Danish documentary producer, editor and founder of THE WHY Foundation, Mette Hoffmann Meyer, will receive an Honorary Emmy for her 25 years of work in the documentary industry. The ceremony will take place on September 26th at the Palladium Times Square in New York.

As one of only four industry professionals this year – and the first Dane ever – Mette Hoffmann Meyer will receive the Silver Circle Award in the documentary category.

“I'm honored to be included in the Silver Circle,” says Mette Hoffmann Meyer. “The award recognizes not only my work, but also the power of storytelling and the crucial role documentaries play in shaping our perception of the world. Factual and insightful stories strengthen our human awareness and empathy across ethnicity, tradition, religion and cultural barriers. Something that is needed more than ever.”

ABOUT METTE HOFFMANN MEYER

Mette Hoffmann Meyer (b. 1957) is the CEO and founder of THE WHY Foundation. A Peabody Award-winning nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring access to reliable information for everyone. THE WHY produces and distributes documentaries on human rights and political injustice, reaching hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Mette Hoffmann Meyer was previously head of documentaries at Danish broadcasters TV2 (1992-2007) and DR (Danish Broadcast Corporation) from 2007-16. At DR, she launched the IDA-winning Dokumania series. She has produced and financed films such as the Oscar-winning 'Taxi to the Dark Side' (2007), 'Solar Mama', 'Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer' (2013)', 'Democrats' (2014), 'India's Daughters' (2015), 'Last Men in Aleppo' (2017) and 'A Storm Foretold' (2023).

During her time at DR, she began working on her first global documentary campaign, Why Democracy? (2007) featuring 10 documentaries from around the world that sparked a global debate on the state of democracy. The successful concept of producing films for a global audience with a broad alliance of broadcasters was subsequently continued in the campaigns Why Poverty? (2012), Why Women? (2016), Why Slavery? (2018), Why Plastic? (2021) and the upcoming Why Freedom (2026). Each series was broadcast by 70 TV stations and reached 191 countries.

Mette Hoffmann Meyer has been repeatedly honored and recognized for her contribution to the documentary film industry, including the 2014 Doc Mogul Award at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto for supporting young filmmakers from around the world.

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