Thor Thielow | Cinematography

USA 2024 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Susanne Rostock | World Premiere Tribecca Film Festival 2024 |

Following Harry, a film by Susanne Rostock (Sing Your Song), is an intimate documentary that chronicles the last twelve years of legendary Harry Belafonte’s life, highlighting the artist-activist's enduring commitment to social justice. Fueled by his tremendous sense of urgency to inspire the next generation of entertainers and activists to stand for justice, the film provides a window into both his public endeavors and private moments, capturing his journey from the aftermath of the death of Trayvon Martin, to his engagements in the protests in Ferguson, the Women’s March (which was created in his office), to the deeply and profound conversations in his home. The film ultimately amplifies Harry’s belief that “each generation must be responsible for itself. All I can do is leave behind the crumbs of my experience. I have a trail that you can follow, if you find value in it, pick it up and if you don’t, bring something better.”

Following Harry features Aja Monet, Angela Davis, Aloe Blacc, Carmen Perez, Chuck D, Gina Belafonte, Jamie Foxx, Jesse Williams, Kerry Kennedy, Matt Post, Phillip Agnew, Rod Starz, Rosario Dawson, Sean Pica, & Talib Kweli

USA 2025 | Documentary Series | Directed by Nadia Hallgren | World Premiere NETFLIX 2025 |

From the spotlight of global pop superstardom to the cutting-edge ateliers where high fashion takes shape, Victoria Beckham has always been more than meets the eye. Her journey from a determined young girl in England with her sights set on the world’s biggest stages to an international icon has been defined by ambition, reinvention, and an unwavering commitment to style.

The three-part docuseries Victoria Beckham, directed by Nadia Hallgren (Becoming) and from the makers of the Emmy Award–winning BECKHAM, offers an intimate look at her multifaceted life and career. Central to the series is Victoria’s preparation for her most ambitious runway show yet at Paris Fashion Week — a high-stakes challenge that brings her past and present into sharp focus. For Hallgren, meeting Victoria for the first time in August 2024, just weeks before her September show, meant jumping straight in, with no time for formalities.

USA 2025 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | World Premiere TIFF 2025 |

Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, TIFF ’18) turn the camera on Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer Lynsey Addario as she documents the war in Ukraine and looks back on her career.

USA 2025 | Television Series | Directed by Liz Garbus | World Premiere NETFLIX 2025 |

For more than a year, investigators discovered human remains along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Suffolk County, Long Island. The victims who could be identified were young women, many from the New York City area, who had worked in the sex industry and gone missing — in some cases, more than a decade before they were found. It became clear that a serial killer was targeting this particularly vulnerable population, but for more than 13 years, the case languished. In 2023, though, a man suspected of being the “Long Island Serial Killer” was finally apprehended. Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, a three-episode documentary series which premiered on March 31, delves into the lengthy investigation that culminated in a much-awaited arrest. It also explores the stigma surrounding the victims’ line of work, which may have contributed to the inquiry’s frustratingly slow pace.

USA 2025 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe | World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2025 |

A view inside the life of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, capturing her through five tumultuous years in power and beyond as she redefined leadership on the world stage. Jacinda Ardern’s outlook is summarized by a quote from her childhood hero, Sir Ernest Shackleton: “Optimism is true moral courage.” She reluctantly took on what she called “the worst job in politics” as Leader of the Opposition. Then as prime minister, Ardern went on to lead with humanity, compassion, and common sense. She didn’t hesitate to implement nationwide gun law reforms following a devastating mass shooting and guided her country through the pandemic by relying on science — even at the expense of her own popularity. Co-directors Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe craft an intimate portrait of Ardern’s journey, featuring footage shot by her husband and never-before heard audio interviews recorded while she was prime minister. As only the second head of state in the world to give birth while in office, she was relentlessly challenged to prove her competence as a leader, which is why stepping down earlier than expected was an act of confidence, not a sign of defeat.

USA 2025 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss |  World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2025 |

When upstate New York’s Middletown High School received audiovisual recording equipment, an unconventional and devoted teacher, Fred Isseks, started a class in the early 1990s called Electronic English to take advantage of the resources. Turning his classroom into a production studio, Isseks encouraged his students to find the stories that needed telling, and he taught them how to shoot, produce, and edit the footage, even inviting local news figures to be interviewed by the class. But the rumor that a local landfill was dumping toxic waste into the water supply, unbeknownst to the townspeople, became a fixation for Isseks. His students invested themselves in a mission to uncover the truth and make it be known, with their youthful demeanor helping to sometimes gain access to those who didn’t take their class project seriously.

USA 2024 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Tony Gerber, Jesse Moss |  World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2024 | 

What if Jan. 6 happened again, only much, much worse? In a new Sundance documentary, 'War Game,’ politicians and military leaders simulate another contested election, in January 2025, and take it to the extreme. In “War Game,” a new documentary from Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, these men are members of the Order of Columbus, an extremely religious, paramilitary organization that refuses to accept the results of a contested presidential election. This is not real. It’s part of an unscripted, real-time “war game” simulation being conducted by a nonpartisan veterans group called Vet Voice Foundation — inspired by a Washington Post op-ed from three retired generals who warned that the government needed to start preparing for another, even more deadly insurrection in the wake of the 2024 election.

USA 2024 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Amanda McBain, Jesse Moss |  World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2024 | Apple +

What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? A political coming-of-age story and a stirring reimagination of what it means to govern, “Girls State" follows young female leaders — from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri — as they navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up. As questions of race and gender equality in a representational democracy reach a fever pitch, these young women confront the complicated paths women must navigate to build political power. Following a distinctly female perspective and filled with teenage insecurity, biting humor and a yearning for true friendship, the young leaders of “Girls State” win hearts and minds—not just elections.

USA 2023 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Matthew Heinemann |  World Premiere Telluiride Film Festival 2023

“American Symphony,” Matthew Heineman’s documentary portrait of the artist as a man pulled from all sides, begins in early 2022, just as Batiste starts crafting the eponymous original composition and Jaouad prepares to reenter the hospital. Heineman follows the couple during the tumultuous year as Batiste juggles various professional demands while supporting his partner during her cancer treatments. Batiste and Jaouad’s simpatico creative attitudes keeps their shared spirit afloat during this period; Heineman deliberately contrasts Jaouad’s foray into painting while in the hospital — a necessary creative shift given the radiation’s effect on her vision rendered her incapable of reading or writing — with Batiste’s musical labor. “American Symphony” culminates with Batiste’s premiere of the symphony at Carnegie Hall, but it really captures a chaotic year in the life of a musician.

USA 2023 | Documentary Feauture | Directed by Amanda McBain, Jesse Moss | NatGeo / Lightbox Production / | World Premiere | Telluiride Film Festival 2023

 

In 2018, a shocking event made headlines around the world: a young American missionary, John Chau, was killed by arrows while attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island. From EmmyⓇ-winning directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (“Boys State”) with OscarⓇ-winning producer Simon Chinn and Emmy-winning producer Jonathan Chinn of Lightbox, comes National Geographic Documentary Films’ THE MISSION, which uncovers the gripping story beyond the headlines. Through exclusive interviews and with unprecedented access to Chau’s secret plans, personal diaries, and video archives, THE MISSION examines the mythology of exploration that inspired him, the evangelical community that supported his quest, and reveals his own father’s heartbreak as Chau’s youthful thirst for adventure became a fatal obsession.

Produced by: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Will Cohen

USA 2022 | Documentary Series | Directed by Zach Heinzerling | HULU  | World Premiere HULU

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence

A group of bright Sarah Lawrence College students fall under the dark influence of a friend’s father, Larry Ray. With unprecedented access to the survivors who lived with Ray, the film follows the cult from its origins through its still-unfolding aftermath.

Executive producers: Zachary Heinzerling, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Krista Parris, Mindy Goldberg

USA 2022 | Documentary Series | Directed by Jenny Carchman  | HBO MAX + / | World Premiere HBO

Sex Diaries chronicles eight New Yorkers in short, intimate profile as they navigate sex and dating in the city. The verité portraits are woven together with video diaries that share personal reflections on dating, cultivating relationships and exploring sexual desire, and include check-ins with Alyssa Shelasky, editor of New York Magazine’s “Sex Diaries” column, as diarists recount the ups and downs of their experiences. A contemporary look at a search for connection, Sex Diaries offers a range of unique explorations of sex, intimacy, and relationships today.

Credits: Produced by Vox Media Studios; directed by Jenny Carchman; episodes three and four are directed by Carchman and Alexandra Nikolchev; produced by Shirel Kozak, Alexandra Nikolchev, Mae Ryan; co-executive produced by Alyssa Shelasky; executive produced by Big Pond Films’ Allyson Luchak and Jenny Carchman, Mark W. Olsen and Max Heckman with Scoop Wasserstein and Motto Pictures' Julie Goldman.