Lana Wilson

Lana Wilson

Birth : 1983-08-09, Kirkland, Washington, USA

History

Lana Wilson is an Emmy-winning and two-time Spirit Award-nominated writer and director. Transformative quests for meaning and humanity connect her diverse body of work across documentaries, short films, and episodic. Her most recent film, the Taylor Swift documentary Miss Americana (2020), was the opening night film of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is a Netflix Original. Miss Americana was a New York Times Critic's Pick, an IndieWire Critic's Pick, and was named one of the Five Best Documentaries of the Year by the National Board of Review. Wilson's previous feature film, The Departure (2017), about a punk-turned-priest in Japan, was critically acclaimed for being a poetic, profound, and moving exploration of what makes life worth living. The Departure premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017, played at festivals around the world, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. The Departure was called "A work of art" by the San Francisco Chronicle, "A genuinely spiritual experience" by the Washington Post, and "Tender and moving...like a haiku" by the New York Times. The film was acquired by FilmRise and theatrically released in 30 US cities, beginning with a held-over run at New York's Metrograph. The Departure has a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating "universal acclaim." Wilson's first film, After Tiller (2013), goes inside the lives of the four most-targeted abortion providers in the country, taking a powerful and complex look at one of the most incendiary issues of our time. After Tiller premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, and went on to win an Emmy Award for Best Documentary. It was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, four Cinema Eye Honors, a Satellite Award, and the Ridenhour Prize. After Tiller was acquired by Oscilloscope and released in theaters in 50 US cities. The film was named one of the five best documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review, and featured in "Best of 2013" lists in the LA Times, Village Voice, Indiewire, Artforum, and more. Flavorwire named it one of the "50 Best Documentaries of All Time." Wilson also works in episodic and short-form filmmaking. She created and directed A Cure for Fear (2018), a short-form series about a groundbreaking scientist that played at SXSW and was nominated for the 2019 International Documentary Association Award for Best Short-Form Series. Wilson has been awarded artist fellowships from the Sundance Institute, MacDowell, Yaddo, and Film Independent, and was named to DOC NYC's inaugural "40 Under 40" list. She is a recipient of the 2019 Chicken & Egg Award. Wilson has given talks at a range of contemporary art and film institutions, and has been a featured guest on NPR, MSNBC, WNYC, Huffington Post Live, Democracy Now, and many other programs. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a graduate of Wesleyan University.

Profile

Lana Wilson

Movies

Look Into My Eyes
Look Into My Eyes
Producer
A group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing.
Look Into My Eyes
Look Into My Eyes
Director
A group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Executive Producer
Brooke Shields, ’80s icon and household name, was a child model before she came to prominence in Louis Malle’s controversial film "Pretty Baby" at age 12. With a series of provocative Calvin Klein jeans ads and leading roles in 1980s teensploitation hits "The Blue Lagoon" and "Endless Love," Shields’ early career was defined by a sexuality that she could neither claim nor comprehend.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Director
Brooke Shields, ’80s icon and household name, was a child model before she came to prominence in Louis Malle’s controversial film "Pretty Baby" at age 12. With a series of provocative Calvin Klein jeans ads and leading roles in 1980s teensploitation hits "The Blue Lagoon" and "Endless Love," Shields’ early career was defined by a sexuality that she could neither claim nor comprehend.
Windows to the Soul
Windows to the Soul
Producer
A more experimental take on a teenage girl's attempt to adhere to society's beauty standards.
Miss Americana
Miss Americana
Director
A raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.
The Departure
The Departure
Writer
An intimate character study of the complex figure Ittetsu Nemoto, an aimless and rebellious former punk rocker-turned-Buddhist priest. He is renowned in Japan for saving the lives of countless suicidal men and women through his wise and compassionate counsel. But Nemoto is now approaching middle-age with a wife and young boy of his own, when he learns his life is at risk from heart disease, compounded by the heavy emotional workload of supporting those who no longer want to live. When saving others takes such a toll, can he find the resiliency to save himself?
The Departure
The Departure
Producer
An intimate character study of the complex figure Ittetsu Nemoto, an aimless and rebellious former punk rocker-turned-Buddhist priest. He is renowned in Japan for saving the lives of countless suicidal men and women through his wise and compassionate counsel. But Nemoto is now approaching middle-age with a wife and young boy of his own, when he learns his life is at risk from heart disease, compounded by the heavy emotional workload of supporting those who no longer want to live. When saving others takes such a toll, can he find the resiliency to save himself?
The Departure
The Departure
Director
An intimate character study of the complex figure Ittetsu Nemoto, an aimless and rebellious former punk rocker-turned-Buddhist priest. He is renowned in Japan for saving the lives of countless suicidal men and women through his wise and compassionate counsel. But Nemoto is now approaching middle-age with a wife and young boy of his own, when he learns his life is at risk from heart disease, compounded by the heavy emotional workload of supporting those who no longer want to live. When saving others takes such a toll, can he find the resiliency to save himself?
After Tiller
After Tiller
Director
Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas in 2009, only four doctors in the United States continue to perform third-trimester abortions. These physicians, all colleagues of Dr. Tiller, sacrifice their safety and personal lives in the name of their fierce, unwavering conviction to help women.