Empowering the World's Documentarians

Abby Ellis

Director/Producer

Brooklyn, New York US

Available for Freelance

About

Abby's film, FLINT’S DEADLY WATER, was a multi-year investigation that exposed a steep number of unknown deaths from a deadly disease outbreak during the Flint water crisis, the negligence of officials who allowed it to continue and the efforts to obstruct the legal and scientific investigations around it. In 2020 she was the Hollyhock Filmmaker-in-Residence at PBS, where she wrote, directed and produced SHOTS FIRED, an unflinching look at the connection between the high rate of police shootings in Utah and the state’s controversial police training methods. Prior to that Abby produced AMERICA DIVIDED, an original docu-series executive produced by Norman Lear and Shonda Rhimes, which featured narratives around inequality in America woven into an eight-story, five-part series. Abby’s work has earned her a Peabody Award, several Emmy nominations, an Edward R. Murrow Award, a Scripps Howard Award, an Izzy Award, Sentinel Award, Acting for Justice Award, two Livingston nominations, and other honors. At the start of her career Abby spent six years at VICE where she produced and edited on some of the network’s most pivotal and award-winning shows, from character-driven social and cultural documentaries to current affairs films.

Featured Work

Shots Fired

An unflinching look at the connection between the high rate of police shootings in Utah and the state’s controversial police training methods.

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Flint's Deadly Water

A two year investigation that exposed a steep number of unknown deaths from a deadly disease outbreak during the Flint water crisis, the negligence of officials who allowed it to continue and the efforts to obstruct the legal and scientific investigations around it.

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American Patriot

How one ranching family's fight against the federal government invigorated armed militias and “patriot” groups — helping them grow to levels not seen in decades, and the federal government's controversial methods for stopping them.

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A House Divided (America Divided)

Norman Lear explores the housing affordability crisis in New York City, hedge fund speculation on the Brooklyn housing market and a legacy of racial discrimination in the Bronx.

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