The Only Doctor, a feature-length documentary produced by Anjanette Levert and directed by Matthew Hashiguchi, wins a George Foster Peabody Award, one of the most prestigious honors in broadcast and digital media.
“The Only Doctor” won in the Public Service category by telling the story of Dr. Karen Kinsell, the sole physician serving one of Georgia’s most medically underserved counties. The film streams nationally as part of the PBS documentary series Reel South and internationally as part of the Al Jazeera series Witness.
The awards presentation ceremony takes place on June 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
In 1941, the National Association of Broadcasters established the Peabody Awards to honor excellence in broadcasting. Now split up into the categories of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming, Peabody Award winners are a “collection of stories that powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day” and are chosen each year by a diverse Board of Jurors through unanimous vote.
For Levert, an Atlanta-based filmmaker, educator, and long-time champion of Southern stories, the win is more than just industry recognition but a sign to keep pushing forward.
“This Peabody win affirms everything I believe about the power of documentary storytelling,” said Levert. “It is especially meaningful when it centers the lived experiences of people in places too often overlooked.”
“Clay County is central to understanding the consequences of inequity in America, said Levert. “Producing this film was a labor of love, collaboration, community and care.”
The film follows Dr. Kinsell’s fight to keep her clinic open while navigating the complexities of a potential deal with a university hospital. Capturing the local and the systemic, The Only Doctor reflects the broader healthcare crisis while grounding its story in a woman’s deeply personal sense of responsibility to fellow humans as she believes that healthcare is a human right and most so in the wealthiest country in the world.
Producer Anjanette Levert is a Senior Lecturer at Spelman College and the former Director of the Documentary Filmmaking Program. She is an alumna of the Southern Producers Lab by the New Orleans Film Society and the Sundance Producers Intensive. She is also the owner of Le Vertical Productions.
Director Matthew Hashiguchi is a documentary filmmaker and Associate Professor at Georgia Southern University. His feature-length documentary, GOOD LUCK SOUP, was broadcast on PBS World’s America ReFramed.
Other production team members include Edit Consultant Martha Shane, Composer Buck St. Thomas, and Sound Designer Billy Wirasnik, Colorist John Peterson, Additional Editor Brad Bennett and Production Assistant M.E. Woodard.
The Only Doctor is the recipient of the 2019 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Award and the 2021 American Stories Documentary Fund Award from Points North Institute.
The win marks a milestone for Levert and Hashiguchi and Reel South to receive their first Peabody. It also reflects the strength of the Reel South initiative, which continues to amplify bold, nuanced storytelling from across the American South.
“I’m so proud to be and grateful to have partnered with Matthew Hashiguchi, whose directing style is observational and compassionate,” Levert added. “We were conscious of portraying rural Georgia’s beauty and tranquility with dignity and complexity.”
Since its world premiere at Hot Docs, The Only Doctor has screened at festivals, conferences and community events, receiving accolades including Best Documentary Feature at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival and the South Georgia Film Festival. The film was supported by the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, Points North Institute, the Sundance Producer’s Intensive and the Southern Producers Lab.
