Michael Zimbalist
Birth dateJanuary 20, 1980 (age 46)
Birth placeNorthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupationfilmmaker
Years active2006–present
SpouseEsperanza Montoya Jurado
ParentsAndrew Zimbalist (father)
RelativesJeff Zimbalist (brother)

Michael Zimbalist is an American filmmaker.[1] He is a three-time Emmy Award and a Peabody Awards winner.[2]

Life and career

Michael Zimbalist was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Wesleyan University and trained as an actor at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[3] He is a director, producer, and writer whose films have been broadcast on HBO, Netflix, Apple, Fox, Showtime, PBS, ESPN and the BBC, as well as theatrically distributed worldwide. He has also produced and directed commercial work for RealTruck, Gatorade, Pepsi, Verizon, and the NFL.[4]

The Two Escobars

In 2010, Michael wrote, directed and produced The Two Escobars with his brother Jeff Zimbalist. The film was an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, the IDFA International Film Festival, and was released by Disney / ESPN Films.[5] Sports Illustrated named the film the Documentary of the Year alongside The Tillman Story.[6] The New York Post and Vulture ranked it as the best of the 150 films in the Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series.[7]

Youngstown Boys and 30 for 30

Between 2010 and 2014, Michael produced four entries in the 30 for 30 series, including Arnold's Blueprint with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Myth of Garrincha, and Youngstown Boys, about Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel.[8] Youngstown Boys, which Michael also co-wrote and directed, won the Sports Emmy Award in 2014.

Pelé and Loving Pablo

In 2016, Michael co-wrote and directed Pelé: Birth of a Legend, a scripted feature film about the soccer legend for Imagine Entertainment with Academy Award winner Brian Grazer producing and an original score from Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman.[9] The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically worldwide.[10] In 2017, Michael wrote the story for and associate produced Loving Pablo, starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and was released by Universal Studios.[11]

Nossa Chape, Momentum Generation, Give Us This Day, and Phenoms

In 2018, Michael co-wrote, produced and directed Nossa Chape, the critically acclaimed story of the Chapecoense soccer club airplane crash, which premiered at SXSW and was released in theaters and later broadcast by Fox.[12] The same year, Michael co-wrote, produced and directed Momentum Generation, about the world’s most legendary surf crew, starring Kelly Slater and Rob Machado and executive produced by Robert Redford. It also won the Sports Emmy Award for Best Feature Documentary, and a Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award.[13] Also in 2018, Michael co-wrote, produced and directed the feature documentary Give Us This Day, about three police officers and three residents in East St. Louis, the city with the highest homicide rate in the country, executive produced by Vince Vaughn.[14] Additionally, in 2018, Michael produced and directed 6 episodes of Fox's series Phenoms, about young footballers in the lead up to the World Cup.[15]

Filmography

YearFilmDirectorWriterProducerNote
2023Mayan Softball RevolutionDocumentary
2022The Trucket List3 episodes[16]
2021The LineLimited Series
2020Cantera 5v5TV special
2019ReMastered: Devil at the CrossroadsDocumentary
ReMastered: The Miami Showband MassacreDocumentary
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam CookeDocumentary
ReMastered: Massacre at the StadiumDocumentary
Ordinary GodsDocumentary
2018ReMastered: Tricky Dick & the Man in BlackDocumentary
ReMastered: The Lion's ShareDocumentary
ReMastered: Who Killed Jam Master Jay?Documentary
ReMastered: Who Shot the Sheriff?Documentary
Give Us This DayDocumentary
Momentum GenerationDocumentary
Nossa ChapeDocumentary
Phenoms11 episodes
2017Loving PabloFeature film
2016Pelé: Birth of a LegendFeature film
Battling BackDocumentary
The 18th Annual 'A Home for the Holidays'TV special
2015The 17th Annual 'A Home for the Holidays'TV special
ShadowboxingShort film
201430 for 30: The Myth of GarrinchaDocumentary short
2013Youngstown BoysDocumentary
201230 for 30: Arnold's BlueprintDocumentary short
2010The Two EscobarsDocumentary
2007The Addiction Project9 episodes
Hijos de la guerraDocumentary

Awards and nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.
2022NominatedNews & Documentary Emmy AwardsBest DocumentaryThe Line[17]
NominatedOutstanding Investigative Documentary
2020WonOutstanding Arts & Culture DocumentaryReMastered: The Lion's Share[18]
NominatedOutstanding Historical DocumentaryReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium
NominatedNAACP Image AwardsOutstanding DocumentaryReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke[19]
2019NominatedNews & Documentary Emmy AwardsOutstanding Arts & Culture DocumentaryReMastered: Who Shot the Sheriff?[20]
NominatedOutstanding ResearchReMastered: Tricky Dick & the Man in Black
WonSports Emmy AwardsOutstanding Long Sports DocumentaryMomentum Generation[21]
NominatedOutstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics
2018WonWhistler Film FestivalWorld Documentary Award[22]
WonTribeca Film FestivalAudience Award[23]
NominatedAmerican Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature
NominatedHamptons International Film FestivalBest Documentary Award[24]
2017NominatedSanta Barbara International Film FestivalBest Documentary ShortBattling Back
2014WonSports Emmy AwardsOutstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology30 for 30 Youngstown Boys
2011NominatedWriters Guild of AmericaBest Documentary ScreenplayThe Two Escobars[25]
2010NominatedTribeca Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature
NominatedDoha Tribeca Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature[26]
NominatedSão Paulo International Film FestivalBest Documentary
WonAmerican Film FestivalBest Film[27]
NominatedZurich Film FestivalBest International Documentary Film

References

  1. ^ "Interrogate Partners With Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, All Rise Films". shootonline.com. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  2. ^ "30 FOR 30". peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  3. ^ "AMBULANTE Film Festival". viterbi.usc.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  4. ^ "Diverse, Topical, Enlightening and Entertaining, These Were the Best Brand Storytellers of 2019". adweek.com. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  5. ^ "THE TWO ESCOBARS". espn.com. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  6. ^ "Media Awards for 2010". si.com. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  7. ^ "A Complete Ranking of ESPN's '30 for 30' Films". vulture.com. October 2013. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  8. ^ "ESPN Launches '30 for 30 Shorts' With Schwarzenegger-Centric 'Arnold's Blueprint,' From the Directors of 'The Two Escobars'". indiewire.com. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  9. ^ "Academy Awards: A R Rahman's Pele: Birth Of A Legend On Oscar Longlist". ndtv.com. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  10. ^ "PELÉ: BIRTH OF A LEGEND". tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  11. ^ "Loving Pablo". worldcat.org. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  12. ^ "SXSW Film Review: Nossa Chape". austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  13. ^ "'Momentum Generation' Wins An Emmy*". stabmag.com. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  14. ^ "'Give Us This Day' Filmmakers Talk The Overlooked High Crime In East St. Louis In New Docu – Tribeca". Deadline Hollywood. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  15. ^ "FOX SPORTS PREMIERES PHENOMS SOCCER DOCUMENTARY MINI-SERIES AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL® AHEAD OF NETWORK TV DEBUT". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  16. ^ "RealTruck and NFL Stars Create Bucket List Giveaway Vehicles for The Trucket List Series". motortrend.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  17. ^ "NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 43RD ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  18. ^ "41st ANNUAL NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS - WINNERS". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  19. ^ "NAACP Image Awards 2020: Complete Nominations List". forbes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  20. ^ "NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED". cdn.emmyonline.org. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  21. ^ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 40th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY AWARDS". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  22. ^ "Whistler Film Festival Announces 2018 Winners". whistlerfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  23. ^ "TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2018 Winners". sagindie.org. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  24. ^ "'MOMENTUM GENERATION': SURF MOVIE AT GURNEY'S". hamptonsfilmfest.org. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  25. ^ "2011 Writers Guild Award Nominations Announced". indiewire.com. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  26. ^ "DOHA TRIBECCA FILM FESTIVAL 2010". dohafilminstitute.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  27. ^ "WINTER'S BONE AND THE TWO ESCOBARS WIN AUDIENCE PRIZES AT INAUGURAL AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL". filmneweurope.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.