Sarah Rachael Wainio is a distinguished film and television producer. Sarah has produced 15 seasons of television both in the field and in post for leading networks including Netflix, MTV, WEtv, TLC, The Food Network, and Magnolia Network. Notably, Sarah field produced Season 2 of The Lost Kitchen, which won Realscreen’s 2023 Best Lifestyle Docureality Food Show.
Sarah came to documentary first as a participant in The Flight That Fought Back, What Happened?: The Story of September 11, 2001: With Linda Ellerbee, and 9/11: Four Flights after her sister was murdered on United Flight 93. Because of her life experience, she brings a sensibility and care to her practice that she continues to cultivate through her work as the co-chair of the Documentary Producers Alliance Ethics Subcommittee, and on the Ethics Squad – a group of documentary thought leaders touring the U.S. teaching ethics workshops.
Sarah’s filmography includes contributions to The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, 32 Pills: My Syster’s Suicide, and Busy Inside. In 2023, she was honored as one of DOC NYC’s Documentary New Leaders, an initiative co-presented by A&E IndieFilms, recognizing individuals working towards a more inclusive documentary industry. She is producing her first independent feature, The Sum of Our Parts, a contemporary queer love story in post production preparing for a 2026 premiere. Sarah lives in New York City with her cats Theodora and Tovah.