Louisiana Public Broadcasting is pleased to announce that the documentary Atchafalaya Houseboat has won a prestigious International CINE Golden Eagle Award. The LPB documentary was based on the book by Gwen Roland, published by LSU Press, about Gwen’s years on a handmade houseboat in the 1970s. Atchafalaya Houseboat was produced and directed by Christina Melton. This is Melton’s second CINE Golden Eagle for Louisiana Public Broadcasting in five years. Videography and editing for the program was by Rex Fortenberry and Keith Crews. The program premiered nationally on PBS.

The CINE Golden Eagle awards, distinguishing excellence in professional, independent and student works, are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking and videography. Since its founding in 1957, CINE has been dedicated to discovering, rewarding, educating and supporting established and emerging talent in film and video. Among great talents whose first major awards included the CINE Golden eagle are Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, and such great documentarians as Ken Burns, Charles Guggenheim, Stanley Nelson and Frederick Wiseman. Other PBS winners this year included Ken Burns documentary “The War,” American Masters episodes on musician Pete Seeger and artist David Hockney, and four episodes of the series Nature.

And, award-winning composer Mike Esneault has won a 2009 Suncoast Emmy for his score for the LPB documentary Atchafalaya Houseboat. Esneault was honored in the category of Musical/Composition/Arrangement.

Esneault has composed and recorded the soundtrack for many LPB programs including the duPont Columbia Award-winning series Louisiana: A History, Making Waves: Louisiana’s Radio Story, , and Return to the Forest Where We Live.

• C. C. Lockwood - Wildlife Photographer, Writer, Naturalist, and Lecturer.
• NPR’s Melissa Block talked to Gwen about her life on the houseboat. Click here to listen to the interview.
• Gwen on Mother Earth NewsCatch Gwen on the Mother Earth News Blog. Click here.
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Gwen served as Southern Regional Communications Director for the national outreach office of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.