Adam Hootnick is a director and producer of film, television, and other short-form content. His work includes ''What Carter Lost'', '' UNSETTLED'', ''Destination: Team USA'', ''Son of the Congo'', ''Judging Jewell'', and ''Pro Day''. He is currently developing his first narrative feature film.

Career

Early career

Hootnick's creative career began with news production positions at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

in the US and Israel, including work with NBC legal correspondent

Dan Abrams Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

and NBC Tel Aviv correspondent Martin Fletcher. He worked as a producer at MTV News & Documentaries covering politics and international affairs worldwide, including news and documentary segments and specials tied to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, Supreme Court decisions on gay rights and affirmative action, and the 2004 and 2008 US Presidential elections.

Documentaries

Hootnick's first feature, '' UNSETTLED'', follows several young Israelis during the 2005 withdrawal of Israeli settlements and troops from Gaza. ''UNSETTLED'' won numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

. He directed
What Carter Lost
', which tells the story of the Dallas Carter Cowboys, one of the most talented teams in high school football history, and their dominating 1988 season in Texas, as famously portrayed in the film '' Friday Night Lights''. The documentary, named one of the year's best documentaries by Sports Illustrated, was Hootnick's second film for ESPN's Oscar and Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series. His first 30 for 30 film,
Judging Jewell
" told the story of Richard Jewell, the security guard wrongly accused of bombing the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and was rated among the top films in the history of the series by

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

. Produced in conjunction with

Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed e ...

and Executive Producer Bill Simmons, Hootnick'
"Son of the Congo"
premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival. The film follows

Serge Ibaka Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila (; born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ibaka was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th over ...

, who was born and grew up in the Republic of the Congo before he was drafted to the NBA. Hootnick also collaborated with ESPN to direct the short films "Pro Day" and "The Outstanding Mind-Bending Basketball Synergy Machine". His project for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

an
Tribeca Studios

Destination: Team USA
', follows five Olympic hopefuls as they compete for spots on the 2016 Olympic team. He founded and continues to ru
Resonance Story Company
a production company specializing in branded documentaries for clients in various sectors including health care, financial services, and consumer products.

Commercial directing

As a commercial director, Hootnick's recent work includes NASCAR's tribute to

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

, "One Last Time Around", as well as projects for United Airlines,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decr ...

, and the Clinton Foundation.

Music videos

Hootnick's first music video was the

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

s-honoree "Shoeshine" with Brooklyn rock band

Black Taxi A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common ...

Personal life

Hootnick graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and Harvard Law School, and is currently based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

References

External links

*
Clinton Foundation, "Coaching Boys into Men" Video

United Airlines, “Destination: Team USA” Video

Resonance Story Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hootnick, Adam American documentary film directors Harvard Law School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Harvard College alumni