Alysa Nahmias is an American film director and producer. She was born in 1979 in New Jersey and grew up in a small town in the Hudson Valley. She graduated from Harvard University in 2002 with a degree in anthropology and a minor in film.
Nahmias began her career as a production assistant on documentary films and music videos. She moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and worked as an assistant director on television shows like “CSI: Miami” and “Entourage.” In 2011, she directed her first feature-length documentary, “American Winter,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
In 2015, Nahmias co-directed her first narrative feature, “Uncertain Terms,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film was an official selection at the BFI London Film Festival, the Austin Film Festival, the Warsaw Film Festival, the Montclair Film Festival, and many others.
In 2017, Nahmias directed the feature documentary “The Seer,” which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. The film was released theatrically in 2020 and became the first documentary ever to be distributed by Netflix.
Nahmias is the recipient of several awards, including the Sundance Institute's Women's Initiative Fellowship, the Tribeca Film Institute's All Access Grant, and the IFP Narrative Lab Fellowship. She has spoken at numerous conferences, including SXSW, IDFA, and the International Documentary Association.
Nahmias is currently developing her first narrative feature, “Four,” which is set to begin filming in 2021. She is also developing a new feature documentary, “The Train,” about a group of young people who travel across India by train.
Nahmias' work has been recognized for its honest and intimate approach to storytelling. She is a powerful voice in the independent film community and is dedicated to telling stories that challenge the status quo.
