Abby Ginzberg, a Peabody Award-winning director and Emmys® Silver Circle inductee, has been producing compelling documentaries about race and social justice for over 35 years. Recently honored with induction into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in recognition of her 25 years of commitment to the film and TV community, Abby has created an impressive portfolio of award-winning films. 

Abby’s film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary and premiered on STARZ® and was distributed by Lionsgate® Entertainment. The feature length documentary tells the complex story of Representative Barbara Lee, a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and economic and racial justice in the US Congress. This intimate film features prominent voices including Alice Walker, Van Jones, Rep. John Lewis, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Cory Booker, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Danny Glover.  

Her short film JUDGING JURIES, highlights the urgent need to address inequities in jury service that undermine the fundamental right to be judged by a diverse and representative jury, premiered at the Pan African Film Festival and has garnered recognition with awards such as Best Documentary Short at the Cal Film Festival and Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Shorts from the Accolade Global Awards.

Her current film, co-directed with Christy Carpenter, SHAKING IT UP: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIZ CARPENTER, premiered at SXSW, receiving accolades including Best Feature Documentary at the Hill Country Film Festival and Best Biographical Film at the Toronto International Women Film Festival and will be broadcast on public television in 2025. 

Abby also produced A DOUBLE LIFE, directed by Catherine Masud, which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival, earning an Audience Favorite award. This compelling documentary focuses on activism in the 1960s and the role of activists and lawyers in the prison reform movement of the early 1970s, introducing educational institutions and future generations to this pivotal era. 

She served as the Consulting Producer on THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM, directed by Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin. This poignant documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award® in the Short Documentary category, highlighting its significant impact and relevance in exploring social justice through the experience of foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama.

Abby directed and produced SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA, which won a Peabody Award and has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide. The film, narrated by Emmy® Award-Winning actress Alfre Woodard, tells the powerful story of Albie Sachs, a prominent anti-apartheid activist and former Constitutional Court judge, exploring his journey and contributions to South Africa's post-apartheid landscape.  

Abby’s film, WAGING CHANGE, examines the challenges faced by tipped restaurant servers, forced to live off tips. The documentary highlights the struggles surrounding the federal tipped minimum wage, which remains at  $2.13 per hour, and was broadcast on public television.

The film features award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda, recognized with multiple Academy Awards®, Primetime Emmy Awards®, and Golden Globe Awards® for her contributions to film and television. It also features award-winning actor and activist Lily Tomlin, who has received multiple Academy Awards®, Primetime Emmy Awards®, and Golden Globe Awards® for her work in the industry.

AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US (2017), featuring George Takei, explores the connection between the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, raising critical questions about civil liberties. The film was broadcast on public television.

AGENTS OF CHANGE (2016), co-directed with Frank Dawson, tells the untold story of the Black student movement of the late 1960s on college campuses. Actor and activist, Danny Glover, is featured in the film. It won both the Jury and Audience awards for Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival and was broadcast on public television as part of America ReFramed.

 Currently, Abby is in production on several new films,.including SHE DARED TO DREAM (a docu-series in development), which features Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat representing Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. This project brings together the same women-led team from the NAACP Image Award-winning film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, with Barbara Lee serving as a consulting producer. The film will explore Pressley’s vision, challenges, and aspirations as a trailblazer in American politics, alongside Abby’s broader documentary series about women of color serving in the House of Representatives.

LABORS OF LOVE: HENRIETTA SZOLD’S LIFE AND LEGACY. This documentary delves into the remarkable life of Szold, founder of Hadassah in 1912, a key figure in establishing healthcare and social services in early twentieth-century Palestine. The film explores her efforts in rescuing Jewish children during the 1930s and her lasting legacy in public health and social work.

Her films are distributed for educational use through Women Make Movies,  Good Docs and California Newsreel and for personal use through Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Vimeo.  This distribution network not only enhances accessibility to her powerful narratives but also aligns with Abby's commitment to fostering dialogue around critical social issues. Through these partnerships, her films educate, inspire, and continue to make an impact, while provoking meaningful discussions across diverse audiences and educational institutions.

Jim McSilver is a documentary editor, director, and producer, whose work centers on artists and advocates working for social change and environmental justice. In addition to editing and co-producing the NAACP Image Award finalist and Webby Honoree Judging Juries (Apple TV+) with Abby, Jim also cut her film, Waging Change (PBS/international), which focuses on the fight for a living wage for tipped restaurant workers. He also edited Weathering the Future (PBS/NOVA), a feature documentary highlighting communities employing ancient wisdom and innovative solutions to climate resilience. His editorial work includes multiple award-winning documentaries for PBS and international broadcast, including Manifest Destiny, The Split Horn, and films for CNBC, Lucasfilm, Smithsonian Network, and History Channel.

He has directed and produced six Oakland Originals short documentaries, spotlighting the voices and visionaries of Oakland, California. His directing credits also include the short comedy Head to Head, as well as branded and nonprofit video work for USA Hockey, the Autism Society of the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Francisco Department of Public Works, East Bay Regional Parks Foundation, Intel, Oracle, CamelBak and others.

Vicente Franco has been a Director of Photography all over the world for more than twenty-five years. He was a 2003 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary and Emmy nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Daughter from DaNang, winner of the Sundance Film Festival 2002 Grand Jury Prize.

He was Director of Photography on 3 other Academy Award nominees: The Barber of Birmingham (2012), The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2010), and Freedom On My Mind (1994). He won the Silver Apple/Latin American Studies Association for Cuba Va: the Challenge of the Next Generation.

He is an accomplished cinematographer of documentaries, drama, news and public affairs who won a Peabody for coverage of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. His recent credits include the PBS series Latino Americans, and Latin Music USA,

He also shot The Storm That Swept Mexico, Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, Botany of Desire, Orozco Man of Fire, Archeology of Memory: Villa Grimaldi, The Fight in the Fields, The Good War as well as Summer of Love, which he co-produced and co-directed for the PBS/American Experience series, about the SF Haight Ashbury hippie community in 1967.

Joslyn Rose is an Emmy®-nominated director, award-winning filmmaker, producer, and writer working across both narrative and non-fiction storytelling. Her work spans scripted films, documentaries, and digital series, with films featured on Showtime, Paramount, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Starz, and Lionsgate. Her projects have premiered at festivals including Sundance, Essence, and Urbanworld. She was named a finalist for the Academy Gold Women's Fellowship under the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Joslyn's feature-length studio directorial debut, Stand (Showtime/Paramount+), an Emmy®-nominated documentary, explores the extraordinary journey of activist and basketball prodigy Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. The film features Steph Curry, Mahershala Ali, Ice Cube, Shaquille O'Neal, and others, and was nominated for a Sports Emmy® Award for Outstanding Feature Length Documentary.

Her narrative short films have earned international acclaim. Looking Glass premiered at Sundance London, won Best Short at the American Film Awards and TopShorts’ Best Female Director, and received honors from the Berlin Film Festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Awards, and BronzeLens. Her short film Butterfly Boxing, starring J. Alphonse Nicholson (P-Valley, Starz) and Hill Harper (The Good Doctor, ABC), premiered at the Essence Film Festival and won Best Director and Best Ensemble Cast at the LA Independent Women Film Awards. Her earlier short Umi’s Heart, starring Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali, was honored with the Best Humanitarian Short Film Award at the One Nation Film Festival.

Joslyn is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors. She has guest-hosted at USC's School of Cinematic Arts and, through Starz's Take The Lead initiative, curated panels amplifying underrepresented voices in entertainment.