Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Gabriela Cowperthwaite (born 1971) is an American filmmaker, with two documentaries and a feature film released.[1] Her films often deal with social, cultural and environmental issues relating to real life events.

Career

After attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, Cowperthwaite was first involved in commissioned work on television for more than 12 years. She spent time writing, directing, and producing documentary programs for outlets such as National Geographic, ESPN, Animal Planet, and Discovery and History.[2]

In 2010, Cowperthwaite directed City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story, making her debut in independent feature documentary-making. The subject was chosen by her classmate, Tor Myhren. The documentary tells the story of Tor's brother Erik, who at the time was an elementary school teacher that put together a lacrosse team in a rough urban neighbourhood to play a rich white kids' sport.[2] The film debuted on ESPN in 2010.[3]

In 2013, Cowperthwiate directed her second documentary Blackfish, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, before she found a larger audience among television via her distribution partner CNN. Blackfish is one of Cowperthwaite's controversial documentaries as it tells the story of Tilikum, a killer whale at the Sea World theme park in Orlando, Florida who killed its trainer, Dawn Brancheau. The film created the new movement called "The Blackfish Effect" that stems from the documentary. By investigating the treatment of orcas in captivity through news and archival footage, interviewing former trainers and marine mammal experts, and questioning the ethics of captivity Cowperthwiate created her film.[4]

In 2017, Cowperthwaite's first feature film, Megan Leavey was released. A drama based on real events, the film follows a corporal in the U.S. Marine's K9 unit, working with a German shepherd named Rex to detect explosives and weapons during the Iraq War.[5]

Filmography

Awards

Cowperthwaite's documentary Blackfish, earned BAFTA and an International Documentary Association Award nomination as well as making the shortlist for the Oscar feature documentary.[6] In addition, the documentary City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story, earned itself both the July prize for Best Documentary as well as the Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Kaufman, Amy. "'Blackfish's' director, now its 'steward,' finds it hard to move on". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Goldrich, Robert. "Creative Shades of Grey". EBSCOhost. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ http://www.westword.com/news/city-lax-brings-lacrosse-to-inner-city-denver-5108329
  4. ↑ Brammer, Rebekah. "Activism and antagonism: the Blackfish effect". Academic OneFile. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Rob. "Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite goes from whales to dogs in 'Megan Leavey'". The Cap Times. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  6. ↑ Goldrich, Robert. "Directors". EBSCOhost. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
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