Screen Ireland documentaries Elián, The Farthest and Forever Pure have received nominations for the 39th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Elián, directed by Ross McDonnell and Tim Golden, is nominated in the Outstanding Investigative Documentary category. It tells of the story of Elián González who, on Thanksgiving Day in 1999, was found floating on an inner tube in the Florida Straits. The event set in motion a bitter custody battle between the boy's Cuban father and US relatives.

Meanwhile, ADIFF and IFTA prize-winner, The Farthest - directed by Emer Reynolds, picked up nods in the Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary and Outstanding Lighting Direction and Scenic Design categories. The film chronicles NASA's 1977 launch of twin space probes, sent to capture images of remote planets and bear messages from Earth.

Lastly, Forever Pure, directed by Maya Zinshtein, received a nomination for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary in the Independent Lens strand of the award. It focuses on the Beitar football club in Jerusalem which had to deal with racist outrage from fans in 2012 after signing two Muslim players.

The 39th News and Documentary Emmy Awards will take place on 1 October.