Biography
Academy Award, eight-time Emmy nominated, and Peabody, DGA, and Sundance winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger has been a pioneering force in nonfiction filmmaking for over three decades
Berlinger is the creator of such landmark documentaries as Sundance winner BROTHER'S KEEPER, the PARADISE LOST Trilogy, which helped lead to the release of the wrongfully convicted West Memphis Three, and METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER, which redefined the "rockumentary" genre. CRUDE, which examined the dire issue of oil pollution in the ancestral homeland of thousands of Ecuadorians in the Amazon Rainforest, won 22 human rights, environmental and film festival awards and triggered a high profile First Amendment battle with the Chevron Corporation. Eight of Berlinger's films, including his Emmy-nominated 2012 documentary about Paul Simon, UNDER AFRICAN SKIES, have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with three earning Grand Jury Prize nominations. He has also received multiple awards from the Directors Guild of America, the National Board of Review, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Critics' Choice Awards.
Berlinger's work has often catalyzed real-world change, some directly inspiring justice reform efforts and recognition on state and national levels. His body of work concerning the wrongfully convicted and accused has helped release six people from prison, and has advanced the causes of many other pending cases.
Berlinger has been described as a “true crime hit factory” for Netflix, whose work has "redefined crime documentaries as a vehicle for social justice", according to a Bloomberg profile. "He's the gold standard in true crime. The moral compass that he has, the sense of responsibility he has for victims and for getting the story right and shining a light on it, that is something that is very unique", said VP for original documentary series at Netflix, Adam Del Deo. Berlinger holds a streak of chart-topping work on Netflix that has attracted enormous audiences.
Berlinger's work has often catalyzed real-world change, some directly inspiring justice reform efforts and recognition on state and national levels. His body of work concerning the wrongfully convicted and accused has helped release six people from prison, and has advanced the causes of many other pending cases.
Berlinger has been described as a “true crime hit factory” for Netflix, whose work has "redefined crime documentaries as a vehicle for social justice", according to a Bloomberg profile. "He's the gold standard in true crime. The moral compass that he has, the sense of responsibility he has for victims and for getting the story right and shining a light on it, that is something that is very unique", said VP for original documentary series at Netflix, Adam Del Deo. Berlinger holds a streak of chart-topping work on Netflix that has attracted enormous audiences.
