Stanley Nelson

Stanley Nelson is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and producer renowned for his deeply researched films on African American history and culture. A MacArthur Fellow and recipient of the National Humanities Medal, he has produced a body of award-winning work that includes Freedom Riders (2010), The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), Freedom Summer (2014), and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015). His films have earned multiple Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and recognition at Sundance; Freedom Riders was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2020. 

Since 1998, Nelson has helped lead Firelight Media, a New York–based nonprofit he cofounded with Marcia A. Smith, dedicated to supporting emerging documentarians of color through programs such as the Documentary Lab. He also cofounded Firelight Films, a production company behind feature-length documentaries. Based in Harlem, Nelson continues to direct new work—his 2021 film Attica earned a Directors Guild of America Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.