2x EMMY® Wins for Metropolis in the Documentary field
GLITTER ON THE RED CARPET…
Congratulations to our team at Metropolis Media on their double Emmy® win for their work on the documentary Owyhee Canyonlands at the 2026 NATAS Northwest Regional Emmy® Awards.
With two nominations in hand, producer Lauren Bogard and producer/director A.J. Carter traveled to Washington State for the event, expecting nothing more than a wonderful evening celebrating the nominations. As major underdogs from an independent production company competing against productions from the likes of PBS and Fox, the table erupted when both wins were announced.
The team won their first Emmy® for Best Short Documentary in the Science & Environmental category, while Carter took home a second Emmy® for Best Photography (Cinematography) for a Documentary — an award spanning both short and feature-length documentary productions.
“…our families were watching the live broadcast from all over the world so it was a very surreal and rewarding moment for the team.” said Carter.
Owyhee Canyonlands was the 9th and final film in the Postcards: Road to 30 Series that Carter & Bogard produced for their clients Rally and Western Priorities.
2025 EMMY® Win for Metropolis’ senior editor and story producer
ANOTHER EMMY® WIN…
Congratulations to Metropolis’ Christopher and Norma Hoerdemann for their NATAS Regional Emmy® win for their work on the documentary Making of Mahalia Jackson Court with PRIME312.
The film documents the evolution of the project from concept to construction and completion, highlighting how the community came together through art and architecture to honor and memorialize a public space dedicated to the world-renowned musical artist and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson.
“…we are proud that we had the chance to help tell an impactful piece of a larger story.” said Christopher.
The film has also screened at many Black History Month events and received recognition from the MacArthur Foundation. This wave of publicity has additionally proven to be a viable tool in securing further funding for the Greater Chatham Initiative’s ongoing efforts.
A sequel to the documentary is currently in development. Stay tuned!
2025 DOCUMENTARY “Road To 30: OWYHEE CANYONLANDS” wins more Film Awards
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Success continues for the team behind the latest documentary Owyhee Canyonlands, produced by Metropolis Media in conjunction with longtime clients Rally and the Center for Western Priorities.
Cinematographer A.J. Carter received the Gabriel Figueroa Special Award for Best Cinematography at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, as well as the Best Cinematography award at the Nature Without Borders International Film Festival.
“To receive this continued recognition for our work at film festivals across the United States is a tremendous honor both our team and our client, not to mention the elevated exposure it brings to the Owyhee region and the campaign” said Cinematographer / Director A.J. Carter.
Owyhee Canyonlands, the ninth film in the Postcards Road to 30 Series, was painstakingly filmed on location in some of the most remote regions of Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands — many locations inaccessible by vehicle — to showcase the sheer, unedited beauty of the landscape.
The film continues its festival circuit in 2025 after being officially accepted into a total of 10 international film festivals.
METROPOLIS MEDIA GROUP WINS “BEST TV AD”
AT THE TIME THIS AD AIRED…
85,000 Kaiser Permanente hospital workers were gearing up for what would have been the largest strike in the United States in more than two decades.
It never happened.
One day after the ad began airing, Kaiser demanded that the networks take it off air. Two weeks later, Kaiser’s CEO released a statement insisting that our client’s tactics would get them nowhere. By week Three, Kaiser had acquiesced, conceding to several key union demands bringing negotiations to a close.
THE WINNING COMMERCIAL…
The idea of featuring a day in the life of a housekeeper to highlight the disparity between executive and housekeeper salaries is simple enough. However, packing a complete story spanning an entire day at work and home — along with multiple key message points — into a cohesive :30 spot requires a special level of finesse.
For it’s outstanding execution of a challenging concept, and for helping avert a strike that would have affected both patients and workers, “Fitzgerald” was awarded the highest honor for “Best TV Ad” in the independent category at the 2020 Reed Awards.
Congratulations first and foremost to our longtime client, Rally, for developing such a brilliantly strategized campaign. And secondly, congratulations to the entire Metropolis Media Group team, who worked tirelessly across two different cities during production, as well as our post production team, who created more than 30 editorial versions of the commercial to arrive at what we consider one our best and most successful spots to date.