AN ANTHEM TO AMERICA: KEN BURNS & FLORENTINE FILMS CELEBRATE 50 YEARS includes archival video clips from a half-century of groundbreaking films. Interviews with Burns and many of his closest collaborators discuss the signature elements of Florentine documentaries, including filming at the location where events happened, using first- person voices to tell the story, and the cinematic treatment of photographs dubbed the “Ken Burns effect.” A spirit of collaboration, dedication to craft, and a sense of camaraderie unite the team, which has worked together for decades: co-founder/cinematographer Buddy Squires, writer Geoffrey C. Ward, writer/producer Dayton Duncan, producer Julie Dunfey, director/producer Lynn Novick, director/producer Sarah Botstein, writer/director/producer Sarah Burns and writer/director/producer David McMahon.

Exploring the defining pillars of American life, the documentaries that Burns and his collaborators made together have transformed how Americans understand their history, culture, and identity. Florentine Films has democratized access to the past, shifting the focus from sanitized myths to complex, multifaceted narratives that resonate in times of national unity and division. By expanding who gets to be in the American story, Burns and Florentine Films have challenged superficial, top-down narratives and told the nation's history through the lens of everyday people, marginalized communities, and grassroots movements.

From Brooklyn Bridge to The American Revolution, Country Music to The National Parks, Burns and Florentine Films have spent 50 years crafting documentaries that explore over 600 years of history and serve as a valuable archive of the American experience. This rich collection of films offers a journey through history that educates and entertains while providing an intimate look at who we are as individuals and as a nation.