Bonni Cohen

Bonni Cohen is an acclaimed documentary director and creative producer, as well as co-founder of Actual Films and Catapult Film Fund. Her current work includes directing In Waves & War with her partner Jon Shenk, and directing and producing The White House Effect. Both films premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and will premiere on Netflix in fall 2025. Her recent projects include the Oscar-nominated short film Lead Me Home (Netflix) and directing Make a Splash (ESPN). She previously directed Athlete A (Netflix), which won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and remained in Netflix’s top 10 for several weeks. Prior to that, Cohen directed An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, which was selected as the opening film of the Sundance Film Festival, shortlisted for the Oscars, and nominated for a BAFTA for Best Documentary. Cohen directed the Peabody Award-winning Audrie & Daisy, which premiered in competition at Sundance and was acquired as a Netflix original. In addition to her directing work, Cohen produced The Island President, which won the People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her work as a producer and director on The Rape of Europa earned her PGA and WGA Award nominations, and the film was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. Cohen also produced Wonders Are Many (PBS), Jon Else’s film that premiered at Sundance, and the two teamed up to co-direct Inside Guantanamo (National Geographic), which was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature. Cohen has served as executive producer on projects for HBO, Disney+, and PBS, including Art and Craft and 3.5 Minutes, 10 Bullets, both of which were shortlisted for the Academy Awards. She strives to be a person who connects positively with the documentary community and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Catapult Film Fund, as well as being a member of BAFTA, the PGA, the WGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.