Amy Ziering

Gender-Based Violence Reproductive Justice Artist/Writer US-Based Art and Activism Filmmaking

About this Speaker

Documentary filmmaker & keynote speaker

Amy Ziering is an Oscar nominated and two-time Emmy and Peabody award winning investigative filmmaker whose groundbreaking documentaries have single-handedly transformed and shaped our culture.

Ziering’s works include: NOT SO PRETTY (HBOMAX 2022) a four-part original investigative expose of the cosmetics industry that led to Johnson and Johnson removing products off of shelves; ALLEN v. FARROW (HBO 2021), a seven-time Emmy nominated series examining the accusations of sexual abuse against Woody Allen by Dylan, his daughter with Mia Farrow; ON THE RECORD (HBOMAX 2020) a searing examination of the unique plight women of color face in the wake of assault crimes; The Oscar-nominated THE INVISIBLE WAR (PBS 2012) which broke the story of the epidemic of rape in the US military and led to five congressional hearing and the passing of 35 reforms through congress; THE HUNTING GROUND (CNN 2015) an expose of the epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses that ignited sweeping policy reforms at hundreds of institutions; THE BLEEDING EDGE (NETFLIX 2018), the first ever comprehensive critique of the medical device industry’s corruption and malfeasance; compelling industry giant Bayer to remove a harmful device from the market and catalyzing a worldwide debate about regulation and patient safety.

Ziering, along with collaborator Kirby Dick, were the first filmmakers to create a short film for Vanity Fair that debuted as a part of a groundbreaking multimedia project on sexual harassment during the Old Hollywood studio system in their March 2022 issue. Ziering also directed and produced the two-time Webby winning ALLEN v. FARROW podcast (APPLE PODCASTS).

Ziering also co-directed and produced the award-winning DERRIDA (2002), a complex portrait of the world-renowned French philosopher and putative “father of deconstruction,” Jacques Derrida. Other films include OUTRAGE (2009) an expose of closeted politicians who actively legislate against LGBTQI rights – which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism; Ziering also executive produced Kirsten Johnson’s award-winning CAMERAPERSON, and Josh Fox’s AWAKE – A Dream from Standing Rock.

Throughout Ziering’s filmography, notable accolades her projects have amassed include: 2 Oscar nominations, 12 Emmy nominations, 2 Emmy awards, a Peabody award, an Independent Spirit Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, 2 Webby Awards, a Grammy, the Nestor Almendros Prize for Courage and Filmmaking, the Upton Sinclair Award, the Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize, a Gracie Award, and the George Polk Award.

Amy Ziering’s company Jane Doe films’ motto, “we don’t make films, we make history,” has proven true – as Ziering’s work has directly led to the penning and passing of 35 pieces of legislation, shifts in military policy, the removal of dangerous products off our shelves, and provided the necessary kindling that sparked the #metoo movement.

Ziering has worked with Oscar winning composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and Diane Warren, as well as Emmy nominated Michael Abels and Terence Blanchard, and global superstars Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, and Keke Palmer. She has often appeared as a subject expert on CNN and MSNBC, and has appeared on The Daily Show and Good Morning America.