Film Forum

Lana Wilson is a director and writer. Her work includes AFTER TILLER, an Emmy-winning feature documentary about the four most-targeted abortion doctors in America; THE DEPARTURE, a Spirit Award-nominated feature documentary about a punk-turned-priest who helps suicidal people find reasons to live; A CURE FOR FEAR, an IDA Award-nom­inated short-form series; and MISS AMERICANA, a critically acclaimed documentary about global icon Taylor Swift. Wilson’s most recent documentary, PRETTY BABY: BROOK SHIELDS, was a New York Times Critic’s Pick and nominated for two Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. Wilson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Roger Ross Williams is an Oscar, Emmy, Peabody, and NAACP Image award-winning director, producer, and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award®, with his film MUSIC BY PRUDENCE. Williams directed LIFE, ANIMATED, which won him the Sundance Directing Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award® and won three Emmys. Williams is the recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association, The Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award, The NYU Alumni Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from Lafayette College. His production company One Story Up produced the acclaimed food series HIGH ON THE HOG, an adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME, the Ben Crump documentary CIVIL, the award-winning film MASTER OF LIGHT, and the Primetime Emmy Award-winning feature documentary THE APOLLO. Williams' first scripted feature CASSANDRO from Amazon Prime Video had its World premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to universal acclaim. He also released THE SUPERMODELS for Apple TV+, STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING, based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi, for Netflix, and the Emmy award-winning series THE 1619 PROJECT for Disney/Hulu.

Supported by a Humanities New York Action Grant

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