EXCLUSIVE: Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions has entered a co-production agreement with UK documentary company HiddenLight, that will see Jigsaw provide physical production for HiddenLight projects in the US.

The agreement covers current and future HiddenLight works.

HiddenLight was founded in 2020 by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sam Branson and Chelsea Clinton. The company’s credits include 2022 documentary In Her Hands following Afghanistan’s youngest female mayor Zarifa Ghafari; Telluride 2024 title Zurawski V Texas, about a group of women who were denied abortions uniting to sue the state of Texas; and Berlinale 2026 Special Presentation title Tutu, about South African archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Through Jigsaw, Gibney has made films including 2008 Oscar best documentary winner Taxi To The Dark Side, 2006 best documentary nominee Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, and further features including Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief, Sundance 2026 title Knife: The Attempted Murder Of Salman Rushdie and upcoming Elon Musk documentary Musk.

“Jigsaw shares our commitment to premium, culturally resonant storytelling and we’re delighted to formalise our collaboration,” said Johnny Webb, HiddenLight CEO. “Expanding our production capabilities in the US provides the scale and flexibility to focus on what we do best: developing distinctive stories that help global audiences see the world in new ways.”

The post Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions sets co-production agreement with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s HiddenLight appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

Musk condemned the long-gestating doc in 2023, posting on X, “It’s a hit piece” — to which Gibney replied: “How would you know?”

The post Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk Documentary to Premiere in Venice — With a Nearly Four-Hour Runtime appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

National Geographic’s “Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller” continues to dominate the News & Documentary Emmy nominations — earning 25 nods this year, followed by PBS’ “Frontline” series, which earned 19 nods. Disney had a good showing, as Nat Geo led the pack with 51 nods, followed by ABC News (47), and then CNN (32), Netflix (32) and PBS (25).

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced nominations for 47th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards on Tuesday. The news categories will be handed out Wednesday, May 27, while the documentary categories will be revealed on Thursday, May 28, both days at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.

“Trafficked” was nominated for episodes including “Million Dollar Highway Heists,” “Brides for Sale,” “Scam City,” “Shark Hunters,” “Underground Street Racing,” “The Great American Rehab Scam,” “Black Market Love,” “Cartel USA” and “The Tranq Dope Underground.” “Frontline” landed its nods for looks at

“Trafficked” was followed by PBS’ “Frontline” series, which earned 19 nods — including editions looking at “Strike On Iran: The Nuclear Question,” “Antidote,” “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” “Born Poor,” “Syria’s Detainee Files,” “The Rise of Germany’s New Right,” “Battle for Tibet,” “Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages,” “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” and more.

“This year’s nominees represent a dynamic range of voices and perspectives shaping the future of news and documentary storytelling,” said NATAS president/CEO Adam Sharp. “At a time of constant transformation, their work deepens public understanding and brings critical stories to audiences with urgency and insight.”

This year’s News & Documentary Emmys nominees came from from more than 2000 submissions, with eligible programs that that originally premiered sometime during 2025. More than 900 peer professionals chose the nominees.

“This year’s documentary nominees represent an extraordinary range of storytelling, from deeply personal narratives to sweeping historical examinations,” said Christine Chin, Head of Documentary Emmys. “These films challenge perspectives, elevate underrepresented voices, and demonstrate the power of documentary filmmaking to inform, engage, and inspire audiences worldwide.”

Added News Emmys head Amy Schmelzer: “The brave storytellers represented in this year’s class of nominees reflect the courage and integrity needed to communicate today’s breaking stories to audiences around the world. We look forward to celebrating all of their work at this year’s ceremonies.”

Lifetime honorees and hosts will be announced at a later date. Here are this year’s nominees:

Outstanding Live News Program

• ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
• Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN Worldwide)
• Good Morning America (ABC News)
• The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN Worldwide)
• NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas (NBC News)
• Today Show (NBC News)

Outstanding Recorded News Program

• ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
• CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS News)
• Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Live Breaking News Coverage

• American Eagle Helicopter Crash Morning After — Today Show (NBC News)
• Charlie Kirk Assassination (CBS News)
• Gaza Peace Deal & Israeli Hostage Release — NBC News Special Report (NBC News)
• New Orleans Terror Attack — NBC News Special Report (NBC News)
• U.S. Army’s Grand Military Parade — ABC News Special Report (ABC News)

Outstanding Extended Breaking News Coverage

• Catastrophic Fires — PBS News Hour (PBS News)
• Deadly Texas Flash Floods — CNN Worldwide (CNN Worldwide)
• Fire Emergency in Southern California — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
• The Fires — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• LA Wildfires (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Live News Special

• 100 Días de Trump (Noticias Telemundo)
• 100 Days of Trump — A Townhall with Forced Out Federal Workers (MSNBC)
• 20/20 & ABC World News Tonight — American Catastrophe: LA Burning (ABC News)
• ABC News Special Report — The Conclave (ABC News)
• Good Night, and Good Luck — Truth and Power (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Recorded News Special

• ABC News Live — The Struggle For Food Assistance (ABC News)
• ABC News Live/ABC News Studios — The Children of Gaza (ABC News)
• Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years After the Storm (Rock’n Robin Productions, ABC News Studios)
• The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper — The United States vs. Harvard (CNN Worldwide)
• The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper — LA Burning (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Continuing Coverage: Short Form

• CNN’s Jeremy Diamond Covers Gaza’s Starvation Crisis (CNN Worldwide)
• Cuts & Consequences — PBS News Hour (PBS News)
• Earthquake in Myanmar (BBC News)
• Fred Pleitgen Reports from Inside Iran (CNN Worldwide)
• Haiti: Inside the Collapse — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)

Outstanding Continuing Coverage: Long Form

• Along the Green Line (The Guardian)
• The First 100 Days Compilation — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Gaza War (The New York Times)
• Immigration Crackdown (ABC News)
• The Trump Administration Claims No One Has Died Due to US Aid Cuts (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Light Feature: Short Form

• How Activists Fought for Rights for People With Disabilities (Retro Report)
• The Long Train Ride Home: Remembering Emmett Till — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
• Remembering Captain Pitts — ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
• Revisiting The Voting Rights Act — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
• View From the Floor — The New York Times Op-Docs (View From the Floor, LLC)
• What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us (Retro Report)

Outstanding Light Feature: Long Form

• America’s Care Crisis — ABC News Live (ABC News)
• I Took Bernie Into Deep Trump Country. Can He Win Them Over? (More Perfect Union)
• Operation Babylift: The 50 Year Journey — 20/20 & ABC News Live (ABC News)
• The Sherpas of Everest — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• The Simril(l)s: A Family in Black and White — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Hard News Report: Short Form

• California Burning — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
• How Traffickers Deep in the Sahara Are Extorting Ransom Payments from Refugees’ Families (CNN Worldwide)
• Pregnant and Brain Dead — ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
• The Scope of the Devastation — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
• Two Nights With the Cartel — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
• The War in Gaza — 60 Minutes (CBS News)

Outstanding Hard News Report: Long Form

• Battle For Tibet (Frontline | PBS)
• Chasing a Ghost: The Search for Austin Tice (CNN Worldwide)
• The Hidden Homeless — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
• Million Dollar Highway Heists — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• The Rise of Germany’s New Right (Frontline | PBS)

Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Short Form

• Death and Hunger: The Fate of Gaza’s Aid Seekers — CNN: Investigates (CNN Worldwide)
• DOGE Package (The New York Times)
• ICE Operations Series — CNN: Investigates (CNN Worldwide)
• Investigation: How the Tate Brothers Were Freed From Romania (The New York Times)
• Poisoned: Fentanyl’s Child Victims (Scripps News)
• Prison System in Crisis — Hallie Jackson Now (NBC News)

Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Long Form

• Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• The President’s Pardon — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• The Prisoners — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Strike On Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])
• We Had 400 People Shop for Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You. (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis

• Burn Order Community Event — The Rachel Maddow Show (MS Now)
• Deport Them All: Who’s to Blame for Springfield’s Immigrant Crisis? (More Perfect Union)
• The History of Slavery: A Debate & Rebuttal — NewsNight with Abby Phillip (CNN Worldwide)
• They Were the Watchdogs (The New York Times Opinion)
• Truth Under Fire — Breaking the Deadlock (GBH [Room 608 Inc. | Andrew Lack])
• Washington Week with The Atlantic — Washington Week (PBS News)
• We Followed the Rules. ICE Jailed Us Anyway (The New York Times Opinion)

Outstanding Interview: Short Form

• CNN Sits Down with Hamas (CNN Worldwide)
• Elon Musk — CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS News)
• Interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi (NBC News)
• Interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — Meet the Press (NBC News)
• Pennsylvania Governor Speaks Out After Arson Attack — Good Morning America (ABC News)
• So I Raped You — Nightline (ABC News)

Outstanding Interview: Long Form

• Epstein Survivors Speak Out — ABC News Live (ABC News)
• Eric Dane Speaks (ABC News [ABC News Studios])
• Finland’s President on Trump, Resilience and Putin’s Threat — Leaders with Francine Lacqua (Bloomberg Originals)
• Lori Vallow Daybell: The Jailhouse Interview (Dateline NBC)
• War or Peace: The Zelenskyy Interview — ABC News Live and This Week with George Stephanopoulos (ABC News)
• Why Young Men Don’t Like the Democrats (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding War or Violent Conflict Coverage

• The Disappearance of Dr. Abu Safiya — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Filmed In Gaza (NBC News)
• Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• The Killing Field — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Syria After Assad (Frontline | PBS)

Outstanding Science & Tech Coverage

• AI Chatbots Sent Him Spiraling. Then He Contacted Me (More Perfect Union)
• Character AI — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Inside OpenAI’s Stargate Megafactory with Sam Altman — The Circuit with Emily Chang (Bloomberg Originals)
• Robot War — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)
• Scam City — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• The Wired Rainforest — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Climate, Environment or Weather Coverage

• Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages (Frontline | PBS [The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University])
• Crying Glacier — The New York Times Op-Docs (El Flamingo GMBH)
• Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning (Frontline | PBS [NPR])
• Last Lands — ABC News Live (ABC News)
• Shark Hunters — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• We Went to the Town Elon Musk Is Poisoning (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding Health or Medical Coverage

• Drone War Medics — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Pain: It Doesn’t Have to Hurt — CNN Health (CNN Worldwide)
• The Last Lifeline — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Switched Before Birth — Impact x Nightline (ABC News Studios | Hulu)
• The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• You Might Have Already Fallen for MAHA’s Conspiracy Theories (The New York Times Opinion)

Outstanding Arts, Culture or Entertainment Coverage

• Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers (ABC News Studios)
• K-Pop: A Star is Made — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
• No Laughing Matter: Free Speech Under Attack — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
• Selena: Beyond the Headlines — Impact x Nightline (ABC News Studios | Hulu)
• Underground Street Racing — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Why Concert Tickets Are So Expensive — and Who’s to Blame? — So Expensive (Business Insider)

Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Coverage

• Exposing the Dark Side of America’s AI Data Center Explosion — View From Above (Business Insider)
• Goodbye, Price Tags. Hello, Dynamic Pricing (The New York Times Opinion)
• The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Gutted — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• The Price of Milk: Immigrants Behind American Dairy — CBS Reports (CBS News)
• The Zombie Debts Making Wall Street Rich — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)

Outstanding Social Issue Coverage

• Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Crackdown: Deported Under Trump — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Fighting to Serve (Evident Media)
• Justice Defenders: Change Inside Prison — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
• Murder Has Two Faces (ABC News Studios [Blue Ant Media | Cortes Filmworks])
• The Rise of America’s ICE Towns (Bloomberg Originals)

Outstanding True Crime Coverage

• Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
• The Philippines Mayor With a Dark Secret — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)
• Return to the Lake — Dateline NBC (NBC News)
• Scamanda (ABC News Studios [Pilgrim Media Group | Lionsgate Alternative Television])
• Wicked Game: Devil in the Desert (ABC News Studios)

Technical Excellence

• CBS Evening News (CBS News)
• CNN’s The Fourth in America (CNN Worldwide)
• CNN’s New Year’s Eve Coverage (CNN Worldwide)
• Live from the Southern California Fires — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
• Presidential Inauguration Pool Feed (NBC News)

Outstanding Emerging News Journalist

• Camilo Montoya Galvez (CBS News)
• Hanako Montgomery (CNN Worldwide)
• Jay O’Brien (ABC News)
• Katie Tutrone (The Weather Channel)

Outstanding Journalist in Spanish Language

• Marlene Guzmán (Noticias Telemundo)
• Victor Valles Mata (TelevisaUnivision)
• Francisco Fajardo Nungaray (Noticias Telemundo)
• Jorge Ramos (Tres Alebrijes LLC)

Outstanding News Program in Spanish

• Al Rojo Vivo (Telemundo)
• Jorge Ramos: Así Veo las Cosas — I’m Back (Tres Alebrijes LLC)
• Noticiero Univision (TelevisaUnivision)
• PrimerImpacto (TelevisaUnivision)
• Spectrum Noticias Todo el Día — Facts 24/7 (Spectrum Noticias)

Outstanding Breaking News Story in Spanish

• 100 Días de Trump (Noticias Telemundo)
• California en Llamas (TelevisaUnivision)
• Cobertura de los Incendios en Los Angeles — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
• From The Ground: Protests Over Immigration Raids — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
• Nuestra América, Todas las Caras (TelevisaUnivision)

Outstanding Investigative News Coverage in Spanish

• Alcatraz de los Caimanes: Campo de Prisioneros (TelevisaUnivision)
• Luigi Mangione: Anatomy of a Crime — Noticiero Univision (Univision)
• Muerte en la Montaña de Siete Colores — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)
• Planeta Tierra – Microplásticos: La Amenaza Invisible — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
• Sobreviviendo al CECOT (ProPublica | The Texas Tribune [ProPublica | The Texas Tribune | Alianza Rebelde Investiga | Cazadores de Fake News])

Outstanding Feature News Story in Spanish

• De Ningún Lado — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Estatus: Venezolano (ProPublica | Frontline [ProPublica | Frontline])
• Intersex: Neither Male nor Female — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
• Michoacán: Vivir Entre Explosivos Terrestres y Aéreos — N+ Despierta/Univision-Vix (VIX)
• Talento Desperdiciado — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)

Outstanding Writing: News

• Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• The Long Train Ride Home: Remembering Emmett Till — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
• Revisiting the Voting Rights Act — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
• The Trump Administration Claims No One Has Died Due to US Aid Cuts (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Research: News

• Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Chasing a Ghost: The Search for Austin Tice (CNN Worldwide)
• The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Operation Babylift: The 50 Year Journey — 20/20 & ABC News Live (ABC News)
• The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Direction: News

• Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Can the Southern Baptist Convention Survive Without Women Pastors? — Hold the Line (The New Yorker [Outerboro Films])
• Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
• The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Will Reeve: Finding My Father (ABC News Studios)

Outstanding Video Journalism: News

• Filmed in Gaza (NBC News)
• Flight of the Monarchs — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• The Last Lifeline — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])
• The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Editing: News

• The Bus on Route 62 — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Filmed in Gaza (NBC News)
• Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
• Operation Return to Sender (Evident Media | CalMatters | Bellingcat)
• The Sherpas of Everest — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
• Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])

Outstanding Graphic Design: News

• The Hidden Cost of South Sudan’s Oil Boom (Bloomberg Originals)
• How China Is Beating India in Its Own Backyard (Bloomberg Originals)
• Johnny Harris (Newpress)
• One Spark Away: The 2025 LA Wildfires (The Weather Channel)
• Winter Storm VR — Noticias Telemundo Ahora (Telemundo)

Outstanding Cold Open or Title Sequence: News

• Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers (ABC News Studios)
• The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
• How New Magnets Could Power the Future — Bloomberg Primer (Bloomberg Originals)
• Shark Hunters — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
• The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Promotional Announcement: News

• Constitution Preamble | Human Family | The American’s Creed — We the People Brand Campaign (MS Now [Sibling Rivalry])
• Scamanda (ABC News Studios)
• The Substance and Soul of the South (AJC [Jam Entertainment])
• Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
• Will Reeve: Finding My Father (ABC News Studios)

Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary

• Antidote (Frontline | PBS [Passion Pictures | Bellingcat | Impact Partners | Channel 4 | M4 Studios])
• Life After — Independent Lens (Multitude Films [ITVS | Straw House Production])
• Lost in the Jungle (Little Monster Films [National Geographic])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline | PBS [Associated Press])
• Thoughts & Prayers (HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina])

Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary

• Bodyguard of Lies (See It Now Studios [Jigsaw Productions | Amblin Entertainment Documentaries])
• The Dark Money Game (HBO Documentary Films [Jigsaw Productions])
• Hollywoodgate (Rolling Narratives [Cottage M | RaeFilm Studios | Jouzour Film Production])
• The Making of a Japanese — Doc World (Cineric Creative [NHK | ZED | Pystymetsa Oy])
• Prime Minister (Madison Wells [HBO Documentary Films | CNN Films | Dark Doris | Divergent Pictures])

Outstanding Social Issue Documentary

• Born Poor (Frontline | PBS)
• Enigma (HBO Documentary Films [Pacific Films | Five All in the Fifth Entertainment | Story Syndicate])
• Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (Netflix [Netflix | Message Pictures])
• The Ride Ahead (American Documentary | POV [LikeRightNow Films])
• Searching for Amani — Doc World (We Are the Land LLC [Gromlet Productions | Backroad Pictures | Random Good Films | Tiger Tales Media | Museum & Crane])

Outstanding Investigative Documentary

• Cover-Up (Netflix [Plan B | Netflix | Praxis Films])
• Critical Incident: A Death at the Border (HBO Documentary Films [Midnight Films | crazyrose | Film 45])
• Predators (Sweet Relief [MTV Documentary Films | Rosewater Pictures])
• The Stringer (Netflix [LinLay Productions | XRM Media | VII Foundation | Netflix])
• Syria’s Detainee Files (Frontline | PBS [BBC])

Outstanding Historical Documentary

• Becoming Katharine Graham (Lifestories.org)
• Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect (Maryland Public Television [The Aggrey Company])
• The Disappearance of Miss Scott — American Masters (4th Act Factual LLC [Storyline Entertainment])
• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Lightbox [Proximity Media | National Geographic])
• Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On (Oxford Film and Television [BBC | The WNET Group])
• Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix])
• Vietnam: The War That Changed America (Apple TV [Apple | 72 Films])

Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary

• Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (Amblin Documentaries [Nedland Films | National Geographic])
• The Merchants of Joy (Dial Tone Films [Amazon MGM Studios | Dial Tone Films | Artists Equity | Boat Rocker Studios | Matador Content | Epic Magazine])
• The New Yorker At 100 (Netflix [Netflix | Marshall Curry | Apatow])
• Songs From the Hole (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])
• Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan (Delirio Films [MPS LEGACY PRODUCTIONS | SOFA Entertainment | Mass Appeal | Diamond Docs | MRC])
• Tiler Peck: Suspending Time — Great Performances (Late Autumn Productions LLC [Thirteen Productions LLC])
• We Want the Funk! — Independent Lens (Firelight Films [ITVS])

Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary

• Critical Condition: Health in Black America (Nova | GBH [A Nova Production | Firelight Films])
• The Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice (Metamorph Films LLC)
• Operation Space Station (Nova | GBH [A Nova Production | Blink Films | France Télévisions])
• Sally (Muck Media [Story Syndicate | National Geographic Documentary Films])
• Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster (Netflix [Netflix | Diamond Docs | Story Syndicate])

Outstanding Nature Documentary

• Katavi: Africa’s Fallen Paradise — Nature (PBS [The WNET Group | Terra Mater Studios | Shibumi Films | ARTE | WDR])
• The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (Sixty-Six Media Inc. [ABC News Studios | Lincoln Square Productions | National Geographic])
• Secrets of the Penguins (Talesmith [National Geographic])
• Shark Whisperer (Netflix [Netflix | Boardwalk Pictures | Underdog Films])
• Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion — Nature (PBS [Rhythm Productions LLC | The WNET Group])

Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary

• Bribe, Inc. (1441 Productions [Global Reporting Centre | Stan])
• Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media (Bloomberg Originals [DCTV])
• Driver (American Documentary | POV [Goldfish Films Inc. | Driver Film LLC])
• Made in Ethiopia (American Documentary | POV [Hard Truth Films | Dogwoof | Gobez Media])
• Slumlord Millionaire — Voces (After Spring LLC [Latino Public Broadcasting | Firelight Media | The Center for Asian American Media])

Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary

• Aileen: Queen of Serial Killers (Netflix [Netflix | BBC Studios | NBC News Studios])
• A Deadly American Marriage (Netflix [Netflix | Sandpaper Films])
• The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer (ABC News Studios)
• No Justice, Just Kills (BBC Select)
• Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror (Netflix [Netflix | Original Productions])
• The Strike — Independent Lens (Latino Public Broadcasting)

Outstanding Short Documentary

• Chasing Time — POV Shorts (American Documentary | POV [Exposure Labs])
• Give Me Shelter (The Guardian)
• Heist (Heist the Documentary LLC [Pale Blue Dot Films])
• Last Days on Lake Trinity — The New Yorker Documentary (Ark Media [The New Yorker])
• Projecting Protest (Scripps News [Clement Cinema])
• The Quilters (Netflix [Netflix])

Best Documentary

• Black Snow (American Documentary | POV [Nordland Pictures | Prettier in the Dark Productions])
• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Lightbox [Proximity Media | National Geographic])
• Life After (Multitude Films [ITVS])
• Love + War (Little Monster Films [National Geographic])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline | PBS [Associated Press])
• Prime Minister (Madison Wells [HBO Documentary Films | CNN Films | Dark Doris | Divergent Pictures])
• Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix])
• Union (American Documentary | POV [Level Ground Productions])

Outstanding Writing: Documentary

• Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya (Thunderheart Films [WETA-TV])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline | PBS [Associated Press])
• Songs From the Hole (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])
• The Stringer (Netflix [An XRM Media | VII Foundation Production | LinLay Productions | Netflix])
• Underdogs (Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic])

Outstanding Research: Documentary

• The American Revolution (Florentine Films [WETA-TV])
• Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Lightbox [Proximity Media | National Geographic])
• Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America (72 Films [National Geographic])
• The Strike (UPHSF LLC)
• The Stringer (Netflix [LinLay Productions | VII Foundation | XRM Media | Netflix])
• Syria’s Detainee Files (Frontline | PBS [BBC])
• Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix])
• The White House Effect (Actual Films [The Department of Motion Pictures])

Outstanding Direction: Documentary

• Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix [Peri Productions | Busca Vida Filmes | Impact Partners | Play/Action Pictures | Luminate | Plan B | KM Films | Netflix])
• Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (Netflix [Message Pictures | Netflix])
• Life After (Multitude Films [ITVS])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (FRONTLINE | PBS [Associated Press])
• Music Box: It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (Topic Studios [HBO Documentary Films | Fremantle | Plan B Entertainment | Disarming Films])
• Sally (Muck Media [Story Syndicate | National Geographic Documentary Films])
• The Stringer (Netflix [LinLay Productions | VII Foundation | XRM Media | Netflix])
• Vietnam: The War That Changed America (Apple TV [Apple | 72 Films])

Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary

• Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds (Netflix [Blue Ox | Supper Club | Higher Ground Productions | Netflix])
• Heart of the Emperors — Secrets of the Penguins (Talesmith [National Geographic])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline | PBS [Associated Press])
• Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix [Dog Star Films | Water Creature | Anonymous Content | Netflix])
• Surviving Black Hawk Down (Netflix [RSA | Netflix])
• Underdogs (Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic])

Outstanding Editing: Documentary

• Cover-Up (Netflix [Plan B | Netflix | Praxis Films])
• Folktales (Loki Films [Fifth Season | Impact Partners | Topic Studios])
• Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (Netflix [Message Pictures | Netflix])
• Life After (Multitude Films [ITVS])
• Love + War (Little Monster Films [National Geographic])
• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (FRONTLINE | PBS [Associated Press])
• Thoughts & Prayers (HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina])
• The White House Effect (Actual Films [The Department of Motion Pictures])

Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary

• Antidote/Kill List (Passion Pictures [Bellingcat])
• The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets (Texas Crew Productions [Peacock Original | New York Post Entertainment | G Unit Film & Television, Inc.])
• The Ride Ahead (LikeRightNow Films)
• Titanic: The Digital Resurrection (Atlantic Productions [National Geographic])
• Underdogs (Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic])
• In Waves and War (Studio AKA [Actual Films])

Outstanding Music Composition: Documentary

• Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya (Thunderheart Films [WETA-TV])
• Chasing Time — POV Shorts (Exposure Labs [American Documentary | POV])
• The Final Copy of Ilon Specht (Breakwater Studios | Traverse32)
• The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (Sixty-Six Media Inc. [ABC News Studios | Lincoln Square Productions | National Geographic])
• Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix [Dog Star Films | Water Creature Film | Anonymous Content | Netflix])
• Songs From the Hole (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])
• Vietnam: The War That Changed America (Apple TV [72 Films])

Outstanding Sound: Documentary

• Lost in the Jungle (Little Monster Films [National Geographic])
• Love + War (Little Monster Films [National Geographic])
• The Strike (UPHSF LLC)
• Survival of the Smartest — Secrets of the Penguins (Talesmith [National Geographic])
• Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix])
• Underdogs (Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic])
• We Want the Funk! — Independent Lens (PBS [Firelight Films])

Outstanding Lighting Direction: Documentary

• American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden (Netflix [The Cut | Tillerman Films | Ventureland | Netflix])
• Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders (Netflix [Third Eye Motion Picture Company | Radical Media | MA Productions | Silvio Films | Netflix])
• Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam (Library Films [Amazon MGM Studios | Library Films | Vice Studios | Article 19 Films])
• Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am 103 (Mindhouse Production [Sky Studios | CNN Original Series])
• Turning Point: The Vietnam War (Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix])

Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design: Documentary

• The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets (Texas Crew Productions [Peacock Original | New York Post Entertainment | G Unit Film & Television, Inc.])
• One Night in Idaho: The College Murders (Story Syndicate [Amazon MGM Studios | Story Syndicate])
• One to One: John & Yoko (Plan B | KM Films [HBO Documentary Films | Mercury Studios])
• Sally (Muck Media [Story Syndicate | National Geographic Documentary Films])
• Songs From the Hole (Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix])

Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary

• Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (National Geographic [Mattock])
• LOVE+WAR Trailer — Love + War (National Geographic [Mark Woollen & Associates])
• NATURE Season 44 Trailer — Nature (PBS [The WNET Group])
• Race Against Time Trailer — Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic [Buddha Jones])
• Trailer — In Waves and War (Actual Films [Participant | Chicago Media Project])

Outstanding Regional News Story: Investigative

• 13 Investigates: High Stakes (WTHR-TV)
• A Deceptive Diocese (WEWS-TV)
• Inspecting the Inspectors (KMOV-TV)
• In Plane Sight: The Fix (WANF)
• Reading Reset (WANF)

Outstanding Regional Documentary

• 23 Seconds: A Louisville Mass Shooting (WAVE News)
• Blue – The Life and Art of George Rodrigue (WLAE-TV)
• How to Sue the Klan (Reel South)
• Major Taylor: Champion of the Race (WTIU Public Television)
• Stories Rewritten – The Knoxville Homeless Crisis (Sonic Palette Productions)

Outstanding Regional News Story: Breaking/Spot News

The post Nat Geo’s ‘Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller,’ PBS’ ‘Frontline’ Lead News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2026 Nominations (FULL LIST) appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

By Adrian Horton

The landscape for nonfiction cinema is swift, fragile and constantly in flux in these absurd times; films we discuss now may not be released, and films we discuss a year from now may not even be the germ of an idea yet. But between the usual stable of celebrity retrospectives, music documentaries and the ongoing work to record the atrocities in Gaza, the documentary slate for 2026 already seems both full and promising. From the assassination attempt on Salman Rushdie to AI, a Billie Jean King retrospective to Elon Musk, here are 10 of the most hotly anticipated documentaries in 2026.

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
In recent years, the Sundance film festival has become the premier destination for buzzy and/or prestige documentaries – three of the last five Oscar wins have gone to films that premiered in Utah, and the festival is now routinely alight with major celebrity retrospectives. Potentially combining both at the festival this year is Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, film-maker Alex Gibney’s nonfiction adaptation of the writer’s bestselling memoir, which detailed the 2022 onstage assassination attempt that cost him his vision in one eye. The film reportedly combines never-before-seen footage of the Indian-born, British-raised writer’s recovery, filmed by his wife (of 11 months, at the time) Rachel Eliza Griffiths, as well as interviews and excerpts from his work, including the fatwa for his death issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.

Alex Gibney’s Musk
Speaking of Gibney, we’re still waiting for the prolific documentarian’s take on Elon Musk, which has been in production on and off for years. (Presumably the first half of last year, when the tech billionaire-turned-unelected White House CEO torched the federal government via his meme-coined “Department of Government Efficiency”, was an on period.) Gibney, who has directed critical evaluations of the Church of Scientology, Elizabeth Holmes and Enron, among others, is no stranger to shifty, complex characters; his Musk film promises to provide a “definitive and unvarnished examination” of the erratic entrepreneur, with participation of those formerly in his orbit (though, somewhat contentiously, not Musk himself). The last public update on the project was in August 2025, when Bleecker Street acquired the rights for a theatrical release in the US at a still-unannounced date.

The History of Concrete
Any fan of HBO’s How To With John Wilson – which is, for my money, the single best TV show made about New York this decade – will know that the following sentence is a perfect logline: “After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, film-maker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.” The droll documentarian’s idiosyncratic style, sly observational humor and frankly genius eye for the gritty magic in urban life have made meditations on scaffolding, waste collection and wine stores into must-see television; his feature-length documentary debut on the history of concrete is thus one of the must-see premieres at Sundance later this month.

Oz
The Wicked press tour may finally be winding down, but there’s still no escaping Oz in 2026. After the runaway success of the two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical, a new documentary will go behind the scenes of the movie that inspired it all. Oz, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Danny Strong, among others, will revisit the production of the 1939 classic, which, according to the film’s logline, “tested the limits of its creators”, including director Victor Fleming and star Judy Garland. Though Oz will, of course, feature plenty of archival footage from the groundbreaking production process, this will be no plain history doc; re-enactment filming (of whom? For what?) reportedly took place last year, just after a new digitized version of the original played at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)
Coming in hot for the “most unlikely duo” award is James Cameron, master of the cinematic epic, and gen Z icon Billie Eilish. Why did the famed director take a break from the slow-rolling world of Avatar to film the singer’s Hit Me Hard and Soft concert tour? The answer, it seems, was the chance to use fancy cameras – “no one’s shot a concert film on this scale before … We’re using tech that’s never been used before”, says Cameron in the recently released trailer for the 3D theatrical event billed as “an innovative new concert experience” starting 20 March. Jury is still out on how “innovative” the 3D feels … but based on the trailer, I will happily watch many minutes of Cameron and Eilish, two massive stars of very different solar systems, attempt to work together.

The AI Doc
Daniel Roher, director of the Oscar-winning film Navalny, on the late Russian opposition leader, puts himself at the center of his next film, which enters the vast cinematic minefield known as artificial intelligence. Conveniently called The AI Doc (subtitle: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist), the film, which premieres at Sundance with a theatrical release to follow in March, assumes Roher’s perspective as he explores “the existential dangers and stunning promise of this technology that humanity has created” while on the cusp of becoming a father. Co-directed by Charlie Tyrell and produced by Everything Everywhere All At Once co-director Daniel Kwan, The AI Doc will attempt to thread a fine needle, spending time with experts on both sides of the doom/promise spectrum.

Once Upon a Time in Harlem
One evening in 1972, the genre-defying film-maker William Greaves convened a dinner party at Duke Ellington’s New York townhouse. The guests were the remaining luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance: influential Black artists, musicians, librarians, poets, actors, teachers and critics whose work shaped the jazz age; the occasion was posterity, as Greaves recorded more than three hours of conviviality and conversation among old friends, many of whom had not seen each other in 50 years. The cinema verité footage, newly restored and arranged by Greaves’s son David, who was a camera operator that day, promises a fly-on-the-wall portal into one of the 20th century’s most significant and vital cultural movements.

Give Me the Ball!
Few female athletes have been as trailblazing or as influential as Billie Jean King. Give Me the Ball!, which will premiere at Sundance, finally gives the tennis legend and queer icon her flowers, through archival materials and exclusive interviews. Directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, the retrospective will delve into King’s battles on the court, including her infamous Battle of the Sexes with Bobby Riggs, and off it, as she fought for women’s equity in sports, as well as women’s and LGBTQ+ rights at large.

Questlove’s Earth, Wind & Fire
In the past few years, the Roots member Amir “Questlove” Thompson has established himself as a vital, virtuoso director of music documentaries and a custodian of Black cultural history. His mesmeric debut film The Summer of Soul, which vibrantly retold the story of the 1969 Harlem cultural festival (AKA the Black Woodstock), won the Oscar in 2022; last year’s Sly Lives! AKA The Burden of Black Genius, brilliantly examined both the life of the trailblazing musician Sly Stone and the specific difficulties faced by Black artists. He returns this year with a still-untitled film on Earth, Wind & Fire, the genre-bending Chicago group founded in 1969 by Maurice White. Questlove reportedly gained access to the band’s video and recording archive, and has made the celebratory doc, which will premiere on HBO later this year, with the support of the band and White’s estate.

American Doctor
The past year has seen a plethora of excellent nonfiction films on Gaza and the larger fight for Palestinian freedom – among them, Oscar winner No Other Land, The Encampments, Coexistence, My Ass! and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. American Doctor, which documents three American physicians – Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian – called to Gaza by a moral obligation to help those suffering, promises to be a similarly gut-wrenching watch. Following the doctors’ triage units in the wake of devastating attacks, the film offers a necessary reminder of the US’s role in the decimation of Gaza – and, according to the official description, a “path forward to engage on such a difficult issue with humanity and collective action”.

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New films starring Charli xcx, Natalie Portman and Salman Rushdie will all receive their world premieres at next month’s Sundance film festival.

The festival will be held for the last time in Park City, Utah, before it moves to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. Over the years, it has been home to the first screenings of films including Get Out, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Blair Witch Project, Past Lives, Napoleon Dynamite, Precious and Little Miss Sunshine.

Charli xcx will be seen in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, led by The Moment, a mockumentary where she plays a version of herself. “It’s not a tour documentary or a concert film in any way, but the seed of the idea was conceived from this idea of being pressured to make one,” she has said of the film. It also stars Rachel Sennott, Alexander Skarsgård, Kate Berlant and Kylie Jenner.

She will also appear alongside Portman in dark comedy thriller The Gallerist. The film centres on a gallerist trying to sell a dead man at Miami’s Art Basel. It’s co-written and directed by Cathy Yan, whose last film was DC spin-off Birds of Prey. The cast also includes Jenna Ortega, Sterling K Brown, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Zach Galifianakis.

The singer’s third film is I Want Your Sex, an erotic thriller from Mysterious Skin director Gregg Araki, marking his first film since 2014. It stars Cooper Hoffman as a young man who starts working for a provocative artist, played by Olivia Wilde, and soon finds himself in “a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal, and murder”, according to the synopsis.

Wilde will also premiere “provocative date night comedy” The Invite, her directorial follow-up to Don’t Worry Darling which follows two couples spilling secrets at a dinner party. She stars with Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz.

Rushdie heads up a strong section of documentary premieres with Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, a new film directed by Alex Gibney that will feature unseen footage captured by the author’s wife as he recovers from the 2022 attack. “The opportunity to make this film about his recovery – in the broadest sense of the term – comes at a critical time,” Gibney said. “It gives me hope.”

There will also be documentaries on Marianne Faithfull, Brittney Griner, Courtney Love, Nelson Mandela, Billie Jean King and the Harlem Renaissance as well as the new project from John Wilson, where he learns how to make a Hallmark movie and uses the same template to try to sell a film about concrete. Ta-Nehisi Coates will also collaborate with director Dawn Porter for wrongful conviction documentary When A Witness Recants while Navalny director Daniel Roher returns with a cautionary film about AI.

Olivia Colman, who has previously premiered The Father and Jimpa at Sundance, will return with offbeat romance Wicker which sees her star as a “smelly, single and perpetually ridiculed” fisher who commissions a basket maker to create a husband, leading to “outrage, jealousy and chaos”. Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki star alongside.

As he gains Oscar buzz for his role in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke will next be seen in The Weight, a 1930s drama about gold smuggling that co-stars Russell Crowe. Chris Pine will star opposite Jenny Slate in Carousel, a film where he plays a doctor whose life unravels. That film will be playing in competition alongside titles including Run Amok, about a teenage girl staging a musical based on a shooting that happened at her high school, and the Channing Tatum-starring Josephine about a young girl who witnesses a crime which causes her to spiral.

Sundance has become a key destination for new horror films with previous years seeing films including Saw, Hereditary and The Babadook premiering. This year sees the launch of Buddy, about a young girl who has to escape a kids TV show, starring The Penguin’s Cristin Milioti and Keegan Michael-Key. It comes from the same production company behind this year’s smash hit Weapons.

Relic director Natalie Erika James will also return to the festival with Saccharine about teenagers indulging in a new weight loss craze that sees them eating human ashes.

Other premieres include the new film from Madeline’s Madeline director Josephine Decker called Chasing Summer starring comedian Iliza Shlesinger, comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass with Zoey Deutch and Jon Hamm, The Shitheads starring Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr as “two unqualified bozos” transporting a rich teen to rehab and In the Blink of an Eye, an ambitious time-spanning sci-fi drama from beloved Pixar director Andrew Stanton.

In the TV section, Riz Ahmed will premiere his new six-part series Bait, where he plays a struggling actor whose life spirals out of control.

As well as saying a goodbye to Park City, the festival will also be commemorating founder Robert Redford who died earlier this year. There will be a special screening of his film Downhill Racer and a number of other events.

Last year’s festival saw the premieres of Twinless, Lurker, The Perfect Neighbor, Train Dreams, The Alabama Solution and Sorry, Baby.

The festival will take place between 22 January and 1 February.

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EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, who has made films about Enron, Scientology and Russian President Vladmiri Putin, has set his sights on another controversial figure: Luigi Mangione.

Gibney, who has been working on the project since the end of last year, has now sold the project to Hulu.

The streamer has greenlit the untitled project with filming underway.

It comes nine months after Mangione allegedly gunned down Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance company UnitedHealthcare in broad daylight in midtown Manhattan. Mangione was charged with four federal crimes including murder and was formally indicted in April.

Gibney’s untitled film will highlight how the killing of Thompson on a New York City sidewalk transfixed the public. It will explore explores the complicated story beneath the headlines and investigate “how the spectacle of violence can obscure deeper truths”.

Gibney directs and will produce via his Jigsaw Productions company with Anonymous Content also producing. Trevor Davidoski and John Jordan will produce. Gibney, Razan Ghalayini and Richard Perello will exec produce for Jigsaw with Jessica Grimshaw and David Levine exec producing for Anonymous Content.

It is Gibney’s latest project for Hulu; he co-created and directed the first episode of scripted series The Looming Tower, which told the story of the threat of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and the rivalry between the FBI and CIA.

Gibney, who is working on an Elon Musk documentary, recently directed HBO’s The Dark Money Game and Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos, and produced The Bibi Files, an inside look into the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It joins Hulu’s doc slate, which includes recent projects such as God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons, Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told and Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, which was Hulu’s biggest docuseries premiere to date.

“Following our collaboration on Looming Tower, I am delighted to join forces with Hulu to tell this powerful and important story,” said Gibney. “In the tradition of previous Jigsaw investigations, I think that people who think they know the story will be surprised and moved by the details hiding behind the headlines.”

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Alex Gibney‘s anticipated Elon Musk documentary will be released theatrically in the U.S. by Bleecker Street.

“Musk” is an incisive look behind the legend of Elon Musk. Gibney has been continuously expanding the film’s scope to unveil a rich portrait, even as history unfolds in real-time. Bleecker Street will roll out “Musk” in theaters before its HBO Max debut. HBO Documentary Films pre-bought North American streaming and TV rights to the project, while Universal Pictures Content Group has acquired international rights.

“No biographical portrait, outside of obvious political figures, has centered on an individual so at the crossroads of our society as Elon Musk,” said Kent Sanderson, Bleecker Street CEO, in a statement: “But there is also no filmmaker that I could possibly imagine bringing that story to audiences with unmatched clarity, audacity, and urgency more than Alex Gibney,” Sanderson continued.

Gibney previously directed “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” the Oscar-nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” and Oscar-winning “Taxi to the Dark Side.”

“Musk” reteams Gibney with Sanderson, and Bleecker executives Tyler DiNapoli and Myles Bender, who previously worked together on “We Steal Secrets,” the acclaimed Julian Assange documentary released by Focus Features and Universal Pictures International in 2013.

“Musk” is produced by Gibney, Jessie Deeter, and Erin Edeiken from Jigsaw Productions; Zhang Xin and Joey Marra from Closer Media; Nick Shumaker and Jessica Grimshaw from Anonymous Content; and Dana O’Keefe from Double Agent. Executive producers include New Regency’s Yariv Milchan, and Natalie Lehmann; Richard Perello from Jigsaw; William Horberg from Closer Media; David Levine from Anonymous Content; as well as Kent Sanderson and Miranda King for Bleecker Street.

The deal was negotiated by Bleecker Street’s Miranda King and Avy Eschenasy, with Nick Shumaker of Anonymous Content on behalf of the filmmakers. HBO Documentary Films previously pre-bought North American streaming and TV rights and Black Bear is handling international sales for the film, and did the deal with Universal Pictures Content Group.

Bleecker Street recently re-released the 1984 cult classic “This Is Spinal Tap,” created by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, and is on track to release Rob Reiner’s “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” on Sept. 12.

The post Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk Documentary to Be Released Theatrically in the U.S. by Bleecker Street appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

Robert Kessel has joined Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions as executive vice president of scripted content.

Kessel will be responsible for expanding Jigsaw’s film and TV scripted projects. He will also oversee Gibney’s narrative feature debut, “Two Wolves.” The Vietnam thriller tells the story of helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and General Ray Peers, who exposed a massive war crime and its cover-up in a way that helped to end the war.

Kessel previously served as Participant’s exec VP of narrative film, where he oversaw the development and production of narrative films, including “Wonder” and”Green Book.”

Kessel’s move to Jigsaw reunites him with his former Participant colleague Courtney Sexton, who joined Jigsaw earlier this year as EVP, film and television, and head of west coast operations. Kessel and Sexton are both based in Jigsaw’s Los Angeles office. Gibney is based at Jigsaw’s headquarters in New York City.

“I’ve long admired Jigsaw for its dedication to premium storytelling – stories that entertain, explore important issues, expose truths, and ultimately inspire,” Kessel says. “That’s always been my driving force, and I’m fortunate to have been involved in films that share that vision.”

Earlier this year, Wendy Schmidt, a longtime philanthropist and wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, acquired a majority stake in Jigsaw. The production company is currently in production on several projects, including Gibney’s two upcoming projects: HBO doc “Musk,” about Elon Musk, and “Knife,” inspired by Salman Rushdie’s memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.” in April. Gibney most recently produced Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5,” which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The doc will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Camden International Film Festival in September.

“Robert is an extraordinary scripted executive and producer,” Gibney says. “He possesses excellent taste and strong relationships, and crucially, knows how to deliver. He’s fully committed to our stealthy, unconventional operation, working ‘under the radar,’ to create impactful, thought-provoking films in a challenging landscape.”

Kessel executive-produced Todd Haynes’ “Dark Waters,” Mark Forster’s “White Bird” and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s “Rob Peace. He produced Disney+’s “Out of Mind,” which was a Peabody and Television Academy honor recipient. Kessel’s “The Wave”, directed by Sebastian Lelio, and “Eleanor The Great” directed by Scarlett Johansson, which Kessel executive produced, are slated to be released later this year.

At Participant, Kessel oversaw production on the Oscar-winning “Spotlight, “Deepwater Horizon,” which earned two Academy Award nominations, “Beasts Of No Nation” and “A Most Violent Year.”

Prior to Participant, Kessel produced films and held senior executive posts at Sony Pictures’ based Matt Tolmach Productions, Overture Films, Hart Sharp Entertainment and Miramax Films. Prior to joining Jigsaw and after the closing of Participant, Kessel consulted for Pepsi Content Studio.

The post Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Names Robert Kessel Exec VP of Scripted Content (EXCLUSIVE) appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

Documentaries about journalists Seymour Hersh, Lynsey Addario, and the late Fatma Hassona are heading to the 50th edition of the Toronto Intl. Film Festival.

TIFF‘s Docs program gets underway Sept. 4 and will feature 23 feature docs from 18 countries. The program will open with the world premiere of two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot’s “The Eyes of Ghana,” about 93-year-old Chris Hesse, a cinematographer who served as the personal filmmaker for Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Barack and Michelle Obama-led shingle Higher Ground executive produced the doc.

“The film is a love letter to filmmaking and the efforts of Chris Hesse to not only document a chapter of history, but also his work to preserve that footage,” said Thom Powers, lead TIFF documentary programmer.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras and co-director Mark Obenhaus’s “Cover Up,” about investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, will make its Canadian premiere at TIFF after a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. “Cover Up” chronicles Hersh’s reporting on some of the most damning constitutional wrongdoings and cover-ups, including the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and systematic tortures at Abu Ghraib. Poitras, who won the Oscar for best feature documentary in 2015 for “Citizenfour” and was nominated for an Academy Award for her 2022 doc “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” has been striving to make a film about Hersh for the last two decades.

“He finally, recently, said yes,” said Powers, who has been programming TIFF’s doc section for 20 years.

“One way in which we’ve come full circle since the time I started is that I think there was a spirit of festival going into the 2006 edition where you felt like, ‘I better go to this festival because I might never have a chance to see this film again,’” said Powers. “Then in the last 10 years, we got a false sense that everything is available, and now I think it’s starting to dawn on people that some of the films that you might see at your local film festival, TIFF included, you might not have a chance to see them again.”

National Geographic is set to distribute Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s latest doc “Love+War” about Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario. The Oscar-winning filmmakers, who recently announced their divorce, explore Addario’s two-decade-long career reporting on issues including Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the Libyan crisis, and genocide in Darfur.

Sepideh Farsi’s “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” is another doc in the TIFF lineup about a photojournalist. The film will make its North American premiere at the fest. About 25-year-old Gaza photojournalist Fatma Hassona, “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” is the story of a woman under siege by constant bombing. On April 16, a day after the movie’s Cannes Film Festival debut was announced, Hassouna was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Variety film critic Siddhant Adlakha said that Farsi “takes an unusual visual approach to capturing Hassona, but one that eventually pays dividends. Using one smartphone to film another, the Iranian director creates layers of distance between the audience and her subject — or rather, mimics the actual divide between the two women — during their many WhatsApp video chats. Farsi cannot enter Gaza, and Hassona cannot leave, leaving pixelated calls with delayed audio (owing to Hassona’s poor internet connection) as their only way to connect.”

Also making its North American debut at TIFF is Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5,” which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. About the author of “1984” and “Animal Farm,” Oscar-nominated Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro)” interweaves historical clips, readings from Orwell’s diary, cinematic references, and modern-day footage to craft “Orwell: 2+2=5.” The film features Damian Lewis as the voice of Orwell.

Other notable titles in this year’s TIFF doc lineup include “John Dower’s The Balloonists,” about adventurers who set out to circle the globe in a balloon; Tasha Van Zandt’s ,”A Life Illuminated,” about marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder; Christopher Nelius’ “Whistle” about champion whistlers; Lorena Luciano’s “Nuns vs. the Vatican” about new allegations of abuse inside the Catholic Church; Billy Corben’s “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story” a film that re-investigates the scandal behind the celebrity chef; and Nicole Bazuin’s “Modern Whore,” which explores the sex industry and is based on the book of the same name by Andrea Werhun and Bazuin.

Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.

“It certainly feels jarring, compared to the very prominent conversations that we hear in the documentary community, understandably so, about distribution opportunities shrinking,” said Powers. “My takeaway is that the spirit of making documentaries is undiminished. We need more people to step up on the distribution side.”

The 23 doc titles screening in the TIFF doc program join a number of documentaries already announced as part of the gala and platform programs including the world premieres of “John Candy: I Like Me,” “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,”  “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes,” “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution” and “Palimpsest: the Story of a Name.”

The full list of the TIFF Docs lineup follows:

A Life Illuminated | Tasha Van Zandt | USA
World Premiere

A Simple Soldier | Juan Camilo Cruz, Artem Ryzhykov | Ukraine
North American Premiere

Aki | Darlene Naponse | Canada
World Premiere

Below the Clouds | Gianfranco Rosi | Italy
International Premiere

Canceled: The Paula Deen Story | Billy Corben | USA
World Premiere

Cover-Up | Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus | USA
Canadian Premiere

Flana | Zahraa Ghandour | Iraq/France/Qatar
World Premiere

Love+War | Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | USA
World Premiere

Modern Whore | Nicole Bazuin | Canada
World Premiere

Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising | Shane Belcourt | Canada
World Premiere

Nuestra Tierra | Lucrecia Martel | Argentina/USA/Mexico/France/Denmark/Netherlands
North American Premiere

Nuns vs. The Vatican | Lorena Luciano | USA
World Premiere

Orwell: 2+2=5 | Raoul Peck | USA/France
North American Premiere

Powwow People | Sky Hopinka | USA
World Premiere

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk | Sepideh Farsi | France/Palestine/Iran
North American Premiere

Still Single | Jamal Burger, Jukan Tateisi | Canada
World Premiere

The Balloonists | John Dower | USA/UK/Austria
World Premiere

The Eyes of Ghana | Ben Proudfoot | USA
World Premiere

The Tale of Silyan | Tamara Kotevska | North Macedonia
North American Premiere

There Are No Words | Min Sook Lee | Canada
World Premiere

True North | Michèle Stephenson | USA/Canada
World Premiere

While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts | Peter Mettler | Canada/Switzerland
World Premiere

Whistle | Christopher Nelius | Australia
World Premiere

The post TIFF Documentary Lineup Includes Films From Laura Poitras, Raoul Peck, Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.

Harlem’s Maysles Documentary Center is giving recognition to three of this year’s top nonfiction films with Oscar potential – Orwell: 2+2=5 from director Raoul Peck, The Perfect Neighbor directed by Geeta Gandbhir, and Sundance winner Seeds, directed by Britanny Shyne.

The center will honor the films at the 6^th annual Albie Awards dinner on September 24 at Ginny’s Supper Club @ Red Rooster in New York City.

“To date the Albies have been an early predictor of top contenders for the Academy Awards and other significant honors,” notes Kazembe Balagun, executive director of Mayles Documentary Center. “This year, we are excited to honor Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5, Geeta Gandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor, and Brittany Shyne’s Seeds.”

Peck’s documentary, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, examines the life and work of author George Orwell, with particular emphasis on the prescient quality of Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, 1984, published in 1949.

The Perfect Neighbor, winner of the directing award for U.S. documentary at Sundance, uses police dash cam and bodycam footage to present the shocking case of Ajike Owens, an African American mother of four who was gunned down by her neighbor, a white woman named Susan Lorincz, in Ocala, FL in 2023.

Shyne’s Seeds won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance in January, and has gone on to earn honors at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, as well as Provincetown and RiverRun festivals. Using black and white cinematography, the director explores the experience of African American farmers in the South who cultivate land held by their families for generations.

“This year, with the chaotic state of security in the world, we focus on the crucial role of the arts celebrating the values that bring us together in community and the forces that divide us,” Balagun explains. “The Albies this year look at a variety of timely topics: generational black farmers and the significance of owning land, how Stand Your Ground laws divide us and incite violence, and how our current times function in a playbook of global totalitarianism.”

The post Albie Awards To Honor Oscar-Contending Documentaries From Raoul Peck, Geeta Gandbhir, and Brittany Shyne appeared first on Jigsaw Productions.