Announced at the annual TV industry conference MIPCOM in France yesterday, Participant Media will mark its first foray into unscripted series with revered documentarian Steve James’s upcoming “America to Me,” which follows a year in the life of a top Chicago high school with one of the most diverse student populations in the US.

“Expanding into the unscripted realm with this vibrant and compelling series with a filmmaker of Steve’s calibre and creative vision is incredibly exciting for us,” said David Linde, CEO of Participant.

James, best known internationally for his feature documentary “Hoop Dreams,” and a number of other films we’ve covered on this blog over the years (like “The Interrupters” and “Head Games”), will direct and executive produce “America to Me” via his production company Kartemquin Films, along with Gordon Quinn, Betsy Steinberg and Justine Nagan.




Participant founder Jeff Skoll and Executive Vice President of documentary film Diane Weyermann are also executive producers.

“Having collaborated with Steve many years ago, and continuing to follow his career, I have tremendous respect and admiration for him and his ability to tell powerful stories,” said Weyermann,. “It is inspiring to partner with him once again on this timely series.”

“I am thrilled to be working with Diane and her team at Participant. They’ve made it possible for us to do a series I’ve wanted to do for over 10 years. I truly believe the story of Oak Park and River Forest High School can be, in many ways, the story of race and education for young people in America today,” said James.

James will be joined by a talented group of filmmakers including story directors Kevin Shaw, Rebecca Parish and Bing Liu on the series.