{{short description|American film director and producer}} {{other people|Kimberly Reed}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = Kimberly Reed, 2018 Montclair Film Festival.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Reed in 2018 | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | birth_place = Montana, U.S. | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Film director|film producer}} | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = {{ubl|''Prodigal Sons''|''Dark Money''}} | website = {{URL|KimberlyReed.com}} }}
'''Kimberly Reed''' is an American film director and producer who is best known for her documentaries ''Prodigal Sons''<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/1409-kimberly-reed-prodigal-sons/|title=Kimberly Reed, Prodigal Sons {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|last=Smith|first=Damon|work=Filmmaker Magazine|access-date=2018-03-25|language=en-US}}</ref> and ''Dark Money'' which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://realscreen.com/2018/01/22/sundance-18-kimberly-reed-shines-light-on-dark-money-premieres-jan-22/|title=Sundance '18: Kimberly Reed shines light on "Dark Money"|access-date=2018-03-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dark-money-review-1079962|title='Dark Money': Film Review {{!}} Sundance 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2018-03-25|language=en}}</ref> In 2007, ''Filmmaker'' magazine named her one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer2007/25faces.php|title=25 New Faces - Filmmaker Magazine - Summer 2007|website=www.filmmakermagazine.com|date=7 December 2012 |access-date=2018-03-25}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Kimberly Reed was born in Montana to Lorne and Carol McKerrow.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |title=Transgender Transition |language=en-us |work=Oprah.com |url=http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Filmmaker-Kimberly-Reeds-Transgender-Transition |access-date=2018-04-08}}</ref> Her father was an ophthalmologist.<ref name=":0" /> She had an older brother Marc, who was adopted, and a younger brother, Todd.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Citation |last=The Moth |title=The Moth Presents Kimberly Reed: Life Flight |date=2011-11-10 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2LePWwkZzg |accessdate=2018-04-08}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2010-01-03 |title=Best Of 2009, Guest Editors: Rick Moody On "Prodigal Sons" - Magnet Magazine |language=en-US |work=Magnet Magazine |url=http://magnetmagazine.com/2010/01/03/best-of-2009-guest-editors-rick-moody-on-%E2%80%9Cprodigal-sons%E2%80%9D/ |access-date=2018-04-09}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> She played quarterback on the Helena High School football team.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />
Reed, who was assigned male at birth, recalls feeling "just this friction" about her assigned gender and having an epiphany when, at the age of six or seven, she saw Renee Richards on television, and thought "whoa, that's it".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" />
Reed earned a Bachelor of Arts from University of California at Berkeley<ref name=":4" /> where she graduated magna cum laude.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} Reed earned a Master of Arts in film production from San Francisco State University. While in her twenties, she transitioned.<ref name=":4" />
== Career == === Film ===
====''Dark Money''==== ''Dark Money'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://realscreen.com/2018/01/22/sundance-18-kimberly-reed-shines-light-on-dark-money-premieres-jan-22/|title=Sundance '18: Kimberly Reed shines light on "Dark Money"|access-date=2018-04-08}}</ref> Variety describes the film as a "potent investigative piece."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/dark-money-review-1202743280/|title=Film Review: 'Dark Money'|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|date=2018-04-04|work=Variety|access-date=2018-04-04|language=en-US}}</ref> In early 2018 the film traveled to several festivals and the rights to the film were purchased by PBS as part of the POV series of documentaries.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2018/03/pbs-acquires-rights-dark-money-documentary-sundance-1202306467/|title=PBS Acquires Rights To Sundance Docu 'Dark Money'|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=2018-03-01|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-04-04|language=en-US}}</ref>
====''Prodigal Sons''==== ''Prodigal Sons'' is an autobiographical account of Reed's return home to Montana for her 20th high school reunion as a trans woman. The project initially focused on her brother Marc's story and evolved into an exploration of family, sibling rivalry, coming out, and reconciling with the past.<ref name=":0" /> It debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in 2008. The Los Angeles Times called it a "succinct, eloquent personal journal".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-03-19 |title=Review: '45365' |language=en-US |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-la-et-capsules19-2010mar19-story.html |access-date=2018-04-08 |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> After the release Reed was invited to return to Helena to deliver the 2015 commencement address.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=ProdigalSonsFilm |title=Kimberly Reed's amazing commencement speech video - transgender filmmaker |date=2015-06-19 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHl1SFgL1vo&t=1s |accessdate=2018-04-08}}</ref>
====''Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr''====
''Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr'' documents Zooey Zephyr’s work in the Montana legislature and includes her proposal to her wife Erin Reed.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.seat31zooeyzephyr.com/ |title= Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr |access-date= 2024-12-27 |archive-date= 2024-12-27 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241227152432/https://www.seat31zooeyzephyr.com/ |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/zooey-zephyrs-defense-of-trans-lives-in-a-deep-red-state |title=Zooey Zephyr's Defense Of Trans Lives In A Deep-Red State |date=2024-10-02 |first=E. Tammy |last=Kim |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> ''Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr'' was shortlisted for a 2025 Academy Award nomination in the ‘Documentary Short’ category.<ref>{{cite web |title=Academy announces films for Oscar nominees shortlist |website=Showtimes |url= https://www.showtimes.com/news/academy-announces-films-for-oscar-nominees-shortlist-577262/ |date=2024-12-18 |first=Alexandra |last=Heilbron}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2025 Oscars Best Documentary Short cheat sheet |website=GoldDerby |url= https://www.goldderby.com/article/2024/2025-oscars-best-documentary-short-cheat-sheet/ |date=2024-12-23 |first=Charles |last=Bright}}</ref>
* Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2024 — Winner of Mini Doc Competition * Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024 — Best Documentary Short * Frameline 2024 — Jury Award, Outstanding Documentary Short * CinemaQ 2024 — Audience Award and Best Short Film
=== Opera === Together with Mark Campbell, Reed wrote the libretto for As One, a chamber opera/song cycle composed by Laura Kaminsky. As One is a coming-of-age story about a transgender woman. As One premiered in September 2014 in partnership with American Opera Projects at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=David |date=September 5, 2014 |title=The Arc of a Transgender Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/arts/music/as-one-has-its-premiere-in-brooklyn.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404115330/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/arts/music/as-one-has-its-premiere-in-brooklyn.html |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |access-date=January 17, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Film !Role |- |2008 |''Prodigal Sons'' |Director, Editor, Producer |- |2018 |''Dark Money'' |Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Producer |- |2024 |''Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr'' |Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Producer |- |2024 |''I'm Your Venus'' |Director |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Television !Role |- |2020 |''Equal'' |Director (S1, Ep2: Transgender Pioneers) |}
== Recognition == * Filmmaker magazine: filmmakers to watch<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newday.com/filmmaker/248|title=Kimberly Reed|work=New Day Films|access-date=2018-04-08|language=en}}</ref> * Cinema Eye Honors<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://cinemaeyehonors.com/past-years/2011/|title=2011 - The 2017 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking|date=2016-10-12|work=The 2017 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking|access-date=2018-04-08|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409043622/http://cinemaeyehonors.com/past-years/2011/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Towleroad: best film character of the year 2009<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.towleroad.com/2010/12/movies-best-lgbt-characters-of-the-year-2/|title=Movies: Best LGBT Characters of the Film Year - Towleroad|date=2010-12-23|work=Towleroad|access-date=2018-04-08|language=en-US}}</ref> * Fellowships from Yaddo and NYFA<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nyfa.org/Content/Show/Past%20Fellows|title=New York Foundation for the Arts|website=www.nyfa.org|access-date=2018-04-08}}</ref> * Filmmaker Magazine's list of "25 New Faces of Independent Film,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=25 New Faces - Filmmaker Magazine - Summer 2007 |url=https://www.filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer2007/25faces.php |access-date=2018-04-08 |website=www.filmmakermagazine.com|date=7 December 2012 }}</ref> * IndieWire's top 10 films of 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Indiewire |date=2008-12-31 |title=indieWIRE & Industry Top 10s for 2008 |language=en-US |work=IndieWire |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2008/12/indiewire-industry-top-10s-for-2008-71041/ |access-date=2018-04-08}}</ref> * Magnet Magazine's best of 2009 list.<ref name=":3" />
==See also== * List of transgender film and television directors
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book |last=Solomon |first=Andrew |title=Far from the tree : parents, children and the search for identity |date=2012 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0-7432-3671-3 |edition= |location=New York |oclc=779265963}}
== External links == {{commons category}} *{{IMDb name|3141066}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Kimberly}} Category:American documentary film directors Category:Film producers from Montana Category:American transgender women Category:Living people Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:San Francisco State University alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Film directors from Montana Category:American LGBTQ film directors Category:LGBTQ film producers Category:Helena High School alumni Category:Transgender women film directors