Roger Ross Williams
Encyclopedia
Roger Ross Williams is an American television news, documentary and entertainment director, producer and writer. He directed most notably Music by Prudence
that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), about a 21-year-old Zimbabwe
an singer-songwriter
Prudence Mabhena, who was born severely disabled and has struggled to overcome poverty and discrimination. All other seven members of Prudence's band "Liyana" are also disabled.
Roger Ross Williams is the first African American
director to win an Academy Award in his category of Documentary Shorts, and the first ever African American director to win an Academy Award for directing and producing a film, short or feature. He is a member of a Gullah
family from South Carolina, and has lived and worked in New York City for the past twenty-five years. He started working in 1985 and has worked for ABC News
, NBC News
, MSNBC
, BBC
, CNN
and PBS
. He has produced shows for ABC
, CBS
, Comedy Central
, Food Network
, Sundance Channel, TLC
, VH1
and Michael Moore
’s Emmy Award winning series TV Nation
.
He has directed prime-time reality (for ABC and CBS) and produced a documentary series for Discovery Networks
and a lifestyle series for Scripts Networks.
Music by Prudence
Music by Prudence is a 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the uplifting story of the now 24-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, and follows her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music,...
that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), about a 21-year-old Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Prudence Mabhena, who was born severely disabled and has struggled to overcome poverty and discrimination. All other seven members of Prudence's band "Liyana" are also disabled.
Roger Ross Williams is the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
director to win an Academy Award in his category of Documentary Shorts, and the first ever African American director to win an Academy Award for directing and producing a film, short or feature. He is a member of a Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
family from South Carolina, and has lived and worked in New York City for the past twenty-five years. He started working in 1985 and has worked for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. He has produced shows for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
, Sundance Channel, TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
and Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
’s Emmy Award winning series TV Nation
TV Nation
Production on the pilot episode of TV Nation began in January 1993. Moore initially turned to friends and colleagues in many production areas, while also making a point to ensure the show's employees were unionized. For the show's title sequence, graphic designer Chris Harvey put together the...
.
He has directed prime-time reality (for ABC and CBS) and produced a documentary series for Discovery Networks
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and a lifestyle series for Scripts Networks.
Director
- 2003: New York Underground (TV)
- 2003: The Lives They Lived (TV)
- 2005: Sheila Bridges Designer Living: Morocco Special (TV)
- 2010: "Undercover Boss" (TV, 1 episode: 7-Eleven)
- 2010: Music by PrudenceMusic by PrudenceMusic by Prudence is a 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the uplifting story of the now 24-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, and follows her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music,...
Producer
- 1995: People Yearbook '95 (TV) (segment producer)
- 1996: Sex, Drugs and Consequences (TV) (producer)
- 1997: TV NationTV NationProduction on the pilot episode of TV Nation began in January 1993. Moore initially turned to friends and colleagues in many production areas, while also making a point to ensure the show's employees were unionized. For the show's title sequence, graphic designer Chris Harvey put together the...
: Volume One (segment producer) - 2002: "Life 360" (segment producer) (1 episode:Telling the Children) (segment producer)
- 2010: Music by Prudence (producer)
Screenwriter
- 2003: New York Underground (TV)
- 2003: The Lives They Lived (TV)
- 2005: Sheila Bridges Designer Living: Morocco Special (TV)
Awards
Won numerous awards including:- NAMIC Vision Award for the television special Moroccan Style
- The National Headliner for Best Human Interest Feature for his documentary New York Underground
- On 7 March 2010, his documentary Music by PrudenceMusic by PrudenceMusic by Prudence is a 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the uplifting story of the now 24-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, and follows her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music,...
won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)