Participant Media Films

Lucy Walker is an Emmy-winning British film director who has twice been nominated for an Academy Award and is renowned for creating riveting, character-driven nonfiction that delivers emotionally and narratively. The Hollywood Reporter has called her ”the new Errol Morris” and Variety has praised her unique ability to connect with audiences. Lucy grew up in England and attended Oxford University, where she graduated with top honors in literature, and directed theater and musical theater before winning a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. There she earned an MFA and directed award-winning short fiction films. While living in New York, she also enjoyed a successful career as a DJ and musician. Lucy's films include feature documentaries The Crash Reel (2013), Waste Land (2010), Countdown to Zero (2010), Blindsight (2006), Devil’s Playground (2002) and short films, notably The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011) and The Lion’s Mouth Opens (2014), most of them screened at ZagrebDox, with Waste Land winning the Audience Award. Her films have been shortlisted for five Oscars (nominated for two), nominated for seven Emmys (winning one), an Independent Spirit Award, a DGA Award, a Gotham Award, and have won over one hundred other film awards. For her advertising work she has been recognized with awards including three Cannes Lions, two Clios and two Association of Independent Commercial Producers awards. Lucy is also an acclaimed virtual reality director. Her first VR experience, A History of Cuban Dance (2016), premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and showed at SXSW and the Toronto International Film Festival. She has directed branded VR experiences for AirBnB, Toms Shoes, Vaseline, Vice, and the Buena Vista Social Club.