Gabriela Cowperthwaite: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American filmmaker (born 1971)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

| name = Gabriela Cowperthwaite

| image = Gabriela Cowperthwaite (2013).jpg

| caption = Cowperthwaite in 2013

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1971}}

| alma_mater = {{plainlist|

* [[Occidental College]]

* [[University of Southern California]]

| occupation = Director, screenwriter, producer, editor

| years_active =

| children = 2

}}

'''Gabriela Cowperthwaite''' (born 1971)<ref name="Bonar">{{Cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/arts/how-blackfish-director-gabriela-cowperthwaite-became-sea-worlds-worst-nightmare-4417148|title=How Blackfish Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite Became Sea World's Worst Nightmare|last=Bonar|first=Samantha|date=6 February 2014|website=L.A. Weekly|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> is an American filmmaker. She has directed documentaries and feature films,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kaufman|first1=Amy|title='Blackfish's' director, now its 'steward,' finds it hard to move on|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-c1-blackfish-director-20140317-dto-htmlstory.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=18 March 2014 |accessdate=28 February 2018}}</ref> and she also produces, edits, writes, and directs for television and documentary films. Her films often deal with social, cultural, and environmental issues relating to real life events. Her most notable film is ''[[Blackfish (film)|Blackfish]]'' (2013),<ref name="supplyanddemand.tv">{{Cite web|url=http://supplyanddemand.tv/directors/gabriela-cowperthwaite/bio/|title=Bio|website=Supply & Demand|language=en-US|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> which received a [[BAFTA]] nomination for Best Documentary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/nominations-announced-for-the-ee-british-academy-film-awards-in-2014|title=Nominations Announced for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2014|date=8 January 2014|website=www.bafta.org|language=en|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==

Cowperthwaite's mother was a Brazilian psychoanalyst, and her father was an American real estate developer.<ref name="Bonar" /> She grew up in Denver, speaking Portuguese as her first language. She also played soccer in her youth.<ref name="Bonar" />

She attended [[Occidental College]] in Los Angeles,<ref name="auto" /> graduating with a degree in political science.<ref name="Bonar" /> She also attended grad school at [[University of Southern California|USC]], and graduated with an M.A. in political science.

After college, Cowperthwaite pursued a political science graduate degree at USC. Cowperthwaite was first involved in commissioned work on television for more than 12 years. She spent time writing, directing, and producing documentary programs for outlets such as [[National Geographic]], [[ESPN]], [[Animal Planet]], [[History (American TV network)|The History Channel]], and [[Discovery Channel]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|last1=Goldrich|first1=Robert|title=Creative Shades of Grey|url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=53d589ae-1510-4b53-928e-291501696f6c%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=93322254&db=bth|website=EBSCOhost|accessdate=28February 2018}}</ref>

In 2010, she directed ''City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story'', making her debut in independent feature documentary-making. The subject was chosen by her classmate Tor Myhren, and the documentary tells the story of Tor's brother Erik, who at the time was an elementary school teacher that put together a lacrosse team in a rough urban neighbourhood to play a rich white kids' sport.<ref name="auto" /> The film debuted on ESPN in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=Joel |title=City Lax brings lacrosse to inner-city Denver |url=https://www.westword.com/news/city-lax-brings-lacrosse-to-inner-city-denver-5108329 |accessdate=12 July 2020 |work=[[Westword]] |date=27 May 2010}}</ref>

In 2013, Cowperthwaite directed her second documentary ''[[Blackfish (film)|Blackfish]]'', which premiered at the 2013 [[Sundance Film Festival]], and found a larger audience on television via her distribution partner [[CNN]]. ''Blackfish'' is a controversial documentary, as it tells the story of [[Tilikum (orca)|Tilikum]], an [[orca]] at the [[SeaWorld]] theme park in Orlando, Florida who killed its trainer, [[Dawn Brancheau]]. The film investigates the treatment of orcas in captivity through news and archival footage, interviews of former trainers and marine mammal experts, and questioning the ethics of captivity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brammer|first1=Rebekah|title=Activism and antagonism: the Blackfish effect|url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=096112996165527;res=IELHSS|journal=Screen Education|issue=76 |pages=72–79 |accessdate=28 February 2018}}</ref> The film created a new movement, called "The Blackfish Effect", and in 2016 SeaWorld announced it would stop breeding orcas and put an end to all orca performances by 2019, which was largely attributed to the film.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/qanda-gabriela-cowperthwaite-on-killer-whales-and-canine-love-stories/2017/06/08/f26da24c-4b3b-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html|title=Q&A: Gabriela Cowperthwaite on killer whales and canine love stories|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>

In 2017, her first feature film, ''[[Megan Leavey (film)|Megan Leavey]]'' was released. A drama based on real events, the film follows a corporal in the U.S. Marine's K9 unit, working with a German shepherd named Rex to detect explosives and weapons during the Iraq War.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thomas|first1=Rob|title=Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite goes from whales to dogs in 'Megan Leavey'|url=http://host.madison.com/ct/entertainment/movies/director-gabriela-cowperthwaite-goes-from-whales-to-dogs-for-megan/article_991fae13-2cbe-507a-8475-c96650e86963.html|website=The Cap Times|date=8 June 2017 |accessdate=28 February 2018}}</ref>

In 2019, Cowperthwaite directed ''[[Our Friend]]'', a drama film starring [[Casey Affleck]], [[Dakota Johnson]], and [[Jason Segel]], revolving around real-life couple Nicole and Matthew Teague. Faced with Nicole's impending death, they have their best friend move in with them to help them out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/01/jason-segel-dakota-johnson-casey-affleck-gabriela-cowperthwaite-brad-ingelsby-the-friend-1202546034/|title=Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck To Star In 'The Friend'|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=30 January 2019|accessdate=17 February 2019}}</ref>

'''Documentary film'''

{|class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Producer

! Writer

! Notes

|-

| 2010

| ''City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story''

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Co-directed with Tor Myhren

|-

| 2013

| ''[[Blackfish (film)|Blackfish]]''

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Also editor (Uncredited)

|-

| 2022

| ''[[The Grab]]''

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

|}

'''Feature film'''

* ''[[I.S.S. (film)|I.S.S.]]'' (2023)

'''Television'''

{|class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Producer

! Writer

! Notes

|-

| 2003

| ''Animal Nightmares''

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Miniseries

|-

| 2004

| ''[[Wild West Tech]]''

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Associate}}

| {{yes}}

| Wrote episode "Disaster Tech"

|-

| 2005-2006

| ''Shootout!''

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Co-producer}}

| {{no}}

|

|-

| 2022

| ''[[Children of the Underground]]''

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| {{no}}

| Directed 3 episodes

|-

|}

Cowperthwaite's 2010 documentary, ''City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story'', received the July prize for Best Documentary as well as the Audience Award at the [[Sonoma International Film Festival]].<ref name="auto" />

''Blackfish'' (2013) earned a [[BAFTA]] nomination and an International Documentary Association Award nomination. It also made the shortlist for the Oscar feature documentary.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Goldrich|first1=Robert|title=Directors|url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=c97c5d4a-fc12-4458-bd1f-2abf882d20bd%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=95318980&db=bth|website=EBSCOhost|accessdate=28 February 2018}}</ref>

In 2020, she received an honorary degree from Occidental College.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commencement 2020 |url=https://www.oxy.edu/commencement-2020 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=www.oxy.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Cowperthwaite lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.<ref name="Bonar" />

== External links ==

[[Category:American women documentary filmmakers]]

[[Category:1971 births]]