Joe Piscatella is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on unlikely individuals who challenge powerful political systems. His films explore themes of democracy, dissent, human rights and youth activism, often following protagonists who confront authoritarian regimes.
His feature documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower follows 14 year old activist Joshua Wong and his fight for democracy in Hong Kong against the Chinese Communist Party. The film won the Audience Award at Sundance and became one of Netflix’s most high profile acquisitions of the festival.
His first documentary, #ChicagoGirl, portrays American teenager Ala’a Basatneh as she coordinates the Syrian revolution from her bedroom in Chicago. Facing death threats and the emotional impact of seeing her online network targeted by violence, she helps expose the atrocities of the Assad regime. The production team was among the first to smuggle high definition footage out of Syria. The film won multiple awards, including an audience award at its premiere at IDFA, and was distributed in nearly 100 countries through partners such as Al Jazeera, Fusion and Netflix.
Joe served as executive producer on Finders Keepers, which premiered at Sundance and was released through The Orchard. His documentary Mai Khoi and the Dissidents, about Vietnamese pop star Mai Khoi’s confrontation with the Vietnamese Communist Party, premiered in New York and became part of the BBC Why Collection.
Last Known Coordinates, which chronicles big wave surfer Chris Bertish’s solo stand up paddleboard journey from Africa to North America, reached the Top 10 on Apple iTunes. His digital short form series Food Interrupted received an Emmy nomination for writing, directing and creative direction. He also worked as consulting producer on the Dude Perfect feature for YouTube Premium.
His recent film Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law, profiling the Hong Kong dissident Nathan Law, premiered on POV on PBS, streams on Amazon and received a News and Documentary Emmy nomination.
