Mikaela Beardsley

Mikaela Beardsley (born January 22, 1970) is an American documentary film producer and entrepreneur. She is currently the Executive Director of the What Works Media Project.[1] Most of her films are distributed by PBS or HBO Documentary Films.

Biography

Beardsley was born in Boston, MA. In 1992, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University, where she earned her BA in Comparative Literature. At Princeton, she was classmates with future screenwriter Craig Mazin and future U.S. Senator Ted Cruz,[2][3] as well a roommate of film producer and later collaborator, Jamie Gordon.[4] She has produced over a dozen nationally broadcast films, and has worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Alex Gibney, and Wim Wenders, among others.[5]

Career

In 1993, Beardsley began her career at WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts.[6] She then moved to New York, where she acted as an associate producer on The Irish in America: Long Journey Home.

In 2003, PBS presented a seven-part documentary film series from Martin Scorsese called, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues, dedicated to exploring the history of the uniquely American musical genre. Beardsley served as a producer on episodes directed by Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Charles Burnett and Wim Wenders.

In 2009, Beardsley produced the documentary film Reporter, about New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof's work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The film was directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar, and executive produced by Ben Affleck. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival,[7] before first airing on HBO on February 18, 2010.[8] In 2011, Beardsley would receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Informational Programming - Longform for Reporter.[9]

Beardsley originated the Half the Sky movement,[10] a multi-year global media project aimed at improving opportunity for women and girls in the developing world, based on the critically acclaimed nonfiction book, by Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This included a four-hour documentary in 2012 that Beardsley executive produced, which PBS aired in two parts on consecutive nights. The documentary featured celebrity advocates America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union, and Olivia Wilde traveling to developing countries.[11] In November of that year, Beardsley served as the keynote speaker at the first annual Global Solutions Forum at Vail Mountain School, discussing the project.[12] For Half the Sky, Beardlsey developed a partnership with USAID, that linked the Ford Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Intel and numerous other corporate partners, including Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Nike, and the Rockefeller Foundation, raising five million dollars for direct programs.[13]

In 2015, Beardley received her second Emmy nomination, this time for Outstanding Historical Programming, for producing Makers: Women Who Make America.[14]

In 2016, Mikaela initiated the What Works Media Project, joining with Results For America, Soledad O'Brien's Starfish Media Group, The Sorenson Impact Center, and Impact Partners. The project commissions award-winning documentary directors to produce character-driven shorts focusing on the advancement of social mobility, and the government officials leading the way. First announced at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, the films are scheduled to go into production in late 2017.[15]

Filmography

Producer

Personal life

Beardsley identifies as a "classic blue state, anti-death penalty, pro-choice liberal."[33] She is married to film producer Cary Woods.

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References
  1. "What Works Media Project Two-Pager" (PDF). Results4America.org. Results For America. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  2. Stuart, Tessa (April 29, 2016). "A Compendium of People Who Hate Ted Cruz's Guts". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  3. Mazin, Craig (February 5, 2016). "BTW, Mikaela Beardsley is one of the nicest, purest, good-hearted people I've ever met. So naturally, Ted called her mom a whore". Twitter. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  4. Boyd, E.B. (March 2, 2011). "Starting a movement: Alumnae raising awareness about women in the developing world". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  5. "Mikaela Beardsley". Winter Innovations Summit, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  6. "Team". Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. Davis, Robert (January 19, 2009). "Sundance 2009: Taking Chance and Reporter". Paste Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  8. "Hank Stuever on HBO's 'Reporter' with Nicholas D. Kristof". The Washington Post. February 2, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  9. "Reporter - Awards - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  10. "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide". Half the Sky momement. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  11. "Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide". PBS. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  12. Woodland, Betty Ann (November 1, 2012). "Documentary filmmaker Mikaela Beardsley visits Vail Mountain School". Vail Daily. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  13. "Funder". Half the Sky Movement. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  14. "Makers: Women Who Make America - Awards - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  15. "Our Work: What Works Media Project". Results For America. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  16. "Makers: Women Who Make America (TV Mini-Series 2013-) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  17. "The 50 Year Argument (2014) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  18. "Half The Sky (2012) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  19. "Independent Lens (TV Series 1999-) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  20. "Meena (2011)". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  21. "Woinshet (2009) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  22. "Reporter (2009) Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  23. "I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA (2007) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  24. "Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (TV Movie 2007) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  25. "James Blunt: Return to Kosovo (2007) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  26. "#1 Single (TV Series 2006-) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  27. "The Blues (2003 TV Series) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  28. "The Soul of a Man (2003) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  29. "Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder (TV Movie 2002) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  30. "The Kennedy Center Presents: Speak Truth to Power (2000 TV Movie) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  31. "Soldiers in the Army of God (2000) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  32. "The Irish in America: Long Journey Home (1998– ) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  33. Boggioni, Tom (February 5, 2016). "Ted Cruz college classmates 'horrified' he might become president: 'He called my mother a wh*re!'". Raw Story. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
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