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Bonni Cohen

Bonni Cohen

Producer and director, also writer · Born January 1, 1975 (51)

Primetime Emmy nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 4 other major award bodies

Bonni Cohen is an American documentary film producer and director. She is the co-founder of Actual Films and has produced and directed an array of award-winning films. Most recently, she produced the Oscar-nominated film Lead Me Home, which premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival and is a Netflix Original. She also recently co-directed Athlete A, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and received four nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards. She is the co-founder of Actual Films, the production company of the documentaries An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Audrie & Daisy, 3.5 Minutes, The Island President, Lost Boys of Sudan and The Rape of Europa. Cohen is the co-founder of the Catapult Film Fund.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1975 (51)
Works as
Producer and director, also writer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 38 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 10% in 30 days

What are Bonni Cohen's films like?

Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
25%
Survival
20%
Ideas
16%
Morality
15%
Self
10%
Power
10%
Bonds
3%
Community6 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression4 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma4 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDisplacement2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 20 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 6 · Dark 10

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 18 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 8

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 10 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 18 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 13 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 14 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 11

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
14
Tense
10
Contemplative
12
Hopeful
9
Dread
3
Other
12

How their films linger

Thought-provoking11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet11
  • Ambiguous6
  • Other2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bonni Cohen's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bonni Cohen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

38 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page.

  • Art & Science Collide(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore(2025)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Vivien’s Wild Ride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Mercedes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • In Waves and War(2024)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The White House Effect(2024)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Night of Nights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Executive Producer

  • One with the Whale(2023)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Lift(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever(2023)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Make a Splash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • Surf Nation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Executive Producer

  • Lead Me Home(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Athlete A(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Just Breathe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · Executive Producer

  • Cooked: Survival by Zip Code(2019)

    Consulting Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • The Seer and the Unseen(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Life Overtakes Me(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Truth in Ten (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • When God Sleeps(2017)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Audrie & Daisy(2016)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Extremis(2016)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets(2015)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Art and Craft(2014)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Last Season (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Consulting Producer

  • Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Producer

  • American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Executive Producer

  • The Island President(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Rape of Europa(2006)

    Director · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Open Outcry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Producer

  • They Drew Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Producer

  • Wild on the Set (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Kofi Annan: Eye of the Storm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Producer

  • How to Be Absolutely Fabulous(1995)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Meet Me in Miami Beach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director · Editor · Producer

  • National Geographic Explorer(1985)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • Untitled Gilmore Girls Documentary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

Career shape

A full career of 37 titles, 36 of them dated from 1985 to 2025.

Biggest box office

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017)

$5.4M worldwide

Highest rated

Athlete A (2020)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing14 of 37: 5 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thWriting2 of 37: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing32 of 37: 23 only producing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thEditing1 of 37: 0 only editing, 1 with another role

37 titles, 9 with more than one role — producing and directing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s2 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s15 · crew2020s14 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

6 major nominations and no wins, 1998–2018.

  1. 2018
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Documentary
  2. 2017
    • Cannes award, nominated
  3. 2016
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  4. 2013
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
  5. 2008
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated
  6. 1998
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Non-Fiction Series

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Bonni Cohen's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85th percentile, the median of the 19 of 20 with a score; across their 19 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Approval · how many liked their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Reach · how many have seen their films

51stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up16
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · producer

Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever (2023)

93rd percentile spread · 43% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Athlete A (2020)

Midcredits 97th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bonni Cohen work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bonni Cohen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jon Shenk shares the most, 12.

Directors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles