Feliks Banel’s ‘Scarecrow Video’ documentary nominated for Emmy Award

The Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced its 2023 nominations Friday for excellence in television and video production for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska and KIRO Newsradio’s Feliks Banel has been nominated again, this time for “Seattle’s Legendary Scarecrow Video.”

The broadcast production honored with a nomination this year is a short feature is all about the beloved video store that has long been a fixture in Seattle. Located on Roosevelt Way in the University District, Scarecrow Video was founded as a for-profit business but instead became a non-profit organization a decade ago. Scarecrow has developed a national and international reputation for its massive collection, and become a hub for cinemaphiles around the Pacific Northwest.

“Seattle’s Legendary Scarecrow Video,” a short documentary, was written and produced for the Seattle Channel by Banel, KIRO Newsradio’s resident historian, with videography and editing by Chris Barnes. The Seattle Channel is a public TV station focused on culture, history, art and civic affairs in Seattle. Banel has been producing one or two pieces a year for the station for about the past decade, typically highlighting some aspect of Seattle history or pop culture.

More from Feliks: Parkland School catalyzes neighbors to support South Sound community

Banel was awarded an Emmy in 2023 for a short feature about the search for a long-missing military aircraft in the Cascades. The aircraft, with two U.S. Navy aviators aboard, took off from Sand Point Naval Air Station (now Magnuson Park), and disappeared. The mother of one of the aviators traveled to the Northwest from Tennessee each summer to look for her son for nearly 20 years.

Awards will be presented on June 1, 2024 at NATAS Northwest’s annual event.

You can hear Feliks Banel every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien. Read more from Feliks here and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea or a question about Northwest history, please email Feliks. You can also follow Feliks on X, formerly known as Twitter.