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IMDbPro

Stanley Nelson(I)

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Stanley Nelson at an event for A Place of Our Own (2004)
Trailer for The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Play trailer2:32
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
2 Videos
12 Photos
Stanley Nelson is among the premier documentary filmmakers working today. His feature-length films combine compelling narratives with rich and deeply researched historical detail, shining new light on both familiar and under-explored aspects of the American past.

In addition to honors for his individual films, Nelson and his body of work have garnered every major award in the industry. He is a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, and was awarded an individual Peabody Award, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts Sciences, and received the National Medal in the Humanities from President Barack Obama.

Nelson's latest film, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the definitive look at the life and career of the iconic Miles Davis, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019. The screening marked Nelson's tenth premiere at the prestigious festival in twenty years, the most premieres of any documentary filmmaker.

In 2018, Nelson directed a short film which examined the history and impact of racial profiling in public spaces. The Story of Access was screened at a mandatory training for 175,000 Starbucks employees across 8,000 stores, and received over a million views on.
BornJuly 7, 1955
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 7, 1955
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 23 wins & 34 nominations total

Photos12

Stanley Nelson in Freedom Summer (2014)
Stanley Nelson in Freedom Summer (2014)
Stanley Nelson in Freedom Summer (2014)
Stanley Nelson
Stanley Nelson at an event for Attica (2021)
Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry at an event for Attica (2021)
Stanley Nelson
Kathleen Cleaver, Stanley Nelson, and Marcia Smith at an event for The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Stanley Nelson at an event for The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Stanley Nelson at an event for A Place of Our Own (2004)
Stanley Nelson at an event for A Place of Our Own (2004)

Known for

David Ogden Stiers, David McCullough, and Michael Murphy in American Experience (1987)
American Experience
8.6
TV Series
  • Producer(produced by)
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords (1999)
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords
6.3
  • Producer
  • 1999
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
7.3
  • Producer
  • 2015
Freedom Riders (2010)
Freedom Riders
8.0
  • Producer
  • 2010

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • J'Nai Bridges Unamplified (2023)
    J'Nai Bridges Unamplified
    • executive producer
    • Short
    • 2023
  • Billy Porter in Black + Iconic: Style God (2023)
    Black + Iconic: Style God
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • The Five Demands
    • executive producer
    • 2023
  • Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom (2022)
    Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom
    • producer
    • 2022
  • Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens
    • executive producer
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 2004–2022
  • After Jackie (2022)
    After Jackie
    • executive producer
    • 2022
  • Hazing (2022)
    Hazing
    • executive producer
    • 2022
  • Frontline (1983)
    Frontline
    • consulting producer
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • NYC Overcoming (2021)
    NYC Overcoming
    • executive producer
    • TV Special
    • 2021
  • Lynching Postcards: 'Token of A Great Day' (2021)
    Lynching Postcards: 'Token of A Great Day'
    • executive producer
    • Short
    • 2021
  • Attica (2021)
    Attica
    • Producer
    • 2021
  • Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (2021)
    Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 2021
  • Free for All: Inside the Public Library
    • executive producer
    • 2020
  • In the Making (2020)
    In the Making
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Be Water (2020)
    30 for 30
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 2020

Director

  • The Color of Cola
    • Director
    • In Production
  • Becoming Frederick Douglass (2022)
    Becoming Frederick Douglass
    • Director
    • TV Special
    • 2022
  • Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom (2022)
    Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom
    • Director
    • 2022
  • NYC Overcoming (2021)
    NYC Overcoming
    • Director
    • TV Special
    • 2021
  • Attica (2021)
    Attica
    • Director
    • 2021
  • Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (2021)
    Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2021
  • Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (2021)
    Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy
    • Director
    • 2021
  • Be Water (2020)
    30 for 30
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019)
    Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
    • Director
    • 2019
  • Boss: The Black Experience in Business (2019)
    Boss: The Black Experience in Business
    • Director
    • 2019
  • American Masters (1985)
    American Masters
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2019
  • Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America (2018)
    Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America
    • Director
    • 2018
  • Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities (2017)
    Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
    • Director
    • 2017
  • Art in the Twenty-First Century (2001)
    Art in the Twenty-First Century
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2004–2016
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
    The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
    • Director
    • 2015

Writer

  • Attica (2021)
    Attica
    • Writer
    • 2021
  • Independent Lens (1999)
    Independent Lens
    • Writer
    • TV Series
    • 2004–2016
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
    The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
    • written by
    • 2015
  • David Ogden Stiers, David McCullough, and Michael Murphy in American Experience (1987)
    American Experience
    • written by
    • TV Series
    • 2011–2014
  • Freedom Summer (2014)
    Freedom Summer
    • written by
    • 2014
  • Freedom Riders (2010)
    Freedom Riders
    • written by
    • 2010
  • A Place of Our Own (2004)
    A Place of Our Own
    • Writer
    • 2004
  • Duke Ellington's Washington
    • Writer
    • TV Movie
    • 2000
  • The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords (1999)
    The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords
    • writer
    • 1999
  • Puerto Rico: Our Right to Decide
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1981
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos2

Freedom Riders: Trailer #1
Trailer 1:48
Freedom Riders: Trailer #1
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Trailer 2:32
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Personal details

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  • Official site
    • Twitter
  • Born
    • July 7, 1955
    • USA
  • Spouse
    • Marcia Smith? - present (2 children)
  • Children
      Kay
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship ("genius grant")

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