gracie Award for Outstanding Directing in Documentary/Reality Concept. 

Executive producer Mary Kate Cary, who served George H.W. Bush as a White House speechwriter from 1989-1992 and originally conceived the film project, will also attend.

The Gracie Awards, established in 1975, honor outstanding programming by, for and about women and individuals of the highest caliber in all facets of radio, television, cable and web-based media including: news, drama, comedy, public service, documentary and sports. National and digital winners will be honored at the 40th Gracie Awards Gala, May 19, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. 

"The goal of '41ON41' was to let the world see President Bush through the stories of his life – one of the most significant in our modern history. It is more than a recounting of history - it is an engaging and uplifting profile of one of our greatest citizens that no American will want to miss," said Frederick D. McClure, the Chief Executive Officer of the George Bush Foundation which supported the film's production. "We could not be prouder of the work Lisa and Nancy put into bringing Mary Kate Cary's vision to life."

"41ON41" originally aired on CNN and will debut on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and other digital platforms in early June of 2015.

"Working with Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters has been an absolute privilege," said executive producer Mary Kate Cary.  "They deserve the Gracie Award for the superb job they did bringing this idea to life — travelling over 40,000 miles to chronicle on film all 41 of the storytellers we interviewed — from heads of state to fishing buddies and everyone in between.  They made each and every story come alive on screen, perfectly capturing the essence of George H.W. Bush's personality and character.  They truly earned this award.  Thank goodness I had the sound judgment to hire them!"

The Gracies are the latest in a series of awards for Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters, whose television and film productions have earned them a combined 16 Emmy Awards and a prestigious Peabody Award.

"At first, the thought of interviewing 41 people to include in a feature length documentary was daunting, and then we found a poem that President Bush's mother inscribed in a bible that she gave him that became the thematic thread we were looking for.  The poem personified George H. W. Bush's life and each person we spoke with was able to share an anecdotal story that mirrored the sentiments in that poem perfectly," said Nancy Stern Winters, Director, 41ON41.  

"Our challenge and goal as directors was to create a compelling story arc, a seamless weave without narration. Each of the 41 storytellers had their unique relationship with and interesting perspective on our 41st President. We culled never before told gems to mold a historic legacy piece portraying Bush 41's remarkable personality and his presidency in an entertaining and heartfelt way. It was an honor getting to know President and Mrs. Bush and making this film was an experience of a lifetime," said Lisa Lax, Director, 41ON41.

ABOUT THE GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION

The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation was established in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational foundation to design, build and support the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum and The George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Its focus is to bring public attention to prominent scholars, practitioners and artists in a format that invites public participation and exposure to leading cultural, scholarly and policy programs while preserving the historical legacy of George Bush, 41st President of the United States. For more information, please go to: http://georgebushfoundation.org

SOURCE George Bush Presidential Library Foundation

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