Lucy Walker is a film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, mostly of theatrical feature documentaries. On January 25th, 2010 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for Waste Land

Waste Land (film)

Waste Land is a 2010 documentary directed by Lucy Walker, João Jardim and Karen Harley. The film documents two years of work of Brazilian contemporary modern artist Vik Muniz in creating art with the cooperation of scavengers of recyclables working at Jardim Gramacho, one of the world's largest...

, which she directed.

Film career

Lucy Walker is best known for directing four feature documentary films: Devil's Playground (2002), Blindsight (2006), Waste Land

Waste Land (film)

Waste Land is a 2010 documentary directed by Lucy Walker, João Jardim and Karen Harley. The film documents two years of work of Brazilian contemporary modern artist Vik Muniz in creating art with the cooperation of scavengers of recyclables working at Jardim Gramacho, one of the world's largest...

(2010) and Countdown to Zero

Countdown to Zero

Countdown to Zero is a documentary film released in 2010 which argues that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, theft of nuclear materials and weapons, and other factors.The documentary film was set for a...

(2010).

Her two most recent movies both premiered at Sundance 2010 – the first time a documentary director has had two feature films in one year at this festival.

Waste Land premiered at Sundance 2010 and is the first film ever to win the Audience Awards at both Sundance and Berlin, as well as more than 30 other festival prizes (for the complete list see "Film awards" section below), and on January 25th, 2010 it was honored with a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards to be held on February 27th, 2011. On December 3, 2010 at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, Walker collected both the Pare Lorentz Award and also the Best Documentary Feature Award for WASTE LAND at the International Documentary Association Awards. Presenter Morgan Spurlock

Morgan Spurlock

Morgan Valentine Spurlock is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and journalist best known for the documentary film Super Size Me...

 handed Walker the award inside a garbage bag. Previously Walker had worn a black garbage bag to the New York theatrical premiere of WASTE LAND on October 26, 2010.

Waste Land is the uplifting story of Brazilian artist Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz

Vicente José de Oliveira Muniz, known as Vik Muniz , is a visual artist living in New York City.-Early career:Muniz began his career as a sculptor in the late 1980s after relocating from Brazil to Chicago and later to New York. His early work grew out of a post-Fluxus aesthetic and often involved...

 and a lively group of catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, who find a way from the world's largest garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro to the most prestigious auction house in London via the surprising transformation of refuse into contemporary art. It was released in the USA by Arthouse Films and in Canada by E1 Entertainment in 2010, and will be released around the world in 2011, including in the UK by E1 Entertainment.

Four years earlier, Walker's film Blindsight had been among the fifteen films competing for the Academy Award nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category at the 79th Academy Awards.

Both Waste Land and Blindsight also won the Audience Award—the Panorama Publikumspreis—at the Berlinale, making Walker the only filmmaker to have won the Audience Award at Berlin twice, as well as the only filmmaker to win the Audience Awards at both Sundance and Berlin.

Blindsight premiered at Toronto and won further Audience Awards at Ghent, AFI and Palm Spring film festivals and nominations for Best Documentary at the 2007 Grierson Awards and British Independent Film Awards. It was also short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Blindsight follows the emotional journey of six blind Tibetan teenagers who climb up the north side of Mt. Everest with their hero, blind American mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer

Erik Weihenmayer

Erik Weihenmayer is the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002. His story was covered in a Time article in June 2001 titled Blind to Failure...

, and their teacher, Sabriye Tenberken

Sabriye Tenberken

Sabriye Tenberken is a German socialworker and co-founder of the organisation Braille Without Borders.- Biography :Sabriye was born near Bonn, Germany, and she became gradually visually impaired and completely blind by the age of thirteen due to retinal disease. She studied Central Asian Studies...

, who founded Braille Without Borders

Braille Without Borders

Braille Without Borders is an international organisation for the blind in developing countries. It was founded in Lhasa, Tibet by Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg in 1998.- Overview :...

, the only school for the blind in Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

Devil's Playground, Walker's first feature documentary, examined the struggles of Amish

Amish

The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

 teenagers during their period of experimentation (rumspringa

Rumspringa

Rumspringa Pronounced A- generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, that begins around the...

). It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 and went on to win awards at the Karlovy Vary and Sarasota film festivals, three Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nominations for Best Documentary, Best Directing and Best Editing and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Documentary.

Countdown to Zero, an exposé of the present-day threat of nuclear terrorism and proliferation, premiered at Sundance 2010 a day after Waste Land and also played in the most prestigious Official Selection at Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

 before being released in the US by Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor, and is a holding of 2929 Entertainment, owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films....

, and being broadcast on The History Channel

The History Channel

History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...

 . It will be released in the UK in 2011 by Dogwoof. It was Executive Produced by Global Zero (campaign)

Global Zero (campaign)

Global Zero is an international initiative launched in December 2008 to promote the elimination of nuclear weapons. It proposes a phased withdrawal and verification for the destruction of all devices held by official and unofficial members of the nuclear club...

 and Jeff Skoll's Participant Media and contributed to the debate building to the ratification of the New START

New START

New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms...

 Treaty. Walker and her collaborators were nominated for 2010 Arms Control Person(s) of the Year for raising public awareness and understanding of the dangers posed by nuclear weapons in the 21st century and helping mobilize support for practical steps to reduce those danger.

Walker's directing credits also include Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues

Blue's Clues

Blue's Clues is an American children's television show airing on the Nickelodeon family of channels. The show premiered on September 8, 1996 and airs on Nick Jr. and other channels, although production of new episodes ceased by 2006. Versions of the show have been produced in other countries,...

, for which she was twice nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing. She was named one of the "Top 25 New Faces In Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine

Filmmaker Magazine

Filmmaker is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis...

.

Film awards

• NOMINEE - Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series - BLUE'S CLUES, Daytime Emmy Awards 2001
• NOMINEE - Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series - BLUE'S CLUES, Daytime Emmy Awards 2002

• WINNER - Best Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, AFI DV Fest 2001
• WINNER - Grand Prize Best Film - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, AFI DV Fest 2001
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Film - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, Sarasota International Film Festival 2002
• WINNER - Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, Karlovy-Vary International Film Festival 2002
• NOMINEE - Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction in a Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2003
• NOMINEE - Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing in a Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2003
• NOMINEE - Emmy Award for Best Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2003
• NOMINEE - Best Documentary - DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, Independent Spirit Awards 2003

• WINNER - Audience Award Panorama Publikumspreis for Best Film - BLINDSIGHT, Berlin International Film Festival 2007
• WINNER – Audience Award for Best Film (tie) - BLINDSIGHT, American Film Institute AFI Film Festival 2006
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Documentary - BLINDSIGHT, Palm Springs International Film Festival 2007
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Film - BLINDSIGHT, Ghent Film Festival 2007
• NOMINEE – Best Documentary - BLINDSIGHT, British Independent Film Awards 2006

• WINNER - Audience Award for Best World Cinema Documentary - WASTE LAND, Sundance Film Festival 2010
• NOMINEE - Grand Jury Prize for Best World Cinema Documentary - WASTE LAND, Sundance Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award Panorama Publikumspreis for Best Film- WASTE LAND, Berlin International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Amnesty International Award - WASTE LAND, Berlin International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Film - WASTE LAND, Full Frame Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - HBO Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature - WASTE LAND, Provincetown International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best World Cinema Documentary - WASTE LAND, Maui International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Film - WASTE LAND, Paulinia Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Best Film - WASTE LAND, Paulinia Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Best Documentary Feature $25,000 Target Filmmaker Award - WASTE LAND, Dallas International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award - WASTE LAND, Seattle International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, Durban International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Choice Best Film - WASTE LAND, Durban International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award - WASTE LAND, Durban International Film Festival 2010
• NOMINEE - Peace Film Award - Unabhaengige - WASTE LAND, Filmfest Osnabrueck 2010
• NOMINEE - Humanitas Award - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, Humanitas Awards 2010
• WINNER - Crystal Heart Best Documentary Award - WASTE LAND, Heartland Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Human Spirit Award - WASTE LAND, EcoFocus Film Fest 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award for Best Feature Film - WASTE LAND, EcoFocus Film Fest 2010
• WINNER - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Jury Award - WASTE LAND, Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Roger's People's Choice Award - WASTE LAND, Vancouver International Film Festival 2010
• NOMINEE - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, Grierson Award for Best Documentary, London Film Festival 2010
• NOMINEE - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, British Independent Film Awards 2010
• WINNER - Prêmio Itamaraty for Best Documentary Feature - WASTE LAND, São Paulo International Film Festival, 2010
• WINNER - Special Jury Prize for Best Feature - WASTE LAND, Amazonas Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award - WASTE LAND, IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2010
• WINNER - Audience Award - WASTE LAND, Stockholm International Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - IDA Pare Lorentz Award - WASTE LAND, International Documentary Association Awards 2010
• WINNER - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, International Documentary Association Awards 2010
• WINNER - Grand Prix du Festival - WASTE LAND, International Environmental Film Festival 2010
• WINNER - Jury Award - WASTE LAND, Frozen River Film Festival 2011
• WINNER - Best of Festival - WASTE LAND, Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2011
• NOMINEE - Cinema for Peace Award for Most Valuable Documentary of the Year - WASTE LAND, Cinema For Peace Awards 2011
• WINNER - Best in Festival - WASTE LAND, Princeton Environmental Film Festival 2011
• WINNER - Best Documentary - WASTE LAND, Movies For Grownups Awards 2011
• WINNER - Best Documentary Feature Film Audience Choice Award - WASTE LAND, Sedona International Film Festival 2011
• WINNER - Keen Hybrid Life Filmmaker Grant - WASTE LAND, Boulder International Film Festival 2011
• WINNER - Audience Award (tie) - WASTE LAND, Environmental Film Festival at Yale 2011
• NOMINEE - WASTE LAND, London Film Awards 2011
• NOMINEE - Best Documentary Feature - WASTE LAND, The 83rd Annual Academy Awards 2011

• NOMINEE - Best Documentary - COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, International Press Academy Satellite Film Awards 2010
• NOMINEE - International Green Film Award - COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, Cinema For Peace Awards 2011
• NOMINEE - Arms Control Person(s) of the Year, Writer-Director Lucy Walker and her collaborators on COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, Arms Control Association 2010

Early life

Lucy Walker was born in London, United Kingdom, started directing theatre in high school and continued as an undergraduate at Oxford University. The first play she directed and produced there, Querm, swept the prestigious Oxford University Dramatic Society

Oxford University Dramatic Society

The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...

 Cuppers

Cuppers

Cuppers is a term for intercollegiate sporting competitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The term comes from the word "cup" and is an example of the Oxford "-er". Each sport holds only one cuppers competition each year, which is open to all colleges. Most cuppers competitions use...

 awards. Walker was the Artistic Director of theatre group New Company and her original outdoor musical productions of The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...

 and Tintin and the Broken Ear were considered cult hits. After graduating from New College, Oxford

New College, Oxford

New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...

 with a B.A. (Hons) and M.A. (Oxon) starred first-class honours in Language and Literature she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the graduate film program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....

, where she won a contest to direct a video for Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....

, directed three award-winning short films and received an MFA.

Early music career

While at NYU film school, Walker supported herself by DJing, and as a DJ she was featured as a cover story in Option (magazine)  and on the cover of issue #154 of Wire Magazine.

As a DJ she appeared frequently at the Soundlab

Soundlab

Soundlab was a collective of artists, both sound and visual, that started in the East Village, New York City around the mid 90's. Founding members were Howard Goldkrand, Beth Coleman and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky and included many musicians and artists from the Illbient scene including DJ...

 and all over New York City as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Europe, performing mostly solo and also as a member of experimental illbient

Illbient

Illbient is a term allegedly coined by DJ Olive to describe the iconoclastic music being produced by a community of artists based in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in 1994...

 ensemble Byzar

Byzar

Byzar is an experimental electronic music ensemble, considered one of the founders of the Illbient genre, along with DJ Spooky, Sub Dub, We, and the Soundlab collective, active in the New York experimental dance/electronic music scene during the 1990s....

, for whom she also directed a suitably avant-garde video for the track "Phylyx" which opened MTV's AMP episodes #116, #122 and #124.

With her friend Moby

Moby

Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...

, Walker contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound, Sampling Digital Music and Culture edited by Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky

DJ Spooky

Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...

 that Subliminal Kid (The MIT Press, 2008).

She later used Moby's music for the soundtrack of her film Waste Land and prefers to license and mix tracks by her favorite artists to create her films' scores.

External links