Biography
Documentaries
National Series
BIOGRAPHY
For over 30 years Joan Saffa has been producing and directing award-winning non-fiction television. In the last 10 years, the majority of her shows have been for InCA Productions. Since the 1970's Saffa has created some thirty documentaries and contributed to a dozen multi-part series airing on PBS, Turner Broadcasting, CNBC, the Disney Channel, and HBO as well as international venues. Her shows have been honored with national and Bay area Emmies, Cine Golden Eagles, a George Foster Peabody Award, an ASCAP Broadcast Award and honors from the San Francisco, Hawaii and New York Film Festivals.
Saffa’s documentaries range from biographies of writers -- KEN KESEY , CARLOS FUENTES, MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, BERYL MARKHAM ; to cultural, political and historical programs like InCA’s AMELIA EARHART’S LAST FLIGHT, SAN FRANCISCO IN THE TWENTIES and HONOR BOUND, an Emmy Award winning show on the famed Japanese American battalion of WWII. She was Senior Producer on SCAN for CNBC and on InCA Productions’ THE HEART OF HEALING for TBS and THE PROMISE OF PLAY for PBS . Her work has also enlivened such national series as: WE THE PEOPLE with Peter Jennings, OVER EASY with Hugh Downs, MONEY IN AMERICA with Sylvia Chase, THE RELIGION and ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY - all on PBS; and SPARK on KQED.
Most recently Saffa has been working at InCA, crafting a series of shows on music with David Kennard. Called KEEPING SCORE the series features Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. The pilot episode on TCHAIKOVSKY premiered on GREAT PERFORMANCES in June, 2004. The next three episodes on BEETHOVEN’s Eroica, STRAVINSKY’s Rite of Spring and COPLAND and the American Sound will air on PBS in September. This winter Saffa will also be part of a Prima Donna Productions team presenting a concert at Wigmore Hall in London (Feb. 27) and the Chatelet in Paris (March 1). Called VIARDOT and Friends the concert featuring Nathan Gunn, Frederica Von Stade and Anna Caterina Antonacci will showcase the works of 19th century composer Pauline Viardot.
Saffa has a BA in Psychology from Cornell University and an EdM from the University of Rochester.
For over 30 years Joan Saffa has been producing and directing award-winning non-fiction television. In the last 10 years, the majority of her shows have been for InCA Productions. Since the 1970's Saffa has created some thirty documentaries and contributed to a dozen multi-part series airing on PBS, Turner Broadcasting, CNBC, the Disney Channel, and HBO as well as international venues. Her shows have been honored with national and Bay area Emmies, Cine Golden Eagles, a George Foster Peabody Award, an ASCAP Broadcast Award and honors from the San Francisco, Hawaii and New York Film Festivals.
Saffa’s documentaries range from biographies of writers -- KEN KESEY , CARLOS FUENTES, MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, BERYL MARKHAM ; to cultural, political and historical programs like InCA’s AMELIA EARHART’S LAST FLIGHT, SAN FRANCISCO IN THE TWENTIES and HONOR BOUND, an Emmy Award winning show on the famed Japanese American battalion of WWII. She was Senior Producer on SCAN for CNBC and on InCA Productions’ THE HEART OF HEALING for TBS and THE PROMISE OF PLAY for PBS . Her work has also enlivened such national series as: WE THE PEOPLE with Peter Jennings, OVER EASY with Hugh Downs, MONEY IN AMERICA with Sylvia Chase, THE RELIGION and ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY - all on PBS; and SPARK on KQED.
Most recently Saffa has been working at InCA, crafting a series of shows on music with David Kennard. Called KEEPING SCORE the series features Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. The pilot episode on TCHAIKOVSKY premiered on GREAT PERFORMANCES in June, 2004. The next three episodes on BEETHOVEN’s Eroica, STRAVINSKY’s Rite of Spring and COPLAND and the American Sound will air on PBS in September. This winter Saffa will also be part of a Prima Donna Productions team presenting a concert at Wigmore Hall in London (Feb. 27) and the Chatelet in Paris (March 1). Called VIARDOT and Friends the concert featuring Nathan Gunn, Frederica Von Stade and Anna Caterina Antonacci will showcase the works of 19th century composer Pauline Viardot.
Saffa has a BA in Psychology from Cornell University and an EdM from the University of Rochester.
DOCUMENTARIES
KEEPING SCORE: MTT on MUSIC aired on GREAT PERFORMANCES Co-Producer, Director (InCA Productions) PBS, June 2004 A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classical performance: Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. This show, featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, provides audiences with a connection to classical music and the powerful emotions it conveys.
THE FINAL HOURS: AMELIA EARHART'S LAST FLIGHT Senior Producer (InCA Productions) PBS, 2000 An epic documentary exploring what really happened during the final hours of Amelia Earhart's ill fated round the world flight.
SAN FRANCISCO IN THE 20s Producer/Director KRON-TV, 1999 Part of the Bay Area 2000 millenium series, SF in the 20s captures the frolicking good times, as well as the uncertainties lurking just below the surface of America's wildest decade. Narrated by Ed Asner.
CELLULOID CLOSET 90 min. HBO, 1996 Post Production Supervisor A look at the portrayal of gays in Hollywood movies from past to present.
HONOR BOUND 60 min. PBS, 1995 Producer, Director KPIX, 1995 The story of the legendary Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated and most decimated unit of its size in American military history. The show follows one soldier's march through war and racial turmoil.
IMAGINASIUM 30 min. Sundance Institute, 1994 Producer A TV special, designed to promote creativity in children. Features firsthand accounts and "in process" segments with actress Sally Field, violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg and THE SIMPSONS creator, Matt Groening. Hosted by Sinbad.
RAINBOW IN THE CLOUDS 60 min. PBS, 1992, Editor A PBS special and series pilot with Maya Angelou. In this episode Ms. Angelou talks with individuals from Glide Memorial Church who have conquered adversity through faith -- epitomizing Glide's philosophy of recovery, revival and activism.
LAWRENCE AND ANNA HALPRIN: INNER LANDSCAPES 60 min. Producer, Director and Editor KQED, 1991 A look at the passionate careers of two of San Francisco's art legends: dancer/ choreographer Anna Halprin and her husband, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin.
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON: TALKING STORY 60 min. PBS, 1990 Producer, Director and Editor A national biography of this groundbreaking Chinese American writer whose works include "Woman Warrior", "China Men" and "Tripmaster Monkey".
CROSSING BORDERS: THE JOURNEY OF CARLOS FUENTES 60 min Producer, Director and Editor PBS, 1989 A profile of Mexico's leading novelist, diplomat and outspoken political critic.
FURTHER! KEN KESEY'S AMERICAN DREAMS 60 min. Producer, Director and Editor KQED & KCET, 1987 A public television portrait of Ken Kesey--author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Sometimes a Great Notion" and leader of the psychedelic subculture of the 1960's.
WOMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA 90 min. PBS, 1986 Coordinating Producer A look at the every lives of women in South Africa before the end of apartheid. Hosted by Nadine Gordimer.
FROM SICKROOM TO COURTROOM 30 min. KQED, 1986 Producer, Director and Editor A public television report on medical malpractice ten years after landmark legislation in California aimed at curbing rising insurance costs. Excerpted on THE MACNEIL-LEHRER NEWSHOUR.
WORLD WITHOUT WALLS: BERYL MARKHAM'S AFRICAN MEMOIR Producer and Editor PBS, 1985 A television portrait of this extraordinary African aviatrix/writer/horse trainer who chronicled her life and 1934 transAtlantic solo flight in her best-selling memoir, "West with the Night".
THE CASE OF DASHIELL HAMMETT 60 min. PBS, 1982 Editor A biography of this enigmatic mystery writer from his days as a Pinkerton detective to his blacklisting during the McCarthy era.
KEEPING SCORE: MTT on MUSIC aired on GREAT PERFORMANCES Co-Producer, Director (InCA Productions) PBS, June 2004 A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classical performance: Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. This show, featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, provides audiences with a connection to classical music and the powerful emotions it conveys.
THE FINAL HOURS: AMELIA EARHART'S LAST FLIGHT Senior Producer (InCA Productions) PBS, 2000 An epic documentary exploring what really happened during the final hours of Amelia Earhart's ill fated round the world flight.
SAN FRANCISCO IN THE 20s Producer/Director KRON-TV, 1999 Part of the Bay Area 2000 millenium series, SF in the 20s captures the frolicking good times, as well as the uncertainties lurking just below the surface of America's wildest decade. Narrated by Ed Asner.
CELLULOID CLOSET 90 min. HBO, 1996 Post Production Supervisor A look at the portrayal of gays in Hollywood movies from past to present.
HONOR BOUND 60 min. PBS, 1995 Producer, Director KPIX, 1995 The story of the legendary Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated and most decimated unit of its size in American military history. The show follows one soldier's march through war and racial turmoil.
IMAGINASIUM 30 min. Sundance Institute, 1994 Producer A TV special, designed to promote creativity in children. Features firsthand accounts and "in process" segments with actress Sally Field, violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg and THE SIMPSONS creator, Matt Groening. Hosted by Sinbad.
RAINBOW IN THE CLOUDS 60 min. PBS, 1992, Editor A PBS special and series pilot with Maya Angelou. In this episode Ms. Angelou talks with individuals from Glide Memorial Church who have conquered adversity through faith -- epitomizing Glide's philosophy of recovery, revival and activism.
LAWRENCE AND ANNA HALPRIN: INNER LANDSCAPES 60 min. Producer, Director and Editor KQED, 1991 A look at the passionate careers of two of San Francisco's art legends: dancer/ choreographer Anna Halprin and her husband, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin.
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON: TALKING STORY 60 min. PBS, 1990 Producer, Director and Editor A national biography of this groundbreaking Chinese American writer whose works include "Woman Warrior", "China Men" and "Tripmaster Monkey".
CROSSING BORDERS: THE JOURNEY OF CARLOS FUENTES 60 min Producer, Director and Editor PBS, 1989 A profile of Mexico's leading novelist, diplomat and outspoken political critic.
FURTHER! KEN KESEY'S AMERICAN DREAMS 60 min. Producer, Director and Editor KQED & KCET, 1987 A public television portrait of Ken Kesey--author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Sometimes a Great Notion" and leader of the psychedelic subculture of the 1960's.
WOMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA 90 min. PBS, 1986 Coordinating Producer A look at the every lives of women in South Africa before the end of apartheid. Hosted by Nadine Gordimer.
FROM SICKROOM TO COURTROOM 30 min. KQED, 1986 Producer, Director and Editor A public television report on medical malpractice ten years after landmark legislation in California aimed at curbing rising insurance costs. Excerpted on THE MACNEIL-LEHRER NEWSHOUR.
WORLD WITHOUT WALLS: BERYL MARKHAM'S AFRICAN MEMOIR Producer and Editor PBS, 1985 A television portrait of this extraordinary African aviatrix/writer/horse trainer who chronicled her life and 1934 transAtlantic solo flight in her best-selling memoir, "West with the Night".
THE CASE OF DASHIELL HAMMETT 60 min. PBS, 1982 Editor A biography of this enigmatic mystery writer from his days as a Pinkerton detective to his blacklisting during the McCarthy era.
NATIONAL SERIES
THE PROMISE OF PLAY PBS, Fall, 2000 Senior Producer (InCA Productions) This 3 part series demonstrates the evolutionary importance of play in childhood and throughout life. Featuring Jane Goodall.
KNOWLEDGE TRAVEL ADVENTURES Knowledge TV, 1999 Producer, Director This series of half hour shows highlights hands on learning adventures and the history and culture of a locale for both on site and armchair travelers. Episodes included a Wyoming Dude Ranch and Tahiti.
RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY PBS, 1997-98 Bay Area Producer, Director This magazine style show focuses on religion and ethics in the top stories of the week, as well as in domestic and foreign events and the arts.
SCAN CNBC, 1996-97 Senior Producer This global technology series examines how innovations in technology are changing the way we live, work and play. Broadcast on CNBC and its international affiliates and United Airlines Inflight Entertainment.
THE HEART OF HEALING TBS, 1993 Senior Producer (InCA Productions) A documentary series exploring the power of mind and spirit in health and healing. Hosted by Jane Seymour. Broadcast on Turner Broadcasting Systems; home video distribution by Time Life, Inc.
MONEY IN AMERICA: THE BUSINESS OF BANKING PBS, 1988 Post Production Supervisor A four-part series on the savings and loan crisis, the foreign debt and other aspects of the national economy. Hosted by Sylvia Chase.
WE THE PEOPLE PBS, 1987 Post Production Supervisor A four-part series celebrating the bicentennial of the Constitution and its continuing application in our everyday lives. Hosted by Peter Jennings.
OVER EASY PBS, 1980-81 Field Producer A public television series exploring aging. Hosted by Hugh Downs and Mary Martin.
THE PROMISE OF PLAY PBS, Fall, 2000 Senior Producer (InCA Productions) This 3 part series demonstrates the evolutionary importance of play in childhood and throughout life. Featuring Jane Goodall.
KNOWLEDGE TRAVEL ADVENTURES Knowledge TV, 1999 Producer, Director This series of half hour shows highlights hands on learning adventures and the history and culture of a locale for both on site and armchair travelers. Episodes included a Wyoming Dude Ranch and Tahiti.
RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY PBS, 1997-98 Bay Area Producer, Director This magazine style show focuses on religion and ethics in the top stories of the week, as well as in domestic and foreign events and the arts.
SCAN CNBC, 1996-97 Senior Producer This global technology series examines how innovations in technology are changing the way we live, work and play. Broadcast on CNBC and its international affiliates and United Airlines Inflight Entertainment.
THE HEART OF HEALING TBS, 1993 Senior Producer (InCA Productions) A documentary series exploring the power of mind and spirit in health and healing. Hosted by Jane Seymour. Broadcast on Turner Broadcasting Systems; home video distribution by Time Life, Inc.
MONEY IN AMERICA: THE BUSINESS OF BANKING PBS, 1988 Post Production Supervisor A four-part series on the savings and loan crisis, the foreign debt and other aspects of the national economy. Hosted by Sylvia Chase.
WE THE PEOPLE PBS, 1987 Post Production Supervisor A four-part series celebrating the bicentennial of the Constitution and its continuing application in our everyday lives. Hosted by Peter Jennings.
OVER EASY PBS, 1980-81 Field Producer A public television series exploring aging. Hosted by Hugh Downs and Mary Martin.
JOAN SAFFA
