Wikipedia

Jon Shenk

Jon Shenk is an American documentary film director and director of photography known for his films In Waves and War, Lead Me Home, Athlete A,[1] An Inconvenient Sequel, Audrie & Daisy,The Island President, Lost Boys of Sudan. He is the co-founder, with his wife Bonni Cohen, of Actual Films, a documentary film company based in San Francisco.[2] He co-directed (with Pedro Kos) and photographed Lead Me Home which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2022.[3]

Jon Shenk
Born
Cincinnati, Ohio
EducationStanford University
Yale University
University of California
Notable workIn Waves and War
Lead Me Home
Athlete A
An Inconvenient Sequel
Audrie & Daisy
The Island President
Lost Boys of Sudan
AwardsEmmy

Career

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Jon Shenk was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where he graduated from Wyoming High School. He has a bachelor's degree (BA) from Yale University in English Literature and a master’s degree (MA) from Stanford University in documentary filmmaking.[4]

Shenk worked for Lucasfilm as the behind-the-scenes documentary filmmaker covering the making of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and directed the documentary The Beginning: Making Episode 1 (2001).[5] Shenk was the director of photography for the 2008 film Smile Pinki, and he won his first Emmy for Blame Somebody Else (Exposé: America's Investigative Reports/PBS) in 2007.[citation needed]

In 2011, Shenk directed The Island President, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and won the 2011 TIFF's People's Choice Award and The International Documentary Association's (IDA) Pare Lorentz Award.[citation needed] In 2016, he co-directed (with Bonni Cohen) and photographed Audrie & Daisy which premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, was acquired by Netflix, and won a Peabody Award.[6] He co-directed and photographed An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, which premiered on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, was shortlisted as Best Documentary Feature for the 2018 Oscars,[7] and was nominated for a 2018 BAFTA for Best Documentary.[8] With Bonni Cohen, he co-directed Athlete A, which premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Festival,[9] and won a Grierson Award for Best Sports Documentary and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary in 2021.[10] In 2024, he and Bonni Cohen directed In Waves and War, a documentary about the post-war struggles of Navy SEAL veterans, and alternative therapies.[11]

Filmography

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Director

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Producer

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  • From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II' (2002, producer)
  • Lost Boys of Sudan (2003, producer)
  • P.O.V. (2004, series, producer, 1 episode)
  • The Rape of Europa (2006, producer)[14]
  • Exposé: America's Investigative Reports (2007, series, producer, 1 episode), Blame Somebody Else
  • Melting Ice (2017, documentary short, co-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)
  • 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)
  • Freedom to Dream (2020, documentary short, executive producer)

Cinematography

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  • Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm (1998)
  • Frozen Fisherman (1999)
  • Nova (2000, series, 1 episode), "Runaway Universe" (2000)
  • Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)
  • The New Heroes (2005, series, 1 episode) "Power of Enterprise"
  • National Geographic Explorer (2005-2010, series, 4 episodes)
  • The Rape of Europa (2006)
  • Secrets of Revelation (2006)
  • The Human Behavior Experiments (2006)
  • The Days and the Hours (2006, documentary short)
  • Frontline (2006, series, 1 episode) "A Hidden Life"
  • Undercover History (2007, series, 1 episode) "J. Edgar Hoover"
  • Smile Pinki (2008, documentary short)[15]
  • Nourish: Food + Community (2009, documentary short)
  • P.O.V. (2009, series, 1 episode) "New Muslim Cool"
  • Exposé: America's Investigative Reports (2009, series, 1 episode) "The People's Sheriff"
  • The Burning Wigs of Sedition (2010, documentary short)
  • Through the Wormhole (2010, series, 1 episode) "Are We Alone?"
  • Eames: The Architect & The Painter (2011)[16]
  • The Island President (2011)
  • A Kind of Order (2013)
  • American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco (2013)
  • The Revolutionary Optimists (2013)[17]
  • The Battle of Amfar (2013, documentary short)
  • Audrie & Daisy (2016, director of photography)
  • An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017)
  • Sounds of Life (2019, documentary short)
  • Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words (2019)[18]
  • Just Breathe (2019, documentary short)
  • Freedom to Dream (2020, documentary short)
  • Athlete A (2020)
  • In Waves and War (2024)
  • The White House Effect (2024)[19]

Awards

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References

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  1. ↑ "'Athlete A' Directors Say USA Gymnastics Should Do More To End Culture Of Abuse – Contenders Documentary". Deadline. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  2. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (2021-07-06). "Actual Films Names Justine Nagan Head of Production (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  3. ↑ "Netflix documentary "Lead Me Home" looks at homelessness in America". Yahoo News. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ↑ "'Inconvenient Sequel' directors Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk bring hope to the climate crisis". Los Angeles Times. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  5. ↑ Silberman, Steve. "Inside the Phantom Menace". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  6. ↑ "Audrie & Daisy". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (2018-01-05). "Al Gore Hits Oscar Trail as Paramount Unveils 'Inconvenient Sequel' Spot (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  8. ↑ "2018 Film Documentary | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  9. ↑ Lindquist, David. "IndyStar USA Gymnastics coverage team is featured in film selected for Tribeca festival". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  10. ↑ "Past Awards - 2021". griersontrust.org. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  11. ↑ "In Waves and War". inwavesandwar.com. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ Wakeman, Jessica (2016-09-23). "Life After Sexual Assault: Inside Harrowing Doc 'Audrie & Daisy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  13. ↑ Pahle, Rebecca (2012-03-27). "Jon Shenk Gets Up Close and Personal with The Island President". MovieMaker Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  14. ↑ Saltz, Rachel (2007-09-14). "Art, Lost and Found". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  15. ↑ "The Island President's Jon Shenk on Turmoil in the Maldives". THIRTEEN - New York Public Media. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  16. ↑ Wood, Sura (2011-10-18). "Eames: The Architect and the Painter: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  17. ↑ "The Revolutionary Optimists: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  18. ↑ producer., Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, on-screen participant. Golan, M. A., screenwriter. Mock, Freida Lee, film director, screenwriter, film, Ruth : Justice Ginsburg in her own words, OCLC 1236890008, retrieved 2021-08-24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (2024-08-31). "'The White House Effect' Review: How the U.S. Government's Global Warming Fight Went Cold". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  20. ↑ "2003 IDA Documentary Awards Nominees". International Documentary Association. 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  21. ↑ film (2018-01-09). "The full list of nominations for the Baftas 2018". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  22. ↑ Thompson, Anne (2020-10-26). "'Crip Camp,' 'Gunda,' and 'Mr. Soul!' Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
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