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Davis Guggenheim Biography

Birth Name:Philip Davis Guggenheim

Birth Place:St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Profession Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Camera department, Actor, Music department

Fast Facts

Released three different documentaries ranked in the top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time, becoming the first filmmaker to do so with the release of "Waiting for 'Superman․'"
Graduated from Sidwell Friends School in 1982 and Brown University in 1986
Quote: "I'm a big believer that films are about people․ It's hard to make a documentary about a list of things you can do․"
Followed the first year of several public school teachers in Los Angeles in two documentaries, "The First Year" and "Teach," which were intended to address the need for qualified teachers in the state and the nation as a whole
Originally tried to talk the co-producers of "An Inconvenient Truth" out of making a film based on a slideshow about global warming, but changed his mind after attending some of Al Gore's presentations himself
Visited Israel on a government-sponsored cultural trip when he was 47
Was a member of the men's a cappella group "The Brown Derbies" during his time at Brown University

Awards

2002Black Reel-Best Film: winner
2002OFTA Television Award-Best Direction in a Drama Series: nominated
2002Audience Award-Best Documentary Short Form: winner
2006EDA Special Mention Award-Don't Stick Your Head in the Sand: nominated
2006Gotham Independent Film Award-Best Documentary: nominated
2006Humanitas Prize-Documentaries - Special Awards Category: winner
2006Humanitas Prize-Documentaries - Special Awards Category: winner
2006LAFCA Award-Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: winner
2006Audience Award-Documentary: winner
2006Audience Award-Best Foreign Documentary: winner
2007Oscar-Best Documentary, Features: winner
2007Attenborough Award-: winner
2009Music Documentary Award-: nominated
2010AAFCA Award-Best Documentary: winner
2010Audience Award-: winner
2010Audience Award-Best Documentary: winner
2010Festival Award-Best Documentary: winner
2010Grand Jury Prize-Documentary: nominated
2010Audience Award-Documentary: winner
2011EDA Award-Best Documentary Feature Film: nominated
2011Black Reel-Best Documentary: winner
2011Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize-: nominated
2011Critics Choice Award-Best Documentary Feature: winner
2011DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: nominated
2011NTFCA Award-Best Documentary: winner
2013Grammy-Best Long Form Music Video: nominated
2015International Documentary Award-Best Documentary: nominated
2015Political Film Award-: nominated
2015Audience Award-Best Gala Film: winner
2016BAFTA Film Award-Best Documentary: nominated
2016Cinema for Peace Award-Cinema for Peace Award for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: nominated
2016Gold Derby Film Award-Documentary Feature: nominated
2016Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming: nominated
2018Emmy-Outstanding Social Issue Documentary: nominated
2019Humanitas Prize-Documentaries - Special Awards Category: nominated
2019Emmy-Outstanding Social Issue Documentary: nominated
2021Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: winner
2023Critics' Choice Documentary Award-Best Director: winner
2023IDA Award-Best Multi-Part Documentary: nominated
2023It's All True Trophy-International Competition: Best Feature or Medium-Length Documentary: nominated
2023Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program: winner
2023Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: winner
2023The Hope Award-: winner
2023Audience Award-Festival Favorites: nominated
2024BAFTA TV Award-Specialist Factual: nominated
2024BAFTA Film Award-Best Documentary: nominated
2024Windie-Best Documentary Film: winner
2024Cinema Eye Honors Award-Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking: nominated
2024Cinema for Peace Award-Cinema for Peace Dove on Global Health: nominated
2024DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: nominated
2024LEJA Award-Best Documentary Feature: winner
2024Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: nominated
2024SFCS Award-Best Documentary Film: nominated
2025Critics' Choice Documentary Award-Best Director: nominated
2025IDA Award - Honorable Mention-Feature Documentaries: winner
2025Video Source Award-: winner
2025Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program: nominated
2025Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: nominated
2025Audience Award-Festival Favorites: winner
2026Cinema Eye Honors Award-Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Film: nominated