Michael Kirk

Directing

Michael Kirk

Born November 6, 1947 · Denver, Colorado, USA (age 78)

Michael Kirk is a documentary filmmaker and partial creator of the PBS show Frontline, where he worked as senior producer until 1987. Kirk owns a production company, the Kirk Documentary Group, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is a former Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University. He has produced such documentaries as "Inside the Meltdown," about the 2008 financial crisis, "Bush's War," abo…

Known For

The Grudge 2The Grudge 2 · 2006
The Grudge 2
★ 5.62006
MovieHorrorThriller
A young woman encounters a malevolent supernatural force while searching for her missing sister in Tokyo, a mean high school prank goes horribly wrong, and strange things begin happening in a Chicago apartment building.
The GrudgeThe Grudge · 2004
The Grudge
★ 5.92004
MovieHorrorMystery
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
The Choice 2020: Trump vs. BidenThe Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden · 2020
The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden
★ 7.22020
MovieDocumentaryHistory
A look into what has shaped President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden, where they came from and how they lead.
The Choice 2024: Harris vs. TrumpThe Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump · 2024
The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump
★ 7.42024
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The documentary investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America. Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team sat down with Trump and Harris’ friends, advisors and critics, as well as authors, journalists and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates’ lives, going all the way back to their childhoods. What emerges in FRONTLINE's "The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump" is the story of two fighters: One seeking vindication and promising a return to greatness, and the other seeking to move beyond the past and promising a greater future.
The Dark SideThe Dark Side · 2006
The Dark Side
★ 10.02006
MovieDocumentary
On Sept. 11, 2001, deep inside a White House bunker, Vice President Dick Cheney was ordering U.S. fighter planes to shoot down any commercial airliner still in the air above America. At that moment, CIA Director George Tenet was meeting with his counter-terrorism team in Langley, Virginia. Both leaders acted fast, to prepare their country for a new kind of war. But soon a debate would grow over the goals of the war on terror, and the decision to go to war in Iraq. Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and others saw Iraq as an important part of a broader plan to remake the Middle East and project American power worldwide. Meanwhile Tenet, facing division in his own organization, saw non-state actors such as Al Qaeda as the highest priority. FRONTLINE’s investigation of the ensuing conflict includes more than 40 interviews, thousands of pages of documentary evidence, and a substantial photographic archive.
The War CabinetThe War Cabinet · 2026
The War Cabinet
★ 9.32026
MovieDocumentary
Rubio. Vance. Wiles. Gabbard. Hegseth. Miller. These are some of the key players behind President Donald Trump's expansive use of the U.S. military. FRONTLINE examines the inner circle of advisors and officials trying to project U.S. power, from clashes with allies, to taking out foreign leaders, to waging war in the Middle East. • "The War Cabinet"
Pelosi's PowerPelosi's Power · 2022
Pelosi's Power
★ 1.02022
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
An examination of the powerful and polarizing Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, from veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker and chronicler of U.S. politics Michael Kirk and his team. Pelosi’s Power traces Pelosi’s life and legacy, how she has gained and wielded power across three decades, and how she has faced grave challenges to her leadership and to American democracy from Trump and his allies.
United States of ConspiracyUnited States of Conspiracy · 2020
United States of Conspiracy
★ 3.02020
MovieDocumentary
How trafficking in conspiracy theories went from the fringes of U.S. politics into the White House.

Filmography

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The Choice 2024: Harris vs. TrumpThe Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump · 2024
The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump
★ 7.42024
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The documentary investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America. Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team sat down with Trump and Harris’ friends, advisors and critics, as well as authors, journalists and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates’ lives, going all the way back to their childhoods. What emerges in FRONTLINE's "The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump" is the story of two fighters: One seeking vindication and promising a return to greatness, and the other seeking to move beyond the past and promising a greater future.

Director

The Dark SideThe Dark Side · 2006
The Dark Side
★ 10.02006
MovieDocumentary
On Sept. 11, 2001, deep inside a White House bunker, Vice President Dick Cheney was ordering U.S. fighter planes to shoot down any commercial airliner still in the air above America. At that moment, CIA Director George Tenet was meeting with his counter-terrorism team in Langley, Virginia. Both leaders acted fast, to prepare their country for a new kind of war. But soon a debate would grow over the goals of the war on terror, and the decision to go to war in Iraq. Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and others saw Iraq as an important part of a broader plan to remake the Middle East and project American power worldwide. Meanwhile Tenet, facing division in his own organization, saw non-state actors such as Al Qaeda as the highest priority. FRONTLINE’s investigation of the ensuing conflict includes more than 40 interviews, thousands of pages of documentary evidence, and a substantial photographic archive.

Director

EndgameEndgame · 2007
Endgame
★ 5.02007
MovieDocumentary
As the United States begins one final effort to secure victory through a “surge” of troops, FRONTLINE investigates how strategic and tactical mistakes brought Iraq to civil war. The film recounts how the early mandate to create the conditions for a quick exit of the American military led to chaos, failure, and sectarian strife. In Endgame, producer Michael Kirk (Rumsfeld’s War, The Torture Question, The Dark Side, and The Lost Year in Iraq) traces why the president decided to risk what military planners once warned could be the worst way to fight in Iraq — door-to-door — and assesses the likelihood of its success. Top administration figures, military commanders, and journalists offer inside details about the new strategy.

Director