Films
I have produced, directed, and written feature documentaries,
TV series, and web shorts. Here is a selection of my best-known works.
Dream Deceivers
Heavy metal on trial
Two young men shoot themselves in a churchyard. Ray Belknap dies; James Vance—severely disfigured—survives. Their parents take heavy-metal icons Judas Priest to court, claiming the band "mesmerized" their sons. The unprecedented trial is the framework for this one-of-a-kind, Emmy-nominated documentary.
“Dream Deceivers may be a documentary, but its effects are calculatedly dramatic, its cuts blatantly ironic ... Provides a nightmare glimpse into Middle America’s spiritual drought and the way people fill that void with diametrically opposed faiths.”
— Interview
Winner, IDA Distinguished Achievement Award
Director & Producer, 1992
A Perfect Candidate
In the voting booth, no one can hear you scream
Sometimes horrifying, often hilarious, A PERFECT CANDIDATE is a twisted journey into the underbelly of U.S. politics. In 1994 former Marine Oliver North re-emerged from the Iran-Contra scandal to run for the U.S Senate. In the hotly contested race between North and incumbent Chuck Robb—who played Charlie Brown to Ollie's Elvis—filmmakers R.J. Cutler and David Van Taylor were granted astonishing access to the back room games played by the candidates, their handlers, and the press. A revealing, chilling and darkly funny look into the modern American political process.
“The War Room has been hailed as the decade's great political documentary, but A Perfect Candidate is better. ... Packed with unforgettable scenes ... It's a great film about American elections and the people who control them.” — A/V Club
Director & Producer (with R.J. Cutler), 1996
Local News
One station fights the odds
Filmed over 10 months behind the scenes of a local TV newsroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, LOCAL NEWS chronicles the travails of a third-place NBC affiliate that is trying to improve its ratings and its journalism. The documentary series presents a vivid and dramatic case study of how news professionals interact with the communities they serve.
“Engrossing and revealing—reality TV that needs no red-flag quotation marks. If LOCAL NEWS were fiction, it would be the most promising new dramatic series of the fall. Lumiere ... couldn’t have scripted the plot any better. Insights into what makes local TV news by turns good, bad and unseemly is kind of a bonus.” — Newsday
Series Producer, Director (2 episodes), Camera, 2001
Ghosts Of Attica
Who will guard the guards?
Offering the definitive account of America's most violent prison rebellion and its suppression, GHOSTS OF ATTICA explores the days of torture that ensued. Using exclusive, newly uncovered video of the assault, interviews with eyewitnesses who've never spoken before on-camera, and footage of inmates and hostages throughout their battles against the state, this film unravels one of our country’s deepest cover-ups, and shows how the legendary prison riot transformed the lives of its survivors.
“Excellent and constantly engaging. The ghosts of Attica are very much alive.” — The Hollywood Reporter
Winner, duPont-Columbia Silver Baton
Executive Producer, 2001
Caught In The Crossfire
Arab-Americans in wartime
Like many immigrants, Arab-Americans are torn between their adopted country and their homeland, between modern U.S. culture and ancient traditions. Now, as they wrestle with their place in a wartime United States, CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE gives voice to three people whose stories we need to hear.
“A brilliant choice ... No one who watches will be able to see Arab or American identity in simple black-and-white terms again. Officer Nasser’s final words are among the most eloquent and resonant in all the 9/11 anniversary programs.“— Baltimore Sun
Director (with Brad Lichtenstein), Camera, 2002
With God On Our Side
The evangelical journey of a nation and a president
Drawing on Lumiere Production’s epic 6-hour history, this feature documentary starts with a brief chronicle of born-again Christians’ decades-long political education. It then zeroes in on a provocative but balanced religious biography of George W. Bush. WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE moves from his mid-life crisis involving excessive drinking and a failing business, to his pivotal meeting with a cross-carrying evangelist, and finally to the skillful embrace of born-again imagery that helped elect him president and set the agenda for his two terms in office.
“Combine all the superficial cable-TV punditry of the last two years and you won’t come up with even a tenth of the insight offered by this serious, in-depth and even-handed documentary .... For anyone even remotely interested in the outcome of the 2004 presidential election, WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE is required viewing.”
— Chicago Tribune
Director, 2004
Good Ol’ Charles Schulz
Every day he poured his heart out ... and we all laughed
For 50 years, Charles M. Schulz captivated and comforted millions with his innovative chronicle of cruelty, hope, and heartbreak in the Peanuts set. But worldwide success did not quiet his own Charlie Brown-style doubts. Instead, the mild-mannered Schulz relentlessly revisited the turbulent realities of his lost childhood in search of elusive answers. Like Citizen Kane (a film Schulz watched nearly 40 times), GOOD OL’ CHARLES SCHULZ tries to decipher an iconic, enigmatic American success story.
“Fascinating ... Illuminate[s] the cartoonist’s psyche in ways that may make it impossible to revisit the adventures of good old Charlie Brown without flashing back to this documentary.”
— Time Out
Director, 2007
Advise & Dissent
Where the Supreme Court and p
olitics collide
The first documentary to go behind the lines and into the trenches of the judicial confirmation wars, ADVISE & DISSENT tracks two opposing lobbyists and two lions of the Senate through several recent nominations, each of which inflames passions and provokes surprising conflicts and shifting alliances. Both timely and timeless, the film lays bare the collision of politics and justice that is re-shaping the nation’s future.
“A fascinating, balanced insider's look at the stakes and strategies of the confirmation wars.” — SCOTUSblog
Director & Producer, 2010
Intervention
It’s life or death
This one-of-a-kind documentary series profiles addicts on the brink of destruction—and their loved ones’ efforts to get them help. While never compromising therapeutic standards, the series captured unvarnished real-life drama, and helped dozens of people enter recovery and stay sober.
“[Rocky Lockridge’s story] was the most astonishing episode of a TV show this year ... Bested both The Wire and The Shield for urban grit” — New York Post
Field Director (8 episodes), 2008-2011
A Tale of Two Schools
Race and education on Long Island
Owen and David are young African-Americans, both navigating senior year in Long Island public high schools. They have a lot in common—including high GPA's, strong single moms, and after-school jobs at Carvel. But they go to very different schools. A TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS makes visible the structural forces that still keep students of color largely separate and unequal in our nation's schools—and points toward a solution. This short film has been adopted for curricula on racism, sociology, and education in high schools and colleges across the U.S. and abroad.
“Does a great job of concisely spotlighting the differences and the results of structural educational disparities ... [Viewers] will see how race and class are large determining factors in how public schools are funded, and what that means for the students.”
— The Sociological Cinema
Producer, 2012
Death Row Stories
Will the truth set them free?
Each episode of this CNN series unravels a unique capital murder case from the past four decades. Executive produced by Robert Redford and Alex Gibney, DEATH ROW STORIES turns the true-crime genre to a probing exploration of the death penalty and of American justice writ large.
"Miscarriage-of-justice stories drawn from real life are television slam-dunks, but a new CNN series tells them especially well." — NY Times
Director & Producer, 2013-14
To Tell the Truth
The ultimate documentary … about documentaries
What is truth on film? What shapes filmmakers’ choices? And how do those choices then shape society? Narrated by Alec Baldwin, this series explores a century-long history of documentary filmmaking adventures. In the process, TO TELL THE TRUTH places our shared past—and our present—in a startling new frame.
“What a great idea ... This series is a new way of looking at history.” — Doc Soup
Series Producer, Director (1 episode), 2015
Engaged Cities
Making democracy work, around the world
Cities of Service helps local governments find better ways to engage citizens. In 2018 they launched the Engaged Cities Award, celebrating innovative and effective collaborations that address issues like food access, climate resilience, racial equity and much more. I traveled the globe —Bologna, Santiago de Cali, San Francisco, Plymouth and beyond— to chronicle the winning programs, and help further the mission of citizen involvement.
“These short films do an amazing job bringing each city's unique story to life. They've helped us spread innovative ideas literally around the world!”
— Myung Lee, Founding Executive Director
Series Producer, Director (6 shorts), 2018-19