Film and Television Credits
Most but not all of this work is for broadcast and/or theatrical release; some of it was or is exhibited in museums or on the web. Except where noted, the films listed are documentaries. In many cases, I'm credited as writer or series writer. What does it mean, to write a documentary? How can you "script" something that hasn't yet happened? Most people see a "written by" or "screenwriter" credit and think it must relate only to dramatic reenactments or traditional narration. While sometimes one or both of these are scripted, they are only a small part of the writing of a nonfiction film.
Writing a documentary is similar to writing any work of creative nonfiction, in that it involves making narrative choices from the moment an idea is conceived to the time it's ready for public presentation. Which stories will told? How will the work be structured? Who are the characters? What is the point of view? How will evidence be selected and presented? Every documentary film, to some extent, addresses these questions, whether or not a writer is credited. It’s a collaborative process that begins well before footage is shot and, unlike Hollywood screenwriting, continues until the last days of editing. At that point, when the words and images are locked, you have a script. Until then, you have a series of increasingly polished outlines and drafts that you revise to incorporate new research and incoming footage and other elements.
My role varies from project to project. Sometimes I'm the author from beginning to end; sometimes I work to help get an idea off the ground, shaping it into a film or series that will attract funders (I've also written numerous successful fundraising proposals) and, eventually, audiences. Sometimes I'm hired to get works-in-progress back on track by diagnosing and treating structural or storytelling problems. I've been a producer, director, editor, production manager, assistant camera operator, and more, but for the past several years most of my film work is built around consulting and writing.. (For a list of clients, click here.)
Slavery by Another Name. (PBS 2012). Feature-length documentary based on the book by Douglas A. Blackmon, directed by Sam Pollard, and selected for the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Writer. (Reviews)
Inside Story: The Science of HIV/AIDS (Feature-length drama; theatrical and broadcast, U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, 2011-12). Fictional dramatic story incorporating science-based animation, produced by Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership and Curious Pictures. Story by (shared credit). (Reviews)
Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale. Feature-length documentary produced by Necessary Films, New York, released theatrically in 2010 and edited for PBS broadcast 2011. Writer (shared credit). (Reviews) (News)
Arkansas: A Bright Future (visitor center, 2008), 10-minute documentary and ancillary video material produced by Peace River Studios for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Permanent installation, AGFC visitor center in Little Rock. Writer.
Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France (theatrical, 2005), 40-minute IMAX documentary produced by Partners Health Care System with funding from the National Science Foundation and Ortho-McNeil Neurologics. Script consultant, revised final structure and script for release.
Forgotten Ellis Island (2005), 60-minute documentary produced by Boston Film/Video Productions. Wrote script and fundraising materials awarded $425,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (A different version of this project aired on PBS in 2009; uncredited.)
45 Words: The Story of the First Amendment (museum, 2004), 40-minute documentary produced by the Freedom Forum Newseum for permanent installation in the Newseum theater. Writer and senior producer during development.
Primary Source Investigator: American History, 12e. (digital textbook, 2004), three short documentaries (Witchcraft Crisis of 1692; Votes for Women; Daughters of Liberty)for McGraw-Hill, produced by Historicus, Inc., Durham, NH . Writer.
This Far By Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys (PBS 2003), six-hour prime-time series produced by Blackside, Inc. Developed approach and wrote original program treatments and fundraising materials that attracted more than $4 million in production funds. Series writer, development.
Miss America: A Documentary Film (PBS American Experience 2002), feature-length documentary produced by Orchard Films and Clio, Inc. Wrote script and consulted on fundraising materials that attracted $700,000 in support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and additional support from American Experience; credited as program development.
School: The Story of American Public Education (PBS 2001). Four-hour series produced by Stone Lantern Films and KCET-TV. Writer; also, co-author, companion book.
Hopes on the Horizon (PBS 2001), two-hour special on the rise of pro-democracy movements in six African nations in the 1990s, produced by Blackside, Inc. Writer.
Fear No More: Stop Violence Against Women (Lifetime 2001), special produced by Maysles Films, New York, and hosted by the actress Brooke Shields. Writer.
Lalee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (HBO 2001, limited theatrical release), Academy Award-nominated feature documentary by Maysles Films about poverty and education in the Mississippi Delta. Writer, interstitial materials; also wrote promotional materials.
I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (PBS 1999), a six-hour, prime time series produced by Blackside, Inc. Developed approach and wrote original program treatments and fundraising materials that attracted more than $4 million in production funds; supervised series content and writing and wrote three of the six films. Series writer, also episode writer.
100 Years of Women (Lifetime 1999), special by Maysles Films about six women at or near their 100th year of life. Hosted by the actress Camryn Manheim. Writer.
Life by the Numbers (PBS 1998), seven-part series on mathematics produced by WQED-TV, Pittsburgh. Wrote preliminary treatment for the first hour, Seeing is Believing.
Exploring Two Frontiers: The Neurolab Space Shuttle (PBS 1998), hour-long film produced by the Atlanta Educational Telecommunications Collaborative, Inc. and Public Broadcasting Atlanta-TV 30. Writer.
Liberty! The American Revolution (PBS 1997), six-hour prime-time series produced by Twin Cities Public Television in association with Middlemarch Films, New York. Consulting writer.
A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom (PBS 1996), feature-length documentary produced by Dante Films. Revised final script for broadcast; consulting writer.
America’s War On Poverty (PBS 1996), five-hour prime-time series. Co-wrote two films, Given a Chance and In Service to America, and consulted on a third. Consulting producer, writer.
Out of the Past (PBS 1993), eight-part series on archeology and anthropology, produced by Cambridge Studios, Allston, Ma. With WQED-TVand the Pennsylvania State University. Consulting series producer and producer/director/writer of Signs and Symbols.
Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads (PBS 1990), second season of this 14-hour, prime time series. Producer, director, and writer of Two Societies and Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More. Ain’t Gonna Shuffle won national Emmys for both writing and editing.
The Ring of Truth: An Inquiry into How We Know What We Know (PBS 1988), six-part series on astrophysics produced by Public Broadcasting Associates, featuring MIT Professor Emeritus Philip Morrison. Co-producer of two films, Mapping and Change.
The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific (PBS 1984), special on celestial navigation and the settlement of the Pacific. Produced by the Navigators Film Project, cambridge, Ma. Associate producer, assistant editor, production manager.
Inside Story: The Science of HIV/AIDS (Feature-length drama; theatrical and broadcast, U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, 2011-12). Fictional dramatic story incorporating science-based animation, produced by Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership and Curious Pictures. Story by (shared credit). (Reviews)
Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale. Feature-length documentary produced by Necessary Films, New York, released theatrically in 2010 and edited for PBS broadcast 2011. Writer (shared credit). (Reviews) (News)
Arkansas: A Bright Future (visitor center, 2008), 10-minute documentary and ancillary video material produced by Peace River Studios for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Permanent installation, AGFC visitor center in Little Rock. Writer.
Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France (theatrical, 2005), 40-minute IMAX documentary produced by Partners Health Care System with funding from the National Science Foundation and Ortho-McNeil Neurologics. Script consultant, revised final structure and script for release.
Forgotten Ellis Island (2005), 60-minute documentary produced by Boston Film/Video Productions. Wrote script and fundraising materials awarded $425,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (A different version of this project aired on PBS in 2009; uncredited.)
45 Words: The Story of the First Amendment (museum, 2004), 40-minute documentary produced by the Freedom Forum Newseum for permanent installation in the Newseum theater. Writer and senior producer during development.
Primary Source Investigator: American History, 12e. (digital textbook, 2004), three short documentaries (Witchcraft Crisis of 1692; Votes for Women; Daughters of Liberty)for McGraw-Hill, produced by Historicus, Inc., Durham, NH . Writer.
This Far By Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys (PBS 2003), six-hour prime-time series produced by Blackside, Inc. Developed approach and wrote original program treatments and fundraising materials that attracted more than $4 million in production funds. Series writer, development.
Miss America: A Documentary Film (PBS American Experience 2002), feature-length documentary produced by Orchard Films and Clio, Inc. Wrote script and consulted on fundraising materials that attracted $700,000 in support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and additional support from American Experience; credited as program development.
School: The Story of American Public Education (PBS 2001). Four-hour series produced by Stone Lantern Films and KCET-TV. Writer; also, co-author, companion book.
Hopes on the Horizon (PBS 2001), two-hour special on the rise of pro-democracy movements in six African nations in the 1990s, produced by Blackside, Inc. Writer.
Fear No More: Stop Violence Against Women (Lifetime 2001), special produced by Maysles Films, New York, and hosted by the actress Brooke Shields. Writer.
Lalee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (HBO 2001, limited theatrical release), Academy Award-nominated feature documentary by Maysles Films about poverty and education in the Mississippi Delta. Writer, interstitial materials; also wrote promotional materials.
I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (PBS 1999), a six-hour, prime time series produced by Blackside, Inc. Developed approach and wrote original program treatments and fundraising materials that attracted more than $4 million in production funds; supervised series content and writing and wrote three of the six films. Series writer, also episode writer.
100 Years of Women (Lifetime 1999), special by Maysles Films about six women at or near their 100th year of life. Hosted by the actress Camryn Manheim. Writer.
Life by the Numbers (PBS 1998), seven-part series on mathematics produced by WQED-TV, Pittsburgh. Wrote preliminary treatment for the first hour, Seeing is Believing.
Exploring Two Frontiers: The Neurolab Space Shuttle (PBS 1998), hour-long film produced by the Atlanta Educational Telecommunications Collaborative, Inc. and Public Broadcasting Atlanta-TV 30. Writer.
Liberty! The American Revolution (PBS 1997), six-hour prime-time series produced by Twin Cities Public Television in association with Middlemarch Films, New York. Consulting writer.
A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom (PBS 1996), feature-length documentary produced by Dante Films. Revised final script for broadcast; consulting writer.
America’s War On Poverty (PBS 1996), five-hour prime-time series. Co-wrote two films, Given a Chance and In Service to America, and consulted on a third. Consulting producer, writer.
Out of the Past (PBS 1993), eight-part series on archeology and anthropology, produced by Cambridge Studios, Allston, Ma. With WQED-TVand the Pennsylvania State University. Consulting series producer and producer/director/writer of Signs and Symbols.
Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads (PBS 1990), second season of this 14-hour, prime time series. Producer, director, and writer of Two Societies and Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More. Ain’t Gonna Shuffle won national Emmys for both writing and editing.
The Ring of Truth: An Inquiry into How We Know What We Know (PBS 1988), six-part series on astrophysics produced by Public Broadcasting Associates, featuring MIT Professor Emeritus Philip Morrison. Co-producer of two films, Mapping and Change.
The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific (PBS 1984), special on celestial navigation and the settlement of the Pacific. Produced by the Navigators Film Project, cambridge, Ma. Associate producer, assistant editor, production manager.
