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Rory Kennedy

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Rory Kennedy

Rory Kennedy is an Academy Award-nominated, Primetime Emmy- winning documentary filmmaker.

She’s made over thirty films, including Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix), Last Days in Vietnam (American Experience), and Ethel (HBO), all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her film, The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari, was the #1 Netflix film in the world during its release week in December 2022.

Kennedy partnered with Academy Award-nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky on Adrift, an AR Content feature documentary which explores how the international community has responded to refugees since World War, and premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2023.

She’s currently directing and producing an HBO docu-series on Synanon, the long celebrated addiction treatment center that transformed over the decades into an organization engaging in cult-like activity, which will premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival in January 2024.

Her films have appeared on streamers and broadcast networks including Netflix, HBO, National Geographic and Hulu. She has appeared on The Daily Show, The Today Show, CNN, and NPR. Kennedy served two terms as Governor of AMPAS and is a founding member of Climate Emergency Fund.

She lives outside of Los Angeles with her husband, three children, two goats, two nice dogs, one very mean dog, and a sixty-two-year-old tortoise named Zippy.