Directing

Sara Joe Wolansky

Known for

Directing

Credits

10 titles

Sara Joe Wolansky is a documentary director and Emmy-nominated producer whose films depict stranger-than-fiction stories, grounded in genuine empathy. She rose to prominence as the Senior Video Producer at The New Yorker, helping to build The New Yorker's Oscar-nominated documentary brand from the ground up while directing her own award-winning & widely viewed short films. She has also produced for Bloomberg, VICE, and on other feature documentaries. She holds a MFA in Film & TV Production from the University of Southern California, and a BA in Sociology from Harvard.

Known for

The Big Cheese poster
NR

A clever American team competes for first place at France's Mondial du Fromage cheese competition.

The Big Cheese

2026

The Andrew Yang Show poster
NR

A captivating profile of Andrew Yang’s New York City mayoral campaign and how he got there.

The Andrew Yang Show

2021

Finding Fenn's Gold poster
NR

In 2010, Forrest Fenn published a set of clues about a secret trove, estimated to be worth at least a million dollars, that he'd hidden in the Rocky Mountains. Some still seek this treasure, captivated as much by the mystery as the promise of riches.

Finding Fenn's Gold

2022

After the 12-9 poster
NR

Every few days in New York City, a subway operator stops a train, speaks the phrase "12-9" into a radio, and waits what may feel like an eternity for a police officer to arrive and inspect the train and tracks. In the parlance of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 12-9s describe collisions between trains and people. In 2019, the M.T.A. recorded a hundred and ninety-five 12-9s, the highest number in at least a decade. About a third are fatal. "After the 12-9" follows three subway operators through their recovery process after their involvement in deadly collisions, as they battle PTSD, nightmares, and guilt. Although all three of them are left with different feelings towards their jobs, they are united by their collective experience of a very specific type of grief: the emotional weight of a death that one had no power to stop.

After the 12-9

2020

Documenting Death poster
NR

When Kim Acquaviva’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, the couple decided to share the day-to-day realities of her slide toward death that doctors can’t always provide.

Documenting Death

2021

The Last Conversation poster
NR

A son makes a surprising discovery on his elderly parents' answering machine after his father's passing.

The Last Conversation

2020

Behind the camera

The Big Cheese poster
NR

A clever American team competes for first place at France's Mondial du Fromage cheese competition.

The Big Cheese

2026

The Andrew Yang Show poster
NR

A captivating profile of Andrew Yang’s New York City mayoral campaign and how he got there.

The Andrew Yang Show

2021

The Andrew Yang Show poster
NR

A captivating profile of Andrew Yang’s New York City mayoral campaign and how he got there.

The Andrew Yang Show

2021

Finding Fenn's Gold poster
NR

In 2010, Forrest Fenn published a set of clues about a secret trove, estimated to be worth at least a million dollars, that he'd hidden in the Rocky Mountains. Some still seek this treasure, captivated as much by the mystery as the promise of riches.

Finding Fenn's Gold

2022

Finding Fenn's Gold poster
NR

In 2010, Forrest Fenn published a set of clues about a secret trove, estimated to be worth at least a million dollars, that he'd hidden in the Rocky Mountains. Some still seek this treasure, captivated as much by the mystery as the promise of riches.

Finding Fenn's Gold

2022

After the 12-9 poster
NR

Every few days in New York City, a subway operator stops a train, speaks the phrase "12-9" into a radio, and waits what may feel like an eternity for a police officer to arrive and inspect the train and tracks. In the parlance of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 12-9s describe collisions between trains and people. In 2019, the M.T.A. recorded a hundred and ninety-five 12-9s, the highest number in at least a decade. About a third are fatal. "After the 12-9" follows three subway operators through their recovery process after their involvement in deadly collisions, as they battle PTSD, nightmares, and guilt. Although all three of them are left with different feelings towards their jobs, they are united by their collective experience of a very specific type of grief: the emotional weight of a death that one had no power to stop.

After the 12-9

2020

After the 12-9 poster
NR

Every few days in New York City, a subway operator stops a train, speaks the phrase "12-9" into a radio, and waits what may feel like an eternity for a police officer to arrive and inspect the train and tracks. In the parlance of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 12-9s describe collisions between trains and people. In 2019, the M.T.A. recorded a hundred and ninety-five 12-9s, the highest number in at least a decade. About a third are fatal. "After the 12-9" follows three subway operators through their recovery process after their involvement in deadly collisions, as they battle PTSD, nightmares, and guilt. Although all three of them are left with different feelings towards their jobs, they are united by their collective experience of a very specific type of grief: the emotional weight of a death that one had no power to stop.

After the 12-9

2020

Documenting Death poster
NR

When Kim Acquaviva’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, the couple decided to share the day-to-day realities of her slide toward death that doctors can’t always provide.

Documenting Death

2021

Documenting Death poster
NR

When Kim Acquaviva’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, the couple decided to share the day-to-day realities of her slide toward death that doctors can’t always provide.

Documenting Death

2021

The Last Conversation poster
NR

A son makes a surprising discovery on his elderly parents' answering machine after his father's passing.

The Last Conversation

2020