Sheila Nevins

Sheila Nevins is an American television executive and documentary producer who led HBO Documentary Films and oversaw acclaimed nonfiction programming.

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Robert Redford: American actor, director, and producer who founded the Sundance Institute and its film festival. Nevins and Redford helped bring independent documentaries to wider audiences through HBO and Sundance.
The Jinx: A documentary television miniseries examining Robert Durst and his suspected crimes. The series became one of HBO’s best-known nonfiction projects during Nevins’s tenure.
HBO: An American subscription television network and media company known for original programming. Nevins’s influence depended on HBO’s resources and its willingness to invest in nonfiction films.
Barnard College: A private women’s liberal arts college in New York City affiliated with Columbia University. Nevins graduated from Barnard before beginning her career in television.
Alex Gibney: American documentary filmmaker known for investigative films about power, institutions, and public figures. His documentaries became prominent works in HBO’s nonfiction slate during Nevins’s leadership.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Alex Gibney’s 2015 documentary film examining the Church of Scientology and former members’ accounts. Nevins oversaw HBO’s release of this high-profile investigative documentary.
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature: An annual Academy Award recognizing a feature-length documentary film. HBO documentaries under Nevins received major industry recognition, raising the profile of television-backed films.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism: A journalism school at Columbia University in New York City. Nevins studied journalism there, gaining training relevant to nonfiction programming.
Barbara Kopple: American documentary filmmaker whose films include Harlan County, USA and American Dream. Her award-winning work exemplifies the independent documentary filmmaking HBO supported under Nevins.
Citizenfour: Laura Poitras’s documentary about Edward Snowden and the disclosure of classified surveillance programs. HBO acquired and distributed the film, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.