Synopsis: Jawbone.tv looks into television’s longest running documentary film series POV, which is entering a new season and launching a new website. Highlights include a New Muslim Cool, The Betrayal and Beyond Hatred.

I’m not going to lie. I’m one of the slackers that wasn’t ready for the conversion from analog to digital television. It’s not because I didn’t see it coming – PBS, my main TV squeeze, did a more than thorough job of hammering the point home. A day before the extended deadline hit, with the threat of no TV looming, I caved in and handed over my government discount coupon and ten bucks of my own money to ensure that I could still fall asleep to the sound of Charlie Rose’s voice.

I didn’t think much of all the antennas on sale around the converter boxes. (Um, it’s digital technology, right?) But, after a very anti-climatic rewiring session, I discovered that the new digital converter boxes do indeed also require a special antenna, at least if yours is old and janky like mine. I was okay with paying ten bucks for the converter box – but another $25 for a decent antenna that actually makes the box work? Deal breaker.

There was definitely some anxiety. This would be the first time in my life I wouldn’t be able to plop down and flip on the ‘boob tube,’ as my dad still calls it. But I decided to brave it and let the deadline pass sans antenna.

A few weeks on, I don’t regret my decision. Rather than engaging in mindless channel surfing, I’ve spent a lot of time on the Internet, searching for awesome things to watch that are actually worth my time. Since I mostly relied on PBS back in the old analog days, PBS.org was one of my first stops when pursuing new online viewing options. I quickly found a gem – a link to the website for POV, the documentary series that’s been running on PBS for over twenty years.

According to Associate Producer Andrew Catauro, “The title POV is taken from the cinema term ‘point of view’ because we feature small stories that are representative of larger social issues. We stick to the mission of showing underrepresented stories -- stories that aren’t normally seen on mainstream TV.”

POV just kicked off a new season, and a look at this summer’s films definitely proves Catauro’s point. Topics include women matadors in Spain, hate crimes in France, a mannequin factory in California, proceedings against perpetrators of genocide at the International Criminal Court, and a young Puerto Rican rapper’s life as a converted Muslim living in Pittsburg.

This last film called ‘New Muslim Cool’ had me so invested in the profiled family that I wanted to fly across the country just to meet them and tell them that I cared. As the story drew to a close I felt like I had visited a neighborhood that is unlike any I’ve ever stepped foot in, learned more about a religion that is very far removed from my every day life, and made new friends.

The subjects covered by POV films are as diverse as they are overlooked, without a doubt due to the open submission process.

Thanks to a PBS programming mandate, anybody can submit a film to POV for consideration. About 900 entries are received each year, and Catauro assures me that every single one is watched by at least two screeners from a panel of trusted documentary professionals, festival programmers, and independent filmmakers.

Not only is the submission process completely open, but the staff is surprisingly accessible too. Catauro says, “For every one of those films we receive, we almost always also get a phone call, and we talk to everyone. We never close off the curatorial process.”

There are several sources of funding available for independent filmmakers looking to submit their work to POV. The Diverse Voices Project, which offers feedback and collaboration in addition to financial support, is a popular avenue for first time filmmakers.