Roger Ross Williams
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Roger Ross Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2016 | |
| Born | September 16, 1962 Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Screenwriter Film producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Roger Ross Williams (born September 16, 1962) is an American director, producer and writer and the first
Academy Award (Oscar), with his short film Music by Prudence; this film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film
in 2009.
Life and career
Williams is a member of a Gullah family from South Carolina, and has lived and worked in New York City for over twenty-five years. Williams attended Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and New York University in New York City.
Williams began his career in 1985, producing
Sundance Channel and New York Times Television. He has also produced a documentary series for Discovery Networks
and a lifestyle series, Sheila Bridges Designer Living, for Scripps Networks. He has won numerous awards for his TV work including a NAMIC Vision Award and the National Headliner for Best Human Interest Feature documentary.
Williams has directed a number of films including Tribeca Film Festival.[citation needed]
His first narrative feature film for
Amazon Studios is in pre-production. His production company, One Story Up, which he founded with Geoff Martz,[3] is producing a variety of projects including documentary series for Netflix
.
The documentary film Master of Light, directed by Rosa Ruth Boesten and produced by Ilja Roomans, Anousha Nzume and Williams, was played at the music and film festival
HBO Max
that same year.
Williams is the first
Academy Award (Oscar) with his short film Music by Prudence; this film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film
in 2009.
Williams serves on the board of Docubox Kenya, a documentary fund and mentorship program based in
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
, serving as chair of the Documentary Branch and the Documentary Diversity Committee He is also
a trustee of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, the first major museum in Africa dedicated to contemporary art.[8] Furthermore, he is a member of the Advisory Board of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and of the board of the Tribeca Film Institute.
He splits his time between upstate New York and Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
.
Filmography
Director
- 1997: Discovered At Sundance (TV)
- 2000: Reagan: A Life In Pictures (TV)
- 2001: Time (TV)
- 2001: Challenge America With Erin Brockovich (TV)
- 2002: Secret Son (TV)
- 2003: Power, Privilege & Justice (TV)
- 2003: Boys Will Be Girls (TV)
- 2003: First Off The Tee (TV)
- 2003: New York Underground (TV)
- 2004: The Lives They Lived (TV)
- 2004: Moroccan Style (TV)
- 2005: Sheila Bridges Designer Living: Morocco Special (TV) and Sheila Bridges Designer Living
- 2006: Amazing Families (TV)
- 2010: Undercover Boss (TV, 1 episode: 7-Eleven)
- 2010: Music by Prudence
- 2013: God Loves Uganda
- 2014: Tutu: The Essence of Being Human
- 2015: Gospel of Intolerance
- 2015: Blackface
- 2016: Life, Animated
- 2018: American Jail
- 2019: The Apollo
- 2023: Cassandro
- 2023: Love to Love You, Donna Summer
- 2023: The Super Models (TV)
- 2023: Stamped from the Beginning
Producer
- 1995: People Yearbook '95 (TV) (segment producer)
- 1996: Sex, Drugs and Consequences (TV) (producer)
- 1997: TV Nation: Volume One (segment producer)
- 2000: Reagan: A Life In Pictures (TV) (producer)
- 2001: Time (TV) (producer)
- 2002: Secret Son (TV) (producer)
- 2002: Life 360 (segment producer) (1 episode:Telling the Children) (segment producer)
- 2003: Power, Privilege & Justice (TV) (producer)
- 2003: First Off The Tee (TV) (producer)
- 2003: New York Underground (TV) (producer)
- 2004: The Lives They Lived (TV) (producer)
- 2004: Moroccan Style (TV) (producer)
- 2004 - 2005: Sheila Bridges Designer Living (series supervising producer)
- 2006: Amazing Families (TV) (producer)
- 2007: Alone No Love (co-producer)
- 2007: Yearbook (TV) (series producer)
- 2010: Music by Prudence (producer)
- 2013: God Loves Uganda (producer)
- 2014: Tutu: The Essence of Being Human (producer)
- 2016: Life, Animated
- 2022: Master of Light
- 2023: Savior Complex
Screenwriter
- 2000: Reagan: A Life In Pictures (TV)
- 2003: Power, Privilege & Justice (TV)
- 2003: First Off The Tee (TV)
- 2003: New York Underground (TV)
- 2004: The Lives They Lived (TV)
- 2004: Moroccan Style (TV)
- 2005: Sheila Bridges Designer Living: Morocco Special (TV)
- 2006: Amazing Families (TV)
- 2023: Cassandro co-written with David Teague [9]
Awards
- NAMIC Vision Award for the television special Moroccan Style[10]
- The National Headliner for Best Human Interest Feature for his documentary New York Underground[10]
- Inspiration Award, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival for God Loves Uganda[13]
- Best Feature Documentary, Ashland Independent Film Festival for God Loves Uganda[14]
- Best Feature Documentary Dallas International Film Festival for God Loves Uganda[15]
- Directing Award: U.S. Documentary Sundance Film Festival for Life, Animated [16]
References
- ^ Steve Dove (January 24, 2017). "Oscar Nominations 2017: View the Complete List of Nominees". American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "2019 Sundance Film Festival: New frontier lineup announced". Sundance Film Festival. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
Confronting the way we understand and talk about race in America, this virtual reality documentary immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
- ^ "About". One Story Up. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
Founded by Oscar and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams and Emmy Award-winning producer Geoff Martz, One Story Up specializes in creating both socially and artistically driven documentary films, television, series, animation and VR.
- ^ "Master of Light". South by Southwest (SXSW). February 18, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Master of Light". Docmakers. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Master of Light - documentary Feature". One Story Up. 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "About the Artist". George Anthony Morton. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "2018 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive includes Iyabo Boyd & Roger Ross Williams/David Teague". ioncinema.com. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
- ^ "Cassandro". IMDb.
- ^ a b BWW News Desk. "Oscar Winning 'Music By Prudence' Premieres on HBO2, 5/12".
- ^ "Photos Grouped by Event: 82nd Academy Awards Telecast" (Press release). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. March 7, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ Sergio. "Oscar Winning Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams Currently Working on New Documentary About Autism - IndieWire". Archived from the original on 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
- ^ "God Loves Uganda (2013) | Documentary Edge Festival 2014". Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
- ^ A, Project. "ashland independent film festival". ashland independent film festival.
- ^ "DIFF Filmmaker Award Winners - Dallas Film Society". Archived from the original on 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Life Animated - a documentary by Roger Ross Williams". Life Animated. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
Winner Sundance directing award: U.S. documentary