Film Forum

Douglas Tirola is an award-winning director and producer whose documentaries have been distributed around the world and have premiered at some of the most prestigious film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, HotDocs, and SXSW. Douglas is currently directing a forthcoming four-part documentary series for MGM+/Amazon. Douglas’ latest film, BLOODROOT, premiered at the 2019 DOCNYC festival. His previous directing credits include DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD (Magnolia Pictures, A&E Indie Film), BREWMASTER (Amazon Prime), James Beard Award nominated HEY BARTENDER (Netflix), and Grand Jury Award Winning ALL IN – THE POKER MOVIE (Showtime). His first documentary as a director, AN OMAR BROADWAY FILM, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it was acquired by HBO. Douglas’ producing credits include: PROCESSION (Netflix) which was shortlisted for the 2022 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, BISBEE ’17 (Sundance, New York Times “Ten Best Films of 2018”, POV—and a Film Forum premiere), KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE (Sundance Award Winner), Gotham Award nominated ACTRESS, and New York Times Critic’s Pick MAKING THE BOYS (Berlin, Tribeca). Douglas has also worked as a screenwriter for Paramount, Universal, Fox, Warner Brothers, Sony and New Line. Earlier in his career, he worked on films with directors Woody Allen, Robert Benton, and Penny Marshall. His first job in the film business was as a production assistant on the movie WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... He is the president of 4th Row Films and is represented by William Morris Endeavor.

Nina Bernstein Simmons is Leonard Bernstein’s youngest daughter. After several years working as an actress, initially at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, she turned her attention to tending her late father’s legacy. In the earliest days of the internet, she worked with the Library of Congress on making the Bernstein Archives digitally available to the public. The fruits of that collaboration can be seen at the Library’s American Memory website. From 2000 until 2005, Nina worked on a film about her sister, Jamie, and her remarkable journeys around the world bringing Bernstein’s music and teaching legacy to new audiences. LEONARD BERNSTEIN: A TOTAL EMBRACE premiered in Germany in December of 2005. Nina occasionally appears to deliver presentations on the topic of her father’s work while still tending to his legacy with her sister, Jamie.

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