Stanley Nelson

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson's look back at the 40 years he spent summering at Oak Bluffs, a black-oriented resort community on Martha's Vineyard.

A comprehensive reminisce at each chapter of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s saga–the incredible rise, shocking fall and polarizing return.

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

Stanley Nelson's syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, from early roots to 1970s urban funk and beyond.

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.

Chronicles how one pioneering company broke color barriers in 1940s American business. Shares the experience of the all-Black sales team at Pepsi.

Executive produced by NBA superstar and philanthropist Russell Westbrook, and directed by Peabody and Emmy-Award® winning director Stanley Nelson (“Freedom Riders”) and Peabody and duPont-Award winner Marco Williams (“Two Towns of Jasper”), the documentary commemorates the 100th anniversary of the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history, and calls attention to the previously ignored but necessary repair of a town once devastated.

The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity; but this is an essential story, vibrant, human; a living and breathing chronicle of a pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity; but this is an essential story, vibrant, human; a living and breathing chronicle of a pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity; but this is an essential story, vibrant, human; a living and breathing chronicle of a pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.

In Becoming Frederick Douglass, acclaimed director Stanley Nelson and co-director Nicole London bring to life the story of an American icon. Using Douglass's own powerful, profound speeches and writing, the story retraces his journey from a man born and raised in slavery to one of the most prominent elder statesmen and inspiring voices for freedom in American history. With additional context and insight provided by historians, scholars and Douglass's descendants, the filmmakers recount the brutality and trauma of his childhood while illuminating his strength of character, defiance against the bonds of slavery and the influences that guided his lifelong quest for freedom. The most celebrated Black man of his era, Douglass's legacy and achievements continue to resonate today. His life and work still inspires activists, educators and citizens in the fight for freedom, equality and a more just American society.

In Becoming Frederick Douglass, acclaimed director Stanley Nelson and co-director Nicole London bring to life the story of an American icon. Using Douglass's own powerful, profound speeches and writing, the story retraces his journey from a man born and raised in slavery to one of the most prominent elder statesmen and inspiring voices for freedom in American history. With additional context and insight provided by historians, scholars and Douglass's descendants, the filmmakers recount the brutality and trauma of his childhood while illuminating his strength of character, defiance against the bonds of slavery and the influences that guided his lifelong quest for freedom. The most celebrated Black man of his era, Douglass's legacy and achievements continue to resonate today. His life and work still inspires activists, educators and citizens in the fight for freedom, equality and a more just American society.

Follows the largest prison uprising in US history, conducting dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses.

Follows the largest prison uprising in US history, conducting dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses.

Follows the largest prison uprising in US history, conducting dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses.

Jesse Owens details Jesse's early career; describes Adolf Hitler s outsized ambitions for the 1936 Olympics; explores the movement in Western democracies to boycott the event; and explains the pressures on Owens to attend. The film also explores why, despite his success in Germany, Owens struggled to find a place for himself in a United States that was still wrestling with its own deeply entrenched racism.

Jesse Owens details Jesse's early career; describes Adolf Hitler s outsized ambitions for the 1936 Olympics; explores the movement in Western democracies to boycott the event; and explains the pressures on Owens to attend. The film also explores why, despite his success in Germany, Owens struggled to find a place for himself in a United States that was still wrestling with its own deeply entrenched racism.

This powerful, nuanced portrait arrives just in time celebrate the bicentennial of American abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman. Parts of her story are well known; born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. But the film delves deeper, illuminating her spirit and strength through exploits as a union scout and spy during the Civil War, an activist for women's suffrage and a singular figure who defied categorization at every turn. The foremost chronicler of the Black experience working in nonfiction film today, Stanley Nelson, alongside co-director Nicole London, brings rich, deeply researched historical detail to the story of this remarkable woman.

In the summer of 1964, more than 700 students descended on violent, segregated Mississippi. Defying authorities, they registered voters, created freedom schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Fifty years later, eyewitness accounts and never-before-seen archival material tell their story. Not all of them would make it through.

In the summer of 1964, more than 700 students descended on violent, segregated Mississippi. Defying authorities, they registered voters, created freedom schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Fifty years later, eyewitness accounts and never-before-seen archival material tell their story. Not all of them would make it through.

This documentary examines the fraught relationship between African Americans and the police, often rife with tension, fear, suspicion and hostility on all sides. Framed by some of the most recent conflicts between Black Americans and police officers, which garnered national media attention, the film traces the country’s complex racial history that set the path for policing in Black communities and fuels the ongoing conflict between African American communities and law enforcement.

This documentary examines the fraught relationship between African Americans and the police, often rife with tension, fear, suspicion and hostility on all sides. Framed by some of the most recent conflicts between Black Americans and police officers, which garnered national media attention, the film traces the country’s complex racial history that set the path for policing in Black communities and fuels the ongoing conflict between African American communities and law enforcement.

This is the story of more than four hundred Americans who participated in a bold and dangerous experiment designed to awaken the conscience of a complacent nation. These self-proclaimed, 'Freedom Riders' challenged the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a disarmingly simple act.