Ryan White | |
|---|---|
.jpg) White in 2025 | |
| Alma mater | Duke University |
| Occupation | Documentary filmmaker |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Ryan White is a documentary producer and director best known for hisNetflix documentary filmPamela, a Love Story, Amazon Prime'sGood Night Oppy, which won fiveCritics Choice Awards including Best Documentary and Best Director,[1] and his Emmy-nominated Netflix seriesThe Keepers.[2] White's previous films include theHBO movieThe Case Against 8, which wonSundance's Directing Award and was nominated for two Emmys,[3] the documentary filmAsk Dr. Ruth, andCoded, which was shortlisted for theAcademy Award.[4]
Ryan White graduated fromDuke University with a Certificate in Documentary Studies.[5] In 2007, White co-founded Tripod Media with his best friend and producing partner, Jessica Hargrave.[6]
In 2010, White made his directorial debut withPelada (PBS, Cinetic), a journey around the world through the lens of pick-up soccer.[7] This was followed by his 2013 filmGood Ol’ Freda (Magnolia Pictures), which tells the story of theBeatles’ longtime secretaryFreda Kelly.[8]
White directed HBO Documentary filmThe Case Against 8 in 2014, a behind-the-scenes look inside the five-year battle to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award, nominated for two Emmys and won Sundance's Directing Award.[9] That year White was named aUnited States Artists (USA) Fellow along with Ben Cotner, his co-director on the film.[10]
In 2016, White directed theEPIX documentarySerena, which followed tennis starSerena Williams during her 2015 tennis tour.[11]Serena received two Realscreen awards, including the Award of Excellence.[12]
White directed Netflix's Emmy-nominatedThe Keepers in 2017, a seven-part docuseries which investigates the unsolved murder of a young nun in Baltimore and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death.[13] The series won aCinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Nonfiction Filmmaking and was supported by the Sundance Institute.[14]
In 2019 he directed the documentary filmAsk Dr. Ruth. The film follows German-Americansex therapistRuth Westheimer (Dr. Ruth) as she reflects on her life and career.[15] The film's title derives from the name of Westheimer's syndicated 1987 late-night television seriesAsk Dr. Ruth.[16] The film premiered at the2019 Sundance Film Festival.[17]Ask Dr. Ruth won Best Documentary Feature at theCalgary Underground Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary at theHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival andMiami International Film Festival.[18]
In 2020, White directedAssassins, a feature film about the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader, which premiered at theSundance Film Festival to rave reviews.[19]Assassins was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary.[20]
White also directed the five-part seriesVisible: Out on Television, the first documentary series onApple TV+, which explores the history of the LGBTQ movement through the lens of television.[21] Produced byWilson Cruz andWanda Sykes, the series combines archival footage with new interviews to look at homophobia, the evolution of LGBTQ characters, and coming out in the TV world.[22] In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQPride parade,Queerty named White among the 50 heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people.”[23]
In 2021, White directed the documentary short filmCoded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker, which tells the story of legendary illustratorJ.C. Leyendecker, whose early-20th century advertisements were coded withLGBTQ imagery that quietly acknowledged a community that was forced to live in the closet.[24]Coded was shortlisted for the Academy Award[25] and won Best Documentary Short at theTribeca Film Festival.[26]
In 2022, White directed Netflix’s documentary shortState of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith, the story of a woman who shot and killed the man she says attacked and raped her in her home who was then prosecuted for murder by the state of Alabama. Unfolding in real-time, the film follows Brittany’s self defense case and the impact in her community and beyond.[27]
White directed Amazon'sGood Night Oppy, which premiered at theTelluride Film Festival in September 2022,[28] and won 5 Critics Choice Awards including Best Documentary Feature & Best Director at theCritics' Choice Documentary Awards.[29] tells the inspirational true story ofOpportunity, a rover that was sent toMars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. The film follows Opportunity's groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away.
White directed the documentaryPamela, a Love Story, an intimate and sincere portrait ofPamela Anderson following the trajectory of her life and career from smalltown girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist, and doting mother.[30]Pamela, a Love Story was released on Netflix on January 31, 2023 and was a top 10 international film on the streamer.[31]
White directed the Netflix true crime documentaryInto the Fire: The Lost Daughter, released on September 12, 2024.[32]
White directedCome See Me in the Good Light, a documentary following poet and activistAndrea Gibson, their wife Megan Falley, and their examination of love and mortality after Gibson is diagnosed with terminalovarian cancer.[33][34] The film premiered at the2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Festival Favorite Award.[33]