Alison Klayman is an award-winning director whose films explore some of the most compelling people and stories of our time. Big issues, high stakes, and major historical events shape her work, even as she brings viewers into these worlds with an intimate and often humorous touch. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY follows Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at his Beijing studio and amid the consequences of his political activism. The film received a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and placed Klayman on The New York Times’ list of 20 Directors to Watch.
Her film JAGGED draws on Alanis Morissette’s personal video archive to explore her rise to stardom at age 21. In THE BRINK, Klayman follows right-wing strategist Steve Bannon as he attempts to build a coalition of far-right movements in the U.S. and Europe. In his New York Times Critics’ Pick review, A. O. Scott praised the film as “unnervingly entertaining… horror alternates with grim comedy.”
Her films have been shortlisted for an Academy Award and have received multiple honors, including from the Sundance Film Festival, the Peabody Awards, and the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia Awards. Her Netflix Original film TAKE YOUR PILLS was an international hit, while WHITE HOT: THE RISE & FALL OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH was the platform’s most-watched film upon release. Her most recent feature, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, follows the New York Liberty during a pivotal season as both the team and the WNBA moved further into the mainstream of American sports. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival and later aired on ESPN.