Brett Morgen

Roles: Director, Writer, Producer

Brett Morgen has created some of the most groundbreaking and acclaimed documentaries of the past 15 years. Dubbed “the mad scientist” of documentary film, Morgen approaches each film as an opportunity to push the boundaries of his genre. His films are designed to feel like experiences rather than history lessons — as he puts it, “books are great for learning about the history of a subject, but for me, cinema is a place to experience the essence of a subject.” Morgen studied mythology and American history at Hampshire College in the early 1990s. A few years later he enrolled at NYU’s Graduate Film program. His thesis film, “On the Ropes” (1999), premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award. The film was one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of the year and went on to win several awards, including the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary and the IDA award for Best Documentary of the year. In doing so, Morgen became the youngest recipient to have won both the DGA and IDA awards.

In addition to his film and television work, Morgen has been directing commercials at Anonymous Content since 2000. He has directed over 200 spots for some of the world’s biggest brands.