KENNESAW, Ga. | Jun 20, 2017

“Chinese Tea: Elixir of the Orient” judged best topical documentary

A documentary about the history and culture of Chinese tea produced by The Confucius Institute at Kennesaw State University (CIKSU) and Georgia Public Television (GPB) captured awards in six categories at the 2017 Southeastern Emmy Awards ceremony June 10.

The documentary, “Chinese Tea: Elixir of the Orient,” received Emmys in six of seven categories for which it was nominated. The winning categories included: documentary-topical; director, non-live; editor – program (non-news); lighting – location production lighting; photographer- program (non-news)/short form; and writer – program (non-news).  “Chinese Tea …” was also nominated in the audio – post-production category. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences – Southeast presented the awards to individual members of GPB’s production team. 

“This is a dream comes true,” said Ken Jin, CIKSU’s founding director and the documentary’s senior executive producer. “We share this honor with our partners at GPB, whose creative and technical teams did a masterful job of bringing to life the history and culture of tea in China and its impact around the world. Since it was first aired in April 2016, hundreds of thousands of viewers have watched it on TV and via internet.” 

The documentary highlights the importance of tea in China’s cultural and economic life, and in the health of its people. Currently, China produces more than one-third of the world’s tea and is home to more than 90,000 teahouses.

The production was jointly funded by Freeman Foundation and CIKSU.

“We are very excited about the awards and success of this documentary,” Jin said. “CIKSU looks forward to continuing our partnership with GPB as we produce a series of documentaries on Chinese theater and martial arts under the brand name ‘Decoding China.’” 

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.