Roger Ross Williams

Directing

Roger Ross Williams

Born September 16, 1962 · Easton, Pennsylvania, USA (age 64)

Roger Ross Williams (born September 16, 1962) is an American director, producer and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award (Oscar), with his short film Music by Prudence; this film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2009. Description above from the Wikipedia article Roger Ross Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wik…

Known For

Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the WorldMakayla's Voice: A Letter to the World · 2024
Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World
★ 6.92024
MovieDocumentary
A teen with autism unlocks a joyous world of self-expression as she shares her voice for the first time using a letter board.
Stamped from the BeginningStamped from the Beginning · 2023
Stamped from the Beginning
★ 6.62023
MovieDocumentaryAnimation
Using innovative animation and expert insights, this documentary based on Ibram X. Kendi's bestseller explores the history of racist ideas in America.
Civil: Ben CrumpCivil: Ben Crump · 2022
Civil: Ben Crump
★ 7.42022
MovieDocumentary
Crump's mission to raise the value of Black life as the civil lawyer for the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Black farmers and banking while Black victims, Crump challenges America to come to terms with what it owes his clients.
The ApolloThe Apollo · 2019
The Apollo
★ 6.42019
MovieDocumentary
The history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem is given the full treatment.
CassandroCassandro · 2023
Cassandro
★ 6.72023
MovieDrama
The true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso that rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world but also his own life.
Life, AnimatedLife, Animated · 2016
Life, Animated
★ 7.42016
MovieDocumentary
At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.
TLC ForeverTLC Forever · 2023
TLC Forever
★ 7.52023
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The revolutionary top-selling American female group of all time, who broke boundaries, influenced an entire generation and survived against all odds, T-Boz and Chilli tell their story for the first time in this feature documentary.
Love to Love You, Donna SummerLove to Love You, Donna Summer · 2023
Love to Love You, Donna Summer
★ 7.12023
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The extraordinary story of disco queen Donna Summer through a rich archive of unpublished film excerpts, home video, photographs, artwork, writings, personal audio and other recordings that span the life of one of the most iconic performers ever to shake a room to its timbers. From her early career with Giorgio Moroder in Germany, to later years more focused on spirituality and family life as a shelter from troubles associated with both notoriety and intimate wounds, her story is all the more special for being told in the first person – both singular and plural.

Filmography

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Music by PrudenceMusic by Prudence · 2010
Music by Prudence
★ 6.82010
MovieDocumentary
Music by Prudence tells a self-empowering story of one young woman's struggle who, together with her band, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds and, in her own voice conveys to the world that disability does not mean inability. In addition to its sheer emotional punch, Music by Prudence has become the cornerstone of an advocacy campaign and has been embraced by the UN, Human Rights Watch and the disability community as an unprecedented portrayal advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. Prudences poignant, inspiring and irreverent message of hope has received an amazing response from press and audiences all across North America, and has won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and several other awards as it continues drawing in more audiences.

Producer