Published on 08/3/2010

Bloody Thursday, a revealing documentary about the struggle of the West coast dockworkers during the Great Depression, produced by Brenda Brkušić on the photo and Jack Barić, has won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award. The onehour film that debuted on KOCE public television was one of three nominees in the category of Arts, Culture and History.

Bloody Thursday, a revealing documentary about the struggle of dockworkers during the Great Depression

Brenda Brkušić - Executive Producer

Bloody Thursday Wins Los Angeles Area Emmy Award

Longshoreman documentary recognized in Arts, Culture, and History category. Huntington Beach, CALIF. (August 2, 2010) – Bloody Thursday, a revealing documentary about the struggle of the West coast dockworkers during the Great Depression, has won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award. The onehour film that debuted on KOCE public television was one of three nominees in the category of Arts, Culture and History.

KOCE-TV’s OC Channel Manager Brenda Brkusic is the Executive Producer of the film. "I am extremely proud that we have won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award," said Brkusic. "PBS stations around the country are currently airing Bloody Thursday and I am thrilled that millions of people will have the opportunity to experience this inspirational and powerful moment in American history."

Bloody Thursday is a historical documentary about the Pacific Waterfront Strike of 1934, in which longshoremen up and down the West Coast fought for their rights against the forces of shipping companies, politicians and police. In the depths of the Great Depression, facing corrupt hiring practices and deadly working conditions, they went out on strike in a last-ditch effort to turn their fortunes around. Throughout the strike the longshoremen endured withering attacks from the media and police in port cities along the West Coast, yet their courage allowed them to overcome these mountainous obstacles and win the strike. The film tells this story through stunning archival footage, insightful interviews with historians, and actor readings from transcripts that tell the inspirational stories of people who lives through this pivotal moment in American history.

KOCE-TV presented Bloody Thursday to PBS stations nationally in February, and the film was broadcast more than 100 times on stations throughout the country. The film was Co-Produced by KOCE-TV, Baric Media Entertainment and Redtail Media, in association with the Harry Bridges Institute. “Bloody Thursday is the kind of film that makes us at KOCE proud of our public television heritage,” said KOCE President Mel Rogers, “Brenda Brkusic, our OC Channel Manager, who is an award-winning film maker in her own right, was able to bring her special talent to what was already an excellent concept for telling a very important story. All involved in this project deserve kudos for making an excellent film.” More information about the film can be found at koce.org.

The annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards are given for broadcast achievements produced or solely financed and controlled by Los Angeles television stations or cable television systems. The 62nd LA area Emmy Awards were held Saturday, July 31st 2010 at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood. A full list of nominees can be found at www.emmys.tv.

Chris Burke - Co-Director, Brenda Brkusic - Executive Producer, Jack Baric - Producer.
Another Co-Director Jared Cotton not present.

About Brenda Brkusic

Brenda Brkusic, OC Channel Manager and Producer, joined KOCE-TV in 2006 as an assignment editor and associate producer for KOCE's Emmy-Award winning nightly news program Real Orange, before being promoted to spearhead and manage KOCE's new digital OC Channel. Her dedication to building the OC Channel's image and programming has resulted in the creation of thousands of new programs and news crawl headlines about Orange County. Under her leadership the OC Channel has been called "The Next Generation of PBS" by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and won the 2010 My Source Education Innovation Award from CPB.

Brenda earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television Writing and Directing at Chapman University. While there, she received the Marion Knott Scholarship, which afforded her the opportunity to work with Academy Award winning filmmaker David S. Ward while she created her multi-award winning feature documentary Freedom from Despair. Brenda's film has won dozens of awards including the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Award, the Telly Award, and an International Documentary Association Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award nomination. Brenda's film work was recognized by US Congress and she was honored on the Congressional Record of the US House of Representatives. She was then invited to Brussels, Belgium to present her work to members of the European Union at the European Parliament. Locally, she was named a "Top Business Executive Under 40 Years Old" in OC Metro Business Magazine and was nominated for an Arts Orange County Award. Through her company, Istina Productions, Brenda continues to produce many documentaries that are presented nationally through the PBS system. Currently, Brenda is a Co-Producer for Mia: A Dancer's Odyssey, narrated by Blythe Danner.

Brenda Brkusic - Executive Producer, Jack Baric - Producer

About Redtail Media

Redtail Media is a Long Beach, CA based Production Company with a passion for bringing amazing stories to the screen. Founders Jared Cotton and Christopher Burke have been collaborating since 2004 on projects ranging from historical documentaries to international travel series, with extensive location production across the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. Redtail Media is dedicated to producing visually stunning and emotionally impactful programming, whether at home in Southern California or anywhere around the world. For more information, please visit www.redtailmedia.net

About Baric Media Entertainment

Baric Media Entertainment (BME) founder Jack Baric used his 17-year career in magazine journalism as a foundation to build a production company with a strong emphasis on great stories. The films produced by BME are a mix of historical, cultural, and politically charged documentaries that reflect Baric's passion for illuminating subjects that have social relevance.

Chris Burke - Co-Director, Brenda Brkusic - Executive Producer, Jack Baric - Producer.
Another Co-Director Jared Cotton not present.

About KOCE-TV

KOCE-TV one of the most watched PBS stations in America with an estimated five million unduplicated viewers monthly. KOCE’s award-winning programming offers the fifth-largest county in the nation a long-standing community hub for local news, culture and features, and broadcasts the best available national PBS programs to the entire Southern California five-county region. Known for its outstanding dedication to education, KOCE Classroom serves more than a half million K-12 students. A national Roper poll recently ranked PBS as number one in public trust for the seventh consecutive year.* The winner of hundreds of awards including Emmys and Community Service Awards, KOCE continues to be a vital community resource and connector for Southern California. For more information, please visit www.koce.org.

Press Contact:
Lindsey Neal, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
phone: 714-861-4328
email: lneal@koce.org

Brenda Brkušić

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