{{short description|American filmmaker (born 1987)}} {{Infobox person | name = David Osit | image = Osit.png | caption = David Osit, photographed in 2017 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|05|06}} | occupation = Documentary filmmaker, editor, composer | known_for = ''Thank You For Playing'', ''Mayor, Predators'' }}
'''David Osit''' (born May 6, 1987) is an American documentary filmmaker, editor and composer. His documentaries include ''Predators'' (2025), ''Mayor'' (2020), and ''Thank You for Playing'' (2015).
==Life and career==
Osit was raised in the suburbs of New York City in Tuckahoe (village), New York, where he graduated from Tuckahoe High School in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Police union announces scholarship winners|url=http://news.hrvh.org/veridian/cgi-bin/senylrc?a=d&d=bronxvillereviewpressreporterBRONXVILLE20050609.1.6|accessdate=17 May 2017|work=The Bronxville Review Press and Reporter|publisher=Gannett Company|date=9 June 2005}}</ref> Osit studied Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan where he was a Wallenberg Fellow,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wallenberg.umich.edu/summer-travel-awardees/david-osit/|title=David Osit – Wallenberg Legacy, University of Michigan|website=wallenberg.umich.edu|date=19 January 2009 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref> and studied Refugee Law at the American University in Cairo. His first documentary film, Building Babel, was filmed while Osit was in graduate school and followed real estate developer Sharif El-Gamal during the 2010 Ground Zero Mosque controversy. The film was broadcast on PBS in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itvs.org/films/building-babel|title=Building Babel {{!}} ITVS|website=itvs.org|language=en|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref>
He is the director, along with co-director Malika Zouhali-Worrall, of the 2015 documentary ''Thank You for Playing''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thankyouforplayingfilm.com/filmmakers/|title=The Filmmakers|website=Thank You For Playing|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/thankyouforplaying/|title=Thank You For Playing {{!}} POV|last=POV|website=POV {{!}} American Documentary Inc.|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Independent Lens Wins Four 2017 News and Documentary Emmys!|url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/independent-lens-wins-four-emmys-news-documentary-emmy-awards-2017/|access-date=2021-08-24|website=Independent Lens|language=en-US}}</ref> Osit and Zouhali-Worrall also directed "Games You Can't Win," a short film inspired by the feature for ''The New York Times'' Op-Docs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/games-you-cant-win.html|title=Games You Can't Win|last1=Osit|first1=David|date=2016-03-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-04-15|last2=Zouhali-worrall|first2=Malika|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Both the feature and short were inspired by the art house video game That Dragon, Cancer. In 2017, ''Thank You for Playing'' won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=916107897322528774|user=newsemmys|title=The Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary goes to @POVDOCS "Thank You For Playing." #NewsEmmys<!-- full text of tweet that Twitter returned to the bot (excluding links) added by TweetCiteBot. This may be better truncated or may need expanding (TW limits responses to 140 characters) or case changes. --> |date=6 October 2017}}</ref>
His third feature documentary, ''Mayor'', follows Musa Hadid, the mayor of Ramallah, the de facto capital of Palestine. The film premiered at the True/False Film Festival in 2020, one of the last film festivals to proceed as scheduled in the first half of 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/109321-true-false-film-fest-2020-the-value-of-the-theatrical-experience-coronavirus-remix/|title=True/False Film Fest 2020: The Value of the Theatrical Experience (Coronavirus Remix) | Filmmaker Magazine|date=25 March 2020}}</ref> It was theatrically released on December 2, 2020, to critical praise. The film was a ''New York Times'' "Critic's Pick"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kenigsberg|first=Ben|date=2020-12-02|title='Mayor' Review: Leading a City With the World Watching|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/movies/mayor-review.html|access-date=2020-12-02|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and an ''Indiewire'' "Critic's Pick",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kohn|first=Eric|date=2020-03-06|title='Mayor' Review: The Best New Film About Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is a Dark Comedy About Ramallah's Mayor|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/mayor-review-ramallah-musa-hadid-1202215500/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=IndieWire|language=en}}</ref> and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Politics & Government Documentary, and a 2022 Peabody Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peabody Awards 2022 Winners: 'Mayor' |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/mayor/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Peabody |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=POV Wins A News & Documentary Emmy Award for David Osit's Mayor {{!}} American Documentary |url=https://www.amdoc.org/pressroom/pov-wins-emmy-for-mayor/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=www.amdoc.org |language=en}}</ref>
His fourth feature documentary ''Predators'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ for theatrical and worldwide release. The film was a ''New York Times'' "Critic's Pick"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kenigsberg |first=Ben |date=2025-09-18 |title=‘Predators’ Review: Busted for Social Good (and Maybe Ratings) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/movies/predators-review.html |access-date=2026-05-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and ''IndieWire'' "Critic's Pick",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ehrlich |first=David |date=2025-01-26 |title=‘Predators’ Review: A Damning Look at the Legacy of ‘To Catch a Predator’ Argues that We’re All Complicit in America’s Perverted Sense of Justice |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/predators-review-david-osit-documentary-chris-hansen-1235088301/ |access-date=2026-05-24 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref> and was frequently cited as one of the best documentaries of 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearson |first=Ben |date=2025-09-19 |title=This Must-Watch Doc Asks Uncomfortable Questions About A True Crime Sensation |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1963321/predators-must-watch-doc-true-crime-sensation/ |access-date=2026-05-24 |website=SlashFilm |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Felperin |first=Leslie |date=2025-11-12 |title=Predators review – grimly compelling look at reality TV revenge hunt for child abusers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/12/predators-review-grimly-compelling-look-at-reality-tv-revenge-hunt-for-child-abusers |access-date=2026-05-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Osit has edited and composed for numerous documentary films and television shows, including ''Live From New York!'',<ref>{{Citation|last1=Armisen|first1=Fred|title=Live from New York!|date=2015-06-12|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4355574/|last2=Baldwin|last3=Beatts|last4=Bergen|first2=Alec|first3=Anne|first4=Candice|accessdate=2017-04-15}}</ref> which was the opening night film of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tribecafilm.com/press-center/press-releases/live-from-new-york-its-opening-night-of-the-2015-tribeca-film-festival|title=Tribeca|website=Tribeca|access-date=2017-04-15}}</ref> and ''The Vow''. He has cited his experience editing true crime television shows as part of the inspiration for making ''Predators''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mirror’s Edge: David Osit Discusses ‘Predators,’ an Appraisal of ‘To Catch a Predator’ {{!}} International Documentary Association |url=https://www.documentary.org/feature/mirrors-edge-david-osit-discusses-predators-appraisal-catch-predator |access-date=2026-05-24 |website=www.documentary.org |language=en}}</ref>
He was named to the 2020 Doc NYC "40 Under 40" list.<ref>{{Cite web|title=40 UNDER 40 - CLASS OF 2020|url=https://www.docnyc.net/40-under-40-class-of-2020/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=DOC NYC|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Influences==
Osit has cited Roy Andersson, Elia Suleiman, Miloš Forman and Amir Naderi as influences on his work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/110678-palestine-may-be-the-last-bastion-of-american-ignorance-david-osit-on-mayor/|title="Palestine May Be the Last Bastion of American Ignorance": David Osit on Mayor|website=filmmakermagazine.com/|date=2 December 2020 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-12-02}}</ref> He has referred to James Longley's ''Iraq in Fragments'' as a formative documentary for his generation of documentary filmmakers.
==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |- ! style="width:33px;"| Year !! width=110 | Film !! width=65 | Director !! width=65 | Producer !! width=65 | Editor !! width=65 | Cinematographer !! width=65 | Composer |- | 2012 | style="text-align:left"| ''Building Babel'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- | 2015 | style="text-align:left"| ''Live from New York!'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |- | 2015 | style="text-align:left"| ''Thank You For Playing'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- | 2017 | style="text-align:left"| ''No Man's Land'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- |2020 | style="text-align:left" | ''The Vow'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |- |2020 | style="text-align:left" | ''Mayor'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- |2022 | style="text-align:left" | ''Hostages'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |- |2024 | style="text-align:left" | ''The Antisocial Network'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |- |2025 | style="text-align:left" | ''Predators'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |}
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osit, David}} Category:Living people Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:1987 births