Roger Ross Williams is a renowned filmmaker, television journalist, and producer who has made a significant impact in the industry. His journey began with the direction and production of Music by Prudence, a documentary short subject that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2010. This milestone made him the first African American director to win an Academy Award.
After the success of Music by Prudence, Williams went on to direct the feature documentary God Loves Uganda, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and received widespread critical acclaim. The film screened at over 60 film festivals worldwide, winning more than a dozen awards before being shortlisted for a 2014 Academy Award.
Prior to transitioning to independent filmmaking, Williams had a distinguished career in television journalism and production, working for various outlets including TV Nation, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, PBS, Comedy Central, and Sundance Channel, for over 15 years.
Recently, Williams directed Life, Animated, a feature documentary that premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. He also directed Blackface, a short film for CNN Films that premiered in November and sparked a national debate on racism and the legacy of slavery.
Williams is currently developing several projects, including Traveling While Black, an interactive project featuring a Virtual Reality component designed by renowned VR artist Oscar Raby, and a feature documentary about the prison industrial complex for The Why? Foundation, which will be broadcast in over 50 countries and reach an audience of over 500 million worldwide.
As an alumnus of the Sundance Institute, Williams serves on the alumni advisory board and frequently mentors filmmakers from developing countries and underrepresented communities on how to channel personal adversity into their art.
Roger Ross Williams splits his time between upstate New York and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
