Columbia Filmmakers Nominated for News and Documentary Emmy Awards; 'The Last Out' Wins

Update:

The Last Out, co-directed by Sami Khan ’09, has won the Emmy for Outstanding Business and Economics Documentary. 

The documentary follows three Cuban baseball players who leave their families and risk exile to chase their dreams of playing in the United States. At the shadowy nexus of the migrant trail and pro sports, The Last Out chronicles their harrowing journey. 

“There has never been a time when the need for thoughtful and hard-hitting documentaries has been greater, nor a time when excellence in this genre has been more deserving of note, honor and celebration,” said Terry O’Reilly, Chairman of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “Tonight’s Emmy honorees take us behind the headlines to explore the many facets of our shared global reality and do so at the highest level of the craft. We congratulate them for their achievement.” 

Sami Khan is a Canadian filmmaker who directed St. Louis Superman (2019), a short documentary that was shortlisted for the 2020 Academy Awards and was acquired by MTV Documentary Films. Khoya (2015), his first fiction feature as writer-director, was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access grant. Khan has also worked on the Canadian television series Transplant and most recently directed The Last Out (Mountainfilm 2021) alongside Michael Gassert. Sami is the director of Angel Dose (Mountainfilm 2023). 

See a full list of News and Documentary Emmy award winners here. 

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Original: August 14, 2023

Nominations for the 44th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards have been announced, and two projects from Columbia filmmakers are among the nominees. They are: The Last Out, co-directed by Sami Khan ’09, and Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror, co-produced by Kimberly Peirce ’96.

“The News & Documentary Emmy Awards honor the work of dedicated professionals working at the highest level of the broadcast journalism and documentary filmmaking professions,” said Adam Sharp, President and CEO of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), via press release. “They pay tribute to the journalists who bring us up-to-the-minute reporting on the critical stories of our time, and the documentary storytellers who explore important social, cultural, and political issues in great depth. NATAS is proud to celebrate the work of this year’s nominees.”

The Last Out is nominated for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary. The documentary follows three Cuban baseball players who leave their families and risk exile to chase their dreams of playing in the United States. At the shadowy nexus of the migrant trail and pro sports, The Last Out chronicles their harrowing journey, from immigration obstacles to the broken promises of dubious agents. Against all odds, these young athletes try to hold onto their hope while fighting for a better life for their families. 

Khan directed The Last Out alongside collaborator Michael Gassert, and is also  credited as producer and screenwriter on the project. The Last Out previously received a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director in the Documentary Competition category at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. Watch the official  trailer for the documentary here.

Nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary is Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror—a four-part documentary series that explores the history of LGBTQ+ representation and queer coding in the horror and thriller genres. The series uses interviews with various LGBTQ+ creators to explore the topic of queer horror from its literary origins with queer authors, to the 1950s Lavender Scare, alien invasion films, and more. Pierce appears in the documentary in addition to serving as a co-producer. Check out the trailer for the documentary here.

The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented in two individual ceremonies live from the Palladium Times Square in New York City. News Categories will be presented on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and the ceremony for Documentary Categories will take  place on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

Click here to see the complete list of nominees.