Lucy Walker, Director

Lucy Walker uses dramatic filmmaking techniques to make documentary films, following memorable characters on transformative journeys that grant unique access inside closed worlds. In addition to WASTE LAND, Lucy Walker directed a second feature documentary that premiered at Sundance 2010 and was recently released in theaters: COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, a terrifying exposé of the current threat of nuclear terrorism and proliferation.

Lucy’s previous film BLINDSIGHT premiered at Toronto and received audience awards at the Berlinale (Panorama), Ghent, AFI and Palm Springs film festivals, as well as nominations for Best Documentary at the 2007 Grierson Awards and British Independent Film Awards. BLINDSIGHT follows the emotional journey of six blind Tibetan teenagers who climb up the north side of Mt. Everest with their hero, blind American mountaineer Erik Weihenmeyer, and their teacher, Sabriye Tenberken, who founded Braille Without Borders, the only school for the blind in Tibet.

Lucy’s first feature documentary, DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, examined the struggles of Amish teenagers during their period of experimentation (rumspringa). It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win awards at the Karlovy Vary and Sarasota film festivals, three Emmy Award nominations for Best Documentary, Best Directing and Best Editing and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Documentary. Lucy’s credits also include Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, for which she was twice nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Direction in a Children’s Series, and several award-winning narrative short films.

Lucy grew up in London, England, started directing theater in high school and continued as an undergraduate at Oxford University, where her plays won prestigious Oxford University Dramatic Society awards. After graduating at the top of her class with a BA Hons and MA Oxon in Literature, she won a Fulbright Scholarship to attend New York University’s Graduate Film Program, where she earned her MFA. While at NYU, she moonlighted as a musician and DJ, during which time she met Moby, who contributed the music for WASTE LAND.