Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She was a producer and director of a television documentary ''

Are the kids alright? ''Are the Kids Alright?'' is a documentary film which explores mental health care for children and youths at risk in Texas. The filmmaker, Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She was a producer and director of a tele ...

'', which won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 2005. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

at Austin, where she taught graduate and undergraduate courses in documentary, experimental film and music film production. She is a visiting professor at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

Career

Spiro's work grew out of the AIDS activist movement and tradition of grassroots video activism. Her early work was shot on a compact Sony palmcorder and highlighted gay and lesbian stories. One of her earliest award-winning works, '' Diana's Hair Ego,'' was the first small format video to be broadcast on national television. She created the 10 Under 10 Film Festival in Austin, TX. In 2006 she was awarded an artist's residency at the Bellagio Center, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, in

Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...

, Italy. She worked with

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show forma ...

on ''

Body of War ''Body of War'' is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. ''Bill Moyers Journal'' featured a one-hour special about ''Body of War'' including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. Summary Shocked by the Se ...

'', a film about paralyzed Iraq War veteran Tomas Young, which premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and won a 'People's Choice Award' and the 'Audience Award for Best Documentary' at the

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October a ...

. It was shortlisted for nomination for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in 2007. In December, Body of War was named Best Documentary of 2007 by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

. She was voted one of the "top 10 professors" by students at the

in 2018.

Films

*''Fixing the Future'' (2010–2012) *''

'' (2007) *''

Troop 1500 ''Troop 1500'' is a documentary film which won two Gracie Awards from the American Women in Radio & Television (AWRT) in the Individual Achievement Award for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Documentary. The nationally broadcast film (PBS) f ...

'' (2005) *''

Are the Kids Alright? ''Are the Kids Alright?'' is a documentary film which explores mental health care for children and youths at risk in Texas. The filmmaker, Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She was a producer and director of a tele ...

'' (2003) *''

Atomic Ed and the Black Hole ''Atomic Ed and the Black Hole'' is a documentary released in 2001 by filmmaker, Ellen Spiro. The documentary was made for HBO's Cinemax Reel Life Series. Sheila Nevins served as Executive Producer and Lisa Heller served as Supervising Produce ...

'' (2002) *'' Roam Sweet Home'' (1996) *'' Greetings From Out Here'' (1993) *'' Diana's Hair Ego'' (1991) *''Women on the Line: The Effect of Deindustrialization on Women in Buffalo'' (1988)

References

External links

*
Ellen Spiro
in th
Video Data Bank

Ellen Spiro
at

Women Make Movies Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from city-wide Women's Li ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiro, Ellen American documentary film producers American documentary film directors American cinematographers American women cinematographers University of Texas at Austin faculty University at Buffalo alumni 1968 births Living people Hampshire College faculty Film festival founders Artists from New Brunswick, New Jersey National Endowment for the Arts Fellows Rockefeller Fellows Film directors from New Jersey American women documentary filmmakers Members of ACT UP