Stanley Nelson
Born: 1955-07-07 in New York City, New York, USA
Known For: Directing
Biography
Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. (born June 7, 1951) is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards. Among his notable films are Freedom Riders (2010), Wounded Knee (2009), Jonestown: The Life & Death of People's Temple (2006), Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice (2005), A Place of Our Own (2004), The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), and The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords (1998).
Filmography
2025
- The Inquisitor ... (Executive Producer)
- We Want the Funk! ... (Director)
- Free for All: The Public Library ... (Executive Producer)
- Sun Ra: Do the Impossible ... (Executive Producer)
- True North ... (Executive Producer)
- Critical Condition: Health in Black America ... (Director)
2024
- Sister Úna Lived a Good Death ... (Executive Producer)
- San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood ... (Director)
2023
- Sound of the Police ... (Producer)
- Birthing a Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney ... (Executive Producer)
- Bulls and Saints ... (Executive Producer)
- Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology ... (Executive Producer)
- Sydney G. James: How We See Us ... (Executive Producer)
2022
- After Jackie ... (Producer)
- Hazing ... (Executive Producer)
- Becoming Frederick Douglass ... (Director)
2021
- Attica ... (Director)
- Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy ... (Director)
- Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day ... (Executive Producer)
- Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre ... (Director)
- Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom ... (Director)
2020
- Vick ... (Director)
- Black Panthers ... (Director)
2019
- Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool ... (Director)
- BOSS: The Black Experience in Business ... (Producer)
2018
- Black Memorabilia ... (Script Supervisor)
- The Story of Access ... (Director)
2017
- Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities ... (Director)
- Picket Line ... (Executive Producer)
- Gavin Grimm vs. ... (Executive Producer)
- American Carnage ... (Executive Producer)
2015
- The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution ... (Director)
- Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band ... (Executive Producer)
2014
- Freedom Summer ... (Writer)
2012
- Jesse Owens ... (Writer)
- Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas ... (Director)
2010
- Freedom Riders ... (Writer)
2009
- 30 for 30 ... (Director)
- We Shall Remain ... (Director)
2008
- Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans ... (Executive Producer)
2006
- Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple ... (Director)
2004
- Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise ... (Director)
- A Place of Our Own as Self - Narrator (voice)
2003
- The Murder of Emmett Till ... (Director)
2001
- Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind ... (Director)
1999
- The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords ... (Producer)
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
1988
- American Experience ... (Writer)
1987
- Two Dollars and A Dream: The Story of Madame C.J. Walker ... (Director)
1985
- Frederick Douglass: An American Life ... (Sound Recordist)
1981
- Puerto Rico: Our Right to Decide ... (Writer)
1976
- Just Doin’ It (A Tale of Two Barbershops) ... (Sound)