Dana Nachman

Dana Nachman is an independent documentary filmmaker based in Santa Clara. She has written, directed, and produced Witch Hunt, The Human Experiment, Love Hate Love, and Batkid Begins. Nachman is a former journalist and worked on NBC Bay Area television documentaries. She produced the 2002 documentary Close to Home, which detailed the lives of Bay Area families impacted by the September 11 attacks. The documentary won an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy Award. Her next film, Pot & Politics, focused on medical cannabis and earned an Associated Press Award for Best Documentary. Her 2007 film Dreams to Dust explored the internment of Japanese Americans and was nominated for an Emmy. Nachman is the co-owner of KTF Films, along with Don Hardy. They produced The Human Experiment, which documented dangerous chemicals found in household products. Nachman and Hardy's Witch Hunt premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. As part of KTF Films, Nachman directed the 2015 film Batkid Begins, a documentary about Batkid. The film was bought by Warner Brothers and New Line Cinemas. Nachman will serve as the executive producer in New Line Cinema's narrative remake of the movie involving Julia Roberts. Collectively, her films have won awards at many film festivals, including the 2011 Artivist Film Festival, 2009 DC Independent Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, and Heartland Film Festival. Her films have also won two awards at the Cinequest Film Festival, Rincon International Film Festival, Ashland Film Festival, and Sonoma International Film Festival. Nachman herself has won three Emmy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award and has received grants for her work from the Tribeca Institute, Fledgling Fund, and the Pacific Pioneer Fund. She is currently working on a sixth film, expected to be released by 2017. Nachman was born and raised in New York City and moved to Northern California to pursue her career in documentary filmmaking. She lives in Los Altos with her husband and three children.