Bonni Cohen is an American documentary film producer[1] and director.[2] She is the co-founder of Actual Films[3] and has produced and directed an array of award-winning films.[4] Most recently, she co-directed, along with husband Jon Shenk, the 2024 documentary In Waves and War, which was released on Netflix in November, 2025.[5] She also produced the Oscar-nominated film Lead Me Home, which premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival and is a Netflix Original.[6] She also recently co-directed Athlete A, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary[7] and received four nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards.[8] She is the co-founder of Actual Films, the production company of the documentaries An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Audrie & Daisy, 3.5 Minutes, The Island President, Lost Boys of Sudan and The Rape of Europa.[9] Cohen is the co-founder of the Catapult Film Fund.[10]
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Career
editCohen co-directed the 2024 documentary In Waves and War.[5] She also co-directed Athlete A[11] and An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.[12][2] In 2016, Cohen co-directed the film Audrie & Daisy,[13] which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival[14] where it was acquired[15] by Netflix.
Cohen is the producer of The Island President,[16] a documentary about the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. In 2009, Cohen produced the film Wonders are Many,[17] directed by Jon Else, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.[18] Cohen co-directed Inside Guantanamo with Else.[19] Cohen also served as Executive Producer[3] of the documentary films 3.5 Minutes and Art and Craft.
Filmography
editDirected features
edit- In Waves and War (2024)
- Athlete A (2020)
- Just Breathe (2019, documentary short)
- An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017)
- Audrie & Daisy (2016)
- National Geographic Explorer (2007-2009, series, 3 episodes)
- Inside Guantanamo (2009)[20]
- Inside Bethlehem (2007)
- The Last Christians of Bethlehem (2007)
- The Rape of Europa (2006)[19]
- Wild on the Set (2000, series, 1 episode, 2000)
- Snakes (2000, second director)
- Primates (2000)
- Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm (1998)
- Meet Me in Miami Beach (1994, documentary short)
Producing credits
edit- Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (2025, producer)
- Freedom to Dream (2020, documentary short, executive producer)
- Jaiquan's Sketch (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Cooking for Life (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Sounds of Life (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Cooked: Survival by Zip Code (2019, consulting producer)
- Be Like Water (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Drawn to the Mat (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Just Breathe (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Nature: No App Required (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- Splash (2019, documentary short, executive producer)
- The Seer and the Unseen (2019, executive producer)
- Life Overtakes Me (2019, documentary short, executive producer)[3]
- When God Sleeps (2017, executive producer)
- Melting Ice (2017, documentary short, co-producer)
- Extremis (2016, documentary short, executive producer)[21]
- Audrie & Daisy (2016, producer)
- P.O.V. (2015, series, executive producer, 1 episode)
- Art and Craft
- 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015, executive producer)[3]
- The Last Season (2014, consulting producer)
- Art and Craft (2014, executive producer)[3]
- American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco (2013, executive producer)
- Independent Lens (2008–2013, series, producer, 2 episodes)
- Island President (2013)
- Wonders Are Many: The Making of "Doctor Atomic" (2008)
- The Island President (2011, producer)
- National Geographic Explorer (2007, series, producer, 1 episode)
- The Last Christians of Bethlehem
- Undercover History (2007, series, producer, 1 episode)
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Wonders Are Many (2007, producer)
- The Rape of Europa (2006, executive producer, producer)
- Open Outcry (2001, producer)
- They Drew Fire (2000, producer)
- Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm (1998, producer)
- The Human Sexes (1997, series, producer)
Awards and nominations
edit- 1998 Emmy Nominee, Outstanding Non-Fiction Series, The Human Sexes (1997), shared with Sandra Gregory (executive producer), Michael Rosenberg (executive producer), Clive Bromhall (series producer), Clare Hargreaves, Beverley Parr, John Longley, Desmond Morris (host/writer)[22]
- 2000 International Documentary Association Award Nominee, Strand Program, They Drew Fire (2000), shared with Nicole Newnham and Brian Lanker[23]
- 2008 Writers Guild of America Award Nominee, Documentary Screenplay, The Rape of Europa (2006), shared with Richard Berge and Nicole Newnham[19]
- 2011 Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award Winner, The Island President (2011), shared with Richard Berge[19]
- 2018 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Nominee, Best Documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017), shared with Jon Shenk[24]
- 2020 Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominee, Athlete A (2020), shared with Jon Shenk[25]
References
edit- ↑ "Cannes 2017 Women Directors: Meet Bonni Cohen — "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- 1 2 "'Inconvenient Sequel' directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk bring hope to the climate crisis". Los Angeles Times. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Bonni Cohen". Variety. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "IDA Appoints Award-Winning Filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jannat Gargi to Board of Directors". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- 1 2 "In Waves and War". inwavesandwar.com. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Lead Me Home". www.leadmehomefilm.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ↑ "News 2021 Nominees (Documentaries) – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ↑ "5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards – List of Nominees and Winners – Critics Choice Awards". Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ↑ "The Rape of Europa". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "Catapult Film Fund Celebrates a Decade of Doc Support". International Documentary Association. 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ Carey, Matthew (2021-01-10). "'Athlete A' Directors Say USA Gymnastics Should Do More To End Culture Of Abuse – Contenders Documentary". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Bentley, Jean (2017-11-08). "'An Inconvenient Sequel' Filmmakers on Modifying Their Film After Donald Trump's Climate Policy Changes". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Wakeman, Jessica (2016-09-23). "Life After Sexual Assault: Inside Harrowing Doc 'Audrie & Daisy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Chai, Barbara (2015-12-02). "Sundance Film Festival Announces In-Competition Films for 2016 (See the Full List)". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Lang, Brent (2016-01-28). "Sundance: Netflix Strikes Again, Picking Up 'Audrie & Daisy'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "THE ISLAND PRESIDENT". DOC NYC. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Byrge, Duane (2007-01-25). "Wonders Are Many". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ 2007 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films Archived 2021-08-17 at the Wayback Machine (press release)
- 1 2 3 4 "IDA Appoints Award-Winning Filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jannat Gargi to Board of Directors". International Documentary Association. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (2009-04-03). "Prison Misery, for Detainees and Guards". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "Extremis | 2016 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "Bonni Cohen". Television Academy. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "2000 IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards Nominees". International Documentary Association. 2000-11-01. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ "The full list of nominations for the Baftas 2018". The Guardian. 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ↑ Thompson, Anne (2020-10-26). "'Crip Camp,' 'Gunda,' and 'Mr. Soul!' Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-08-24.