Documentary Director Lucy Walker - Feb 2012

Lucy Walker is an English film director. She has directed the documentaries '' Devil's Playground'' (2002), '' Blindsight'' (2006), '' Waste Land'' (2010), ''

Countdown to Zero ''Countdown to Zero'' is a 2010 documentary film by British filmmaker Lucy Walker. The film argues that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, theft of ...

'' (2010), and ''

The Crash Reel ''The Crash Reel'' is a documentary film directed by Lucy Walker which premiered as the Opening Night Gala film on 19 January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival. Through 20 years of sports and verite footage, ''The Crash Reel'' chronicles the ri ...

'' (2013). She has also directed the short films '' The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom'' (2011) and ''

The Lion's Mouth Opens ''The Lion's Mouth Opens'' is a 2014 short documentary film. It follows actress and filmmaker Marianna Palka as she pursues testing to learn whether she inherited the genetic mutation that causes Huntington's disease, an incurable neurodegenera ...

'' (2014).

Film career

Walker's 2014 documentary ''

'' focuses on filmmaker-actor Marianna Palka's attempt to discover if she has inherited

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an uns ...

, the incurable degenerative disorder that took Palka's father. Nick Higgins worked with Walker as cinematographer for the documentary. Walker premiered ''The Lion's Mouth Opens'' at Sundance on 26 January 2014. Walker was inspired to make the 2013 documentary ''

'' when she met

Kevin Pearce (snowboarder) Kevin Pearce (born November 1, 1987) is the co-founder of thLove Your BrainFoundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the quality of life of people affected by traumatic brain injury. He also is an inspirational speaker, ...

at a retreat organized by

David Mayer de Rothschild David Mayer de Rothschild (born 25 August 1978) is a British adventurer, ecologist, and environmentalist.7 February 2009 The Sunday Times Magazine Early life He is a member of the Rothschild family, the youngest of three children of Victoria ...

. ''

'' premiered at Sundance on 19 January 2013 as the Opening Night Gala film. The film chronicles the rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White, which culminates in Kevin's life-changing crash. '' Outside'' featured Lucy in a cover story, "Lucy Walker Will Change Winter Sports". Walker's 2011 documentary '' The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom'' focuses on the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peni ...

and its survivors' struggle to survive. The film 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 perman ...

in 2011, and it went on to screen at festivals, including Sundance, in 2012. ''Waste Land'' focuses on Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and a group of catadores—pickers of recyclable materials—who transform recyclable materials from the world's largest dump in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

into contemporary art sold at the most prestigious auction house in London. ''Waste Land'' premiered at Sundance in 2010. ''Waste Land'' was released theatrically in the US by Arthouse Films, in Canada, in the UK by

E1 Entertainment E1, E01, E.I or E-1 may refer to: Transportation Aircraft * Azcárate E-1, a Mexican sesquiplane trainer * Fokker E.I, a German fighter aircraft * Grumman E-1 Tracer, an American airborne early warning aircraft * Hydra Technologies E1 Gavilá ...

, and in Australia/NZ by Hopscotch Films. ''Blindsight'' premiered at Toronto. It follows the journey of six blind Tibetan teenagers who climb up the north side of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...

with blind American mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer and their teacher,

Sabriye Tenberken Sabriye Tenberken (born 1970) is a German tibetologist and co-founder of the organisation Braille Without Borders. Biography Sabriye was born in Cologne, West Germany. She lost her sight slowly as a child due to retinitis pigmentosa, and he ...

, who founded the only school for the blind in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Braille Without Borders Braille Without Borders (BWB) is an international organisation for the blind in developing countries. It was founded in Lhasa, Tibet, by Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg in 1998. Overview BWB's mission is to give hope and practical skill ...

. Both ''Waste Land'' and ''Blindsight'' won the Audience Award at Berlin Film Festival. ''Devil's Playground'', Walker's first feature documentary, examined the struggles of

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

teenagers during their period of experimentation ( rumspringa). It premiered at the 2002

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. ''Countdown to Zero'', an exposé of the present-day threat of nuclear proliferation, also premiered at Sundance 2010. It also played in the Official Selection at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, before being released in the US by

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...

, in the UK by

Dogwoof Dogwoof is a film-distribution company based in the United Kingdom. History Dogwoof Pictures Dogwoof was founded in 2003 by Andy Whittaker, and originally concentrated on foreign films, including such titles as ''Don't Move'', '' Fateless'', ...

, and in Japan by Paramount. Walker's credits in television include directing over a dozen episodes of Nickelodeon's ''

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...

'', her first job out of film school, for which she was twice nominated for

Emmy Awards 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 ...

for Outstanding Directing. Her content and commercial work includes directing "Project Daniel" for Intel, which was awarded an AICP Curator's Award and three Bronze Lions at the Cannes Festival of Creativity Walker was named one of the "Top 25 New Faces in Independent Film" by ''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

'' and called "the new

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNama ...

" by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

''. ''

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'' has profiled her as a notable "Femme Filmmaker", praising her ability to connect with audiences. '' Bring Your Own Brigade'' which follows the aftermath of the Camp Fire (2018) had its world premiere at the

on 29 January 2021. Walker served as a producer on '' Why Did You Kill Me?'' directed by Fredrick Munk, which was released on 14 April 2021 by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Filmography

*'' Devil's Playground'' (2002) *'' Blindsight'' (2006) *''

'' (2010) *'' Waste Land'' (2010) *'' The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom'' (2011) *''

'' (2013) *''

'' (2014) *'' Buena Vista Social Club: Adios'' (2017) *'' Bring Your Own Brigade'' (2021) *'' Why Did You Kill Me?'' (2021) (producer) *'' How to Change Your Mind'' (2022)

Select accolades

References

External links

*
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Lucy Living people British documentary film directors English women film directors Film directors from London Tisch School of the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Women documentary filmmakers Fulbright alumni