{{short description|American filmmaker and producer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Kim A. Snyder | occupation = Filmmaker; producer; director; writer | known_for = ''Newtown''; ''The Librarians (2025 film)''; ''Death by Numbers''; Peabody Award-winning documentary work | education = B.A., George Washington University (1983); M.A., Johns Hopkins SAIS (1986) }}

'''Kim A. Snyder''' is an American Oscar-nominated<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/2025-oscar-nominated-short-films-documentary-1236324834/|title='2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary' Review: Take Your Pick Between Endemic Violence and Escapist Music|first=Peter|last=Debruge|date=2 March 2025|website=Variety}}</ref> and Peabody award-winning filmmaker and producer. Snyder's latest film ''The Librarians (2025)'' was released in theaters and has garnered over 20 festival awards and had its US TV Broadcast on PBS's ''Independent Lens'' in early 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Matthew |date=2025-12-04 |title=Oscar Contender 'The Librarians' Booked To Anchor Winter Season Of PBS Series 'Independent Lens' |url=https://deadline.com/2025/12/independent-lens-winter-2025-slate-1236636377/ |access-date=2026-02-12 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> Her short documentary ''Death by Numbers'' was nominated for a 2025 Academy Award. She made her directorial debut with the 2000 documentary, ''I Remember Me''. In 2016, Snyder won at the Crested Butte Film Festival ACTNow award for ''Newtown'' and was nominated at Sundance Film Festival in Grand Jury Prize-Documentary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000631/2016?ref_=ttawd_ev_2|title=Sundance Film Festival|website=IMDb |publisher=}}</ref> She currently resides in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmguide.bentonvillefilmfestival.com/tixSYS/2016/xslguide/directorbio.php?DirectorID=1018&notepg=&EventNumber=1041|title=Kim Snyder|publisher=- 2016 Bentonville Film Festival|access-date=7 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603043831/http://filmguide.bentonvillefilmfestival.com/tixSYS/2016/xslguide/directorbio.php?DirectorID=1018&notepg=&EventNumber=1041|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Background ==

Snyder received a bachelor's from George Washington University in 1983<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gwu.edu/~magazine/archive/2002_spring/docs/dept_alumni_news.html|title=Alummi Newsmakers|publisher=|date=Spring 2002|website=GW Magazine}}</ref> and a master's in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.jh.edu/jhumag/0202web/alumnews.html|title=Alumni News|publisher=|date=February 2002|website=Johns Hopkins Magazine}}</ref> Upon completion of her masters, Snyder worked in international trade. She became involved in filmmaking as an international film consultant and U.S. Producer's representative in Europe in the early 1990s.<ref name="documentary.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.documentary.org/content/meet-filmmakers-kim-snyder-crossing-midnight|title=Meet the Filmmakers: Kim A. Snyder--'Crossing Midnight'|work=International Documentary Association|date=5 August 2009|last=White|first=Tom}}</ref>

She is an advocate for the use of film as a medium to promote social change. As a co-founder of the BeCause Foundation, which aims to better the lives of children, Snyder produced three short films—''Alone No Love, One Bridge to the Next and Crossing Midnight''—to raise awareness on issues of child sexual abuse, healthcare, homelessness and refugee integration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.becausefoundation.org/films-campaigns/|title=Films / Campaigns|publisher=}}</ref> Previously, Snyder also served on the admissions committee for the Graduate Film Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newtownfilm.com/#meet-the-team|title=Newtown|work=Newtown.com}}</ref>

== Early career ==

Snyder credits curiosity for her start in filmmaking. Following some time representing films in Eastern Europe, she broke the production side of the indie film industry.<ref name="documentary.org"/>

Snyder worked as an associate producer for the 1994 Oscar-winning short film ''Trevor'', which tells the story of suicidal gay teenager. Trevor. It was later picked up by HBO, and Ellen DeGeneres hosted the airing. The directors of the film, Randy Stone and Peggy Rajski, realized the need for young people to have a safe way to discuss their feelings about sexuality, and thus in 1998 created the Trevor Lifeline (now the Trevor Project). The Trevor Lifeline became "the first national crisis intervention and suicide prevention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/history|title=The Trevor Project|publisher=|website=The Trevor Project}}</ref> ''Trevor'' won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Action Live Short.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995/T?qt-honorees=1#block-quicktabs-honorees|title=THe 67th Oscar Awards 1995|work=Oscars.org - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

In 2000, Snyder directed, produced, wrote and appeared in the film ''I Remember Me''. The film became her biographical documentary debut, and explored the history of and controversy behind Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which she had been diagnosed with.<ref name="irememberme.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.irememberme.com/thefilm.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212111449/http://www.irememberme.com/thefilm.html|title=I REMEMBER ME - THE FILM|archivedate=12 December 2007|publisher=}}</ref>

=== Shorts ===

In 2008, Snyder expanded on her philanthropic efforts by working with the non-profit BeCause Foundation to direct and produce the short films ''Alone No Love, One Bridge to the Next and Crossing Midnight''.

''Alone No Love'' (2007) is a 27-minute film that addresses the issues Chicago doctors, state's attorneys, police officers and social workers face when working on cases involving sexually abuse children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.becausefoundation.org/films-campaigns/alone-no-love/|title=Alone no Love|publisher=}}</ref>

With a portion of America's homeless out of sight and out of mind for some, Snyder took the initiative to create her short ''One Bridge to the Next'' (2008). Most of the film narrows in on Operation Safety Net, an organization that delivers healthcare to the homeless from bridge ways to alleyways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.becausefoundation.org/films-campaigns/one-bridge-to-the-next/|title=One Bridge to the Next|publisher=}}</ref>

The last in the series of shorts Snyder directed and produced for the BeCause Foundation was ''Crossing Midnight'' (2009), which documents the struggles of Burma's refugees and those who come to their rescue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.becausefoundation.org/films-campaigns/crossing-midnight/|title=Crossing Midnight|publisher=}}</ref>

Snyder directed and produced the short film ''Duke Riley Goes to China'', which premiered at the Palm Springs International ShortFest in 2015. The film chronicles the journey of Brooklyn artist Duke Riley, who embarks on recreating the race of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/project-of-the-day-duke-riley-goes-to-china-20141016|title=Project of the Day: 'Duke Riley Goes to China'|author=Indiewire Staff|date=16 October 2014|work=Indiewire}}</ref>

In fall of 2024, Kim A. Snyder's following short documentary ''Death by Numbers'' premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival. ''Death by Numbers'' turns an intimate lens on school shooting survivor Sam Fuentes's journey to reclaim her power, processing trauma through journaling. To prepare for a confrontation with her assailant in his harrowing sentencing trial, she examines complex questions of collective hatred and justice. The film has been nominated for the Best Documentary Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards.<ref name=nom:oscar>{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025 |title=The 97th Academy Awards {{!}} (2025) |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=January 23, 2025}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== ''Welcome to Shelbyville'' ===

''Welcome to Shelbyville'' (2011), another project done in cooperation with the BeCause Foundation, was selected as Gucci-Tribeca Documentary Fund grant recipient. It aired on PBS' Independent Lens. Snyder's ''Welcome to Shelbyville'' documents the intersection of race and religion in America's Heartland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.welcometoshelbyvillefilm.com/the-film/the-filmmakers/|title=the filmmakers|publisher=}}</ref>

=== ''Newtown'' ===

Showing the people and lives most affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Snyder's ''Newtown'' made its debut in the US Documentary Competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Filmed over three years, the film focuses on the devastated community of Newtown, Connecticut in the aftermath of tragedy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newtownfilm.com|title=Newtown, a documentary|work=Newtownfilm.com}}</ref>

On the film, IndieWire blogger Katie Walsh wrote: "This film is an important historical record, and an important reminder of an event in American history that could have changed everything, that should have changed everything. There's no reason why it still can't. "Newtown" is a crucial reminder of that."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/sundance-review-kim-a-snyders-emotionally-devastating-documentary-newtown-88198/|title=Sundance Review: Kim A. Snyder's Emotionally Devastating Documentary 'Newtown|author=Walsh|date=24 January 2016|work=Indiewire|first=Katie}}</ref>

Jordan Raup of The Film Stage commented: "Each conversation, whether it be with families of those who lost children or the first responders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, is attuned to their internal grappling with the unfathomable loss.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thefilmstage.com/reviews/sundance-review-newtown/|title=[Sundance Review] Newtown|work=The Film Stage|date=24 January 2016 |last=Raup|first=Jordan}}</ref>

''Newtown'' won a Peabody Award, was nominated for the Sundance Grand July Prize in Documentary and for Best Documentary at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

=== ''Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane'' ===

Following the ''Newtown'' documentary, Snyder set out to direct a follow-up piece: ''Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane'', which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

=== ''The Librarians'' === In this 2025 documentary film which was directed and produced by Snyder, recent conflicts between local school boards and school librarians in Texas, Florida, and other states, are presented through interviews conducted with officials and numerous librarians — who in some cases have been fired from their positions — in order to provide insight into current-day book banning in the United States. Along with archival footage of book burnings in Nazi Germany and the dystopian film Fahrenheit 451, the documentary makes reference to the current role of Moms for Liberty in the concerted action to ban books in school libraries as well as the counter-protests by librarians, parents and students.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2025/film/news/kim-a-snyder-sundance-doc-librarians-sarah-jessica-parker-1236280735/|title=Kim A. Snyder Talks Sundance Doc 'The Librarians' and Bringing on Sarah Jessica Parker as a Producer|website=Variety|first=Addie|last=Morfoot|date=January 23, 2025|access-date=January 26, 2025}}</ref>

The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2025. The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 3, 2025, by 8 Above. In September 2025 Snyder was present for screenings and discussions in the UK and Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/sep25/the-librarians |title=The Librarians: Film screening & panel discussion |website=Bodleian Libraries |access-date=2025-10-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Clarke |first=Cath |date=24 September 2025 |title=The Librarians review – the heroic women battling against book bans and censorship |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/24/the-librarians-review-the-heroic-women-battling-against-book-bans-and-censorship |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=1 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://zff.com/en/movies/the-librarians-98287 |title=The Librarians |website=zff.com |access-date=2025-10-01}}</ref> It had its broadcast premiere on PBS on February 9, 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Librarians {{!}} Book Policies Documentary |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-librarians/ |access-date=2026-02-12 |website=Independent Lens |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Nominations and awards ==

=== Nominations === *Academy Award, Best Documentary Short, ''Death by Numbers'' (2024) *Cleveland International Film Festival, Best Documentary, ''Newtown'' (2016) *Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize-Documentary, ''Newtown'' (2016) *Critics Choice Award, Best Political Documentary, ''Newtown'' (2016)

===Awards=== * DOC NYC, SHORT DOCUMENTARY - SPECIAL MENTION, ''Death by Numbers'' (2024) * Montclair Film Festival, Best Documentary Short, ''Death by Numbers'' (2024) * Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary Short, ''Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane'' (2018) * Peabody Award, Best Documentary, ''Newtown'' (2017) * Crested Butte Film Festival, ACTNow Award, ''Newtown'' (2016) * Denver Film Festival, Best Documentary Film/Video, ''I Remember Me'' (2000) * Hamptons Film Festival, Honorable Mention, ''I Remember Me'' * Sarasota Film Festival, First Runner Up, ''I Remember Me'' * Taos Film Festival, Land Grant Finalist * Aspen Shortsfest, Audience Award, ''One Bridge to the Next'' (2008) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0811502/awards|title=Kim A. Snyder|website=IMDb|access-date=2018-02-07}}</ref>

== Filmography ==

=== Director === *''I Remember Me'' (2000) *''Alone No Love'' (2007) *''One Bridge to the Next'' (2008) *''Crossing Midnight'' (2009) *''Independent Lens'' (2011) *''Welcome to Shelbyville'' (2011) *''Duke Riley Goes to China'' (2015) *''Newtown'' (2016) *''Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane'' (2018) *''Us Kids'' (2020) * ''Death by Numbers''<ref name="osc:hr">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-shortlists-full-list-movies-contenders-1236088489/ |title= Academy Unveils Shortlists in 10 Oscar Categories |author= Nordyke |website= The Hollywood Reporter |date= 17 December 2024 |access-date= 18 December 2024|language=en|first=Kimberly|last2=Verhoeven|first2=Beatrice}}</ref> (2024) *''The Librarians'' (2025)

===Producer === *''Trevor'' (1994) *''I Remember Me'' (2000) *''Alone No Love'' (2007) *''One Bridge to the Next'' (2008) *''Crossing Midnight'' (2009) *''Independent Lens'' (2011) *''Welcome to Shelbyville'' (2011) *''Duke Riley Goes to China'' (2015) *''Newtown'' (2016) *''Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane'' (2018) *''Us Kids'' (2020) * ''Death by Numbers'' (2024) *''The Librarians'' (2025)

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Kim}} Category:Living people Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Category:American documentary film producers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American documentary film directors Category:American women documentary filmmakers Category:People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome