Rasha Drachkovitch
Encyclopedia
Rasha Drachkovitch is a television producer
and President of 44 Blue Productions
, which he co-founded with his wife, Stephanie Drachkovitch, in 1984. Drachkovitch and his team are responsible for producing more than 60 series and 40 documentaries, equaling more than 500 hours of programming, which have aired on domestic broadcast networks, 12 cable networks as well as in 120 countries around the world. Drachkovitch earned a bachelors degree in communications from Stanford University
. He is the son of a Yugoslavia
n university professor father and winery manager mother.
Getting shot at in Soweto
, attacked in the West Bank
by Palestinian
protesters and chased down by the Yakuza
in Tokyo
has not slowed Drachkovitch down. His passion for reality
has driven him behind the scenes of the world's most dangerous places, including the US Special Forces and Caesars Palace
. He was the first to film inside Chinese
and Russia
n maximum-security prisons
.
, Drachkovitch produced Los Angeles
KABC-TV's
"Eye on LA". He also served as director/editor for the syndicated sports series "Greatest Sports Legends". Drachkovitch's first TV show was the nationally syndicated "Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
", a sports blooper show he started with a mild $80,000 investment.
to house their mix of mostly non-fiction
, reality
, how-to
, lifestyle and action-adventure programming. Drachkovitch serves as executive producer
, writer and director for most of the programs.
- Best Show, Spanish Language - "Los Niños en Su Casa
" KCET
and Sesame Workshop
2005 Daytime Emmy Award - Best Studio-based Show, Spanish Language - "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2005 Peabody Award
- "A Place of Our Own
" & "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2005 Parent's Choice Award - "A Place of Our Own" & "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2003 Genesis Award - Outstanding Reality Programming - "Cell Dogs", Animal Planet
2002 CINE Award
- Golden Eagle - "The True Story of Black Hawk Down", The History Channel
2001 Aurora Award
- Gold Award - "Wide Open", A&E Network
2001 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Lockup:Inside Pelican Bay
", MSNBC
2001 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Cadets:Live of a Student Recruit", A&E
2000 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Firefight", TLC
2000 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Journeys to Remember", Travel Channel
2000 Cine Award - Golden Eagle - "Firefight", TLC
1999 Telly Award - Winner - "Elite Choppers", Discovery Channel
1999 Telly Award - Winner - "Journeys to Remember", Travel Channel
1999 Telly Award - Finalist - "Behind Bars", A&E
1999 Telly Award - Finalist - "Firefight", TLC
1999 Worldfest Flagstaff International Film Festival, Gold Award - News and Documentary Program Directing - "Firefight", TLC
1999 WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, Gold Award - TV Special, Family/Children - "And Now This", Nickelodeon
1998 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Red Light Districts", A&E
1998 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Elite Choppers", Discovery Channel
1998 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Behind Bars", A&E
1998 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "And Now This", Nickelodeon
1991 Worldfest Houston, Bronze Award - Film and Video Production, Sports - "Discovery Sport", Discovery Channel
1998 Chicago Television Award - Best Documentary Program - "Behind Bars", A&E
1991 New York Film Festival
- Silver Medal - "Discovery Sport"
1990 Telly Award - Winner - "Aspire Higher", AVIA and WSF
1988 Worldfest Houston, Silver Award - Documentary, Sports - "The History of College Football"
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and President of 44 Blue Productions
44 Blue Productions
44 Blue Productions is a production company founded in 1984 by Rasha and Stephanie Drachkovitch. 44 Blue is a top supplier of reality, documentary, lifestyle and action-adventure programming producing more than 1000 hours for leading US broadcast and cable outlets including A&E, Animal Planet, HBO,...
, which he co-founded with his wife, Stephanie Drachkovitch, in 1984. Drachkovitch and his team are responsible for producing more than 60 series and 40 documentaries, equaling more than 500 hours of programming, which have aired on domestic broadcast networks, 12 cable networks as well as in 120 countries around the world. Drachkovitch earned a bachelors degree in communications from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He is the son of a Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n university professor father and winery manager mother.
Getting shot at in Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
, attacked in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
by Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
protesters and chased down by the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
has not slowed Drachkovitch down. His passion for reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
has driven him behind the scenes of the world's most dangerous places, including the US Special Forces and Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
. He was the first to film inside Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n maximum-security prisons
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
.
Before 44 Blue
Before establishing 44 Blue Productions44 Blue Productions
44 Blue Productions is a production company founded in 1984 by Rasha and Stephanie Drachkovitch. 44 Blue is a top supplier of reality, documentary, lifestyle and action-adventure programming producing more than 1000 hours for leading US broadcast and cable outlets including A&E, Animal Planet, HBO,...
, Drachkovitch produced Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
KABC-TV's
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
"Eye on LA". He also served as director/editor for the syndicated sports series "Greatest Sports Legends". Drachkovitch's first TV show was the nationally syndicated "Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports
Bob Uecker
Robert George "Bob" Uecker is an American former Major League Baseball player, later a sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Uecker was given the title of "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson...
", a sports blooper show he started with a mild $80,000 investment.
44 Blue Productions
In 1984, husband and wife team, Rasha and Stephanie Drachkovitch founded 44 Blue Productions44 Blue Productions
44 Blue Productions is a production company founded in 1984 by Rasha and Stephanie Drachkovitch. 44 Blue is a top supplier of reality, documentary, lifestyle and action-adventure programming producing more than 1000 hours for leading US broadcast and cable outlets including A&E, Animal Planet, HBO,...
to house their mix of mostly non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
, reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
, how-to
How-to
A how-to or a how to is an informal, often short, description of how to accomplish some specific task. A how-to is usually meant to help non-experts, may leave out details that are only important to experts, and may also be greatly simplified from an overall discussion of the topic...
, lifestyle and action-adventure programming. Drachkovitch serves as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, writer and director for most of the programs.
Awards
2005 Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
- Best Show, Spanish Language - "Los Niños en Su Casa
A Place of Our Own
A Place of Our Own is a daily program about child care that airs on Public Broadcasting Service , produced in Los Angeles by KCET. It was hosted by Debi Gutierrez and has been recently hosted by Elizabeth Sanchez. The Spanish-language version is Los Niños en Su Casa , seen on PBS and on the...
" KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
and Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
2005 Daytime Emmy Award - Best Studio-based Show, Spanish Language - "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2005 Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
- "A Place of Our Own
A Place of Our Own
A Place of Our Own is a daily program about child care that airs on Public Broadcasting Service , produced in Los Angeles by KCET. It was hosted by Debi Gutierrez and has been recently hosted by Elizabeth Sanchez. The Spanish-language version is Los Niños en Su Casa , seen on PBS and on the...
" & "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2005 Parent's Choice Award - "A Place of Our Own" & "Los Niños en Su Casa", KCET and Sesame Workshop
2003 Genesis Award - Outstanding Reality Programming - "Cell Dogs", Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
2002 CINE Award
CINE
CINE is a consortium formulated to depict American life and thought realistically for a global audience. CINE recognizes and fosters the highest quality of non-theatrical film and video production through its semi-annual film competitions....
- Golden Eagle - "The True Story of Black Hawk Down", The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
2001 Aurora Award
Aurora Award
The Prix Aurora Awards are given out annually for the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, artworks, fan activities from that year, and are awarded in both English and French...
- Gold Award - "Wide Open", A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
2001 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Lockup:Inside Pelican Bay
Lockup (TV show)
Lockup is a prison documentary series, produced by 44 Blue Productions, which airs on MSNBC. The Lockup franchise also includes Lockup Raw and Lockup Extended Stay....
", MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
2001 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Cadets:Live of a Student Recruit", A&E
2000 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Firefight", TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
2000 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Journeys to Remember", Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
2000 Cine Award - Golden Eagle - "Firefight", TLC
1999 Telly Award - Winner - "Elite Choppers", Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
1999 Telly Award - Winner - "Journeys to Remember", Travel Channel
1999 Telly Award - Finalist - "Behind Bars", A&E
1999 Telly Award - Finalist - "Firefight", TLC
1999 Worldfest Flagstaff International Film Festival, Gold Award - News and Documentary Program Directing - "Firefight", TLC
1999 WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, Gold Award - TV Special, Family/Children - "And Now This", Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
1998 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "Red Light Districts", A&E
1998 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Elite Choppers", Discovery Channel
1998 Aurora Award - Platinum Award - "Behind Bars", A&E
1998 Aurora Award - Gold Award - "And Now This", Nickelodeon
1991 Worldfest Houston, Bronze Award - Film and Video Production, Sports - "Discovery Sport", Discovery Channel
1998 Chicago Television Award - Best Documentary Program - "Behind Bars", A&E
1991 New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
- Silver Medal - "Discovery Sport"
1990 Telly Award - Winner - "Aspire Higher", AVIA and WSF
1988 Worldfest Houston, Silver Award - Documentary, Sports - "The History of College Football"