Chris Hegedus

About

Chris Hegedus has been directing, shooting, and editing documentary films for over three decades. In 2002 she was awarded the prestigious Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and the International Documentary Award for Startup.com. With her long-time collaborator D A Pennebaker, Chris directed the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign film, The War Room, featuring James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, which received both the D.W. Griffith Award for Best Documentary of the Year and an Academy Award® nomination. In 2004, their HBO show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, won two Primetime Emmy® Awards. The team has directed a host of acclaimed films including The Energy War, Town Bloody Hall, Delorean, and Moon Over Broadway with Carol Burnett. Also feature-length music films, Depeche Mode 101, Down From the Mountain, a blue grass music film with Ralph Stanly, Emmy Lou Harris, Alison Crouse and others, and Only the Strong Survive featuring soul musicians, Wilson Pickett, Isaac Hayes, and The Supremes, which premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was distributed by Miramax. In 2006, Chris directed, with Nick Doob, and theatrically released Al Franken: God Spoke following the political satirist Al Franken. Hegedus’ last film, Kings of Pastry has been broadcast around the world and had a theatrical release in the US. The International Documentary Association, Hot Docs, Full Frame, AFI, and the Golden Cine have presented Hegedus with awards to celebrate her outstanding career. Chris also taught film at Yale University for eight years and received their Film Studies Award.