Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award winning

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. Other honors include a National

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Research (producer/research director) and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for Documentary Short (executive producer). Kleiman directed and produced the feature documentar
No Straight Lines
(2021), which chronicles the lives of five queer comic book artists (Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Howard Cruse, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wings) as they journey from the margins of the DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance. The film premiered in June 2021 at Tribeca Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and AFI DOCS. It also took home the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize at LA's Outfest, and the NLGJA: Association of LGBTQ Journalists Award for Excellence in Documentary Journalism. No Straight Lines was broadcast on the National PBS award-winning series Independent Lens January 2023. In 2019, Kleiman was awarded a Eureka Fellowship of the Fleishhacker Foundation for visual artists of all media. Also an educator, she served as Adjunct Faculty at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Graduate Program Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

in Documentary Film and Video Production from 1995–2004. Kleiman was a long time collaborator with Black gay filmmaker

Marlon Riggs Marlon Troy Riggs (February 3, 1957 – April 5, 1994) was a Black gay filmmaker, educator, poet, and activist. He produced, wrote, and directed several documentary films, including '' Ethnic Notions'', '' Tongues Untied'', '' Color Adjustment'' ...

. They founde
Signifyin' Works
in 1991, which creates and distributes films about the experiences of African Americans. Directed by Riggs, their 1992 film Color Adjustment screened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and received the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

's IDA Award, the

Erik Barnouw Award The Erik Barnouw Award—also known as the OAH Erik Barnouw Award—is named after the late Erik Barnouw, a Columbia University historian and professor who was a specialist in mass media. The OAH -- Organization of American Historians -- gives one o ...

from the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...

and the

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in ...

in 1993. In 2024 she created outthevote.com - a social media campaign designed to encourage queer students on college campuses to vote. Currently, Kleiman is completing a short film deconstructing a deeply entrenched legend about Denmark during World War II that have masked a more nuanced wartime experience - both its bravery and its blemishes.

Selected filmography

As consultant or writer

* ''Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men'', (Director Sascha Jenkins) Story Consultant, 4 part series, Showtime, 2019 * Strike Anywhere Films - (founded by Barry Jenkins) feature-length documentary, Writer, 2018 *
Something Ventured
' - Consulting Producer, 85 minutes, PBS (Directors Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller), 2011. *
Ripe for Change
' - Consulting Writer, one hour, PBS (Director Emiko Omori), 2005. *
The Cockettes
'' 100-minutes, PBS (Directors

David Weissman David Weissman is an American screenwriter and director, most known for his comedies. He frequently collaborates with David Diamond. Diamond and Weissman met in high school, at Akiba Hebrew Academy (now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy). They grad ...

and

Bill Weber William Weber (May 8, 1957 – December 13, 2024) was an American television sports commentator best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto ra ...

), 2002.

As executive producer

* Pool Stories, work in progress (Director

Vicky Funari Vicky Funari (born April 13, 1963) is a documentary filmmaker. She attended film school at New York University's undergraduate program. She currently teaches at Haverford College as Artist-in-Residence. She directed '' Maquilapolis'' (2006) alon ...

*
Near Normal Man
' 28 minutes, 2017 (Director Charlene Stern) * ''

Last Day of Freedom ''Last Day of Freedom'' is a 2015 American black and white and color animated short documentary film about racism, the US Criminal Justice System, and mental health issues. The documentary was well received by critics and earned numerous awa ...

'',

animated documentary The animated documentary (also known as anidoc) is a moving image form that combines animation and documentary. This form should not be confused with documentaries about movie and TV animation history that feature excerpts. History The fi ...

transmedia Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of adapting a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a product ...

project. KQED Truly California, 32 minutes, 2015 (Directors

Dee Hibbert-Jones Dee Hibbert-Jones is a film director, producer and animator. She is best known for co-producing and co-directing the short-documentary ''Last Day of Freedom'' (32 mins) for which she received an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subje ...

and

Nomi Talisman Nomi Talisman (; born 1968) is an Israeli-born, American film director, producer, cinematographer and animator. She is best known for co-producing and co-directing short-documentary ''Last Day of Freedom'' for which she received Academy Award ...

). Academy Award nominated *
Strong!
' PBS, ITVS, one hour, 2012. (Director

Julie Wyman Julie Wyman is an American director, cinematographer, and professor whose work is concerned with body image. She mainly makes documentary film and currently teaches at UC Davis as an associate professor of Cinema and Digital Media. Early life a ...

) *
Passion & Power
', 74 minutes, 2007. (Directors

Emiko Omori Emiko Omori (born 1940) is an American cinematographer and film director known for her documentary films. Her feature-length documentary ''Rabbit in the Moon'' won the Best Documentary Cinematography Award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and an ...

and Wendy Slick) *
Hope Along the Wind
' (Directo
Eric Slade
PBS, ITVS *
The Key of G
' PBS, ITVS, one hour, 2007. (Director Robert Arnold) *
Maquilapolis: City of Factories
' PBS, ITVS, one hour, 2006. (Directors

and Sergio dela Torre) *
First Person Plural
' PBS, POV and ITVS, one hour, 2000. (Director Deann Borshay)

As producer

*
Forgotten Fires
' PBS, ITVS, one hour, 1998. (with

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler Jr. (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Chandler previously competed for Bellator MMA from 2010 ...

) *
Roam Sweet Home
' PBS, ITVS, one hour, 1996. ''(with

Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She is a producer and director of the television documentary '' Are the Kids Alright?'', which won an Emmy Award in 2005. Spiro is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she h ...

)'' * '' Color Adjustment'' PBS, POV, 90 minutes, PBS, POV series, 90-minutes, 1992 (with Marlon Riggs) * '' Routes of Exile: A Moroccan Jewish Odyssey'' 1982 (with Gene Rosow & Howard Dratch)

As director/producer

*
No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics
' (world premiere Tribeca Festival 2021) *
Families Are Forever
' Commissioned by the Family Acceptance Project, 21 minutes, 2013 ** Audience Award, LA Outfest; Best Documentary Short, Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival *
Always My Son
' Commissioned by the Family Acceptance Project, 16 minutes, 2011 * ''Profiles of Change'' Commissioned by Rubicon Programs, 8 minutes, 2011 *
The Meaning of Food
' PBS, 3 x 60 minute series, 2005 (also Series Producer) *
My Body's My Business
' 16 minutes, 1992. * ''Out For The Count'' Commissioned by Lavender Message Project, 14 minutes, 1992. * ''Ein Stehaufmannchen'' Commissioned by Shana Films, 40 minutes, 1991.

Selected awards

* Grand Jury Prize, Best Feature-Length Documentary, OutFest Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2021. * Eureka Fellowship,

The Fleishhacker Foundation ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''Th ...

* National

Nomination for Outstanding Individual Research * Outstanding Documentary Award,

* Erik Barnouw Award,

* National Owl Award,

AARP AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 ...

* Prized Pieces, National Black Programmers Association * Crystal Heart Award,

Heartland Film Festival The Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF) is a high academy qualifying film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted by the nonprofit organization Heartland Film, Inc. The festival was first held in 1992, with the goal to ...

References

External links

* *
''Vivian Kleiman''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleiman, Vivian American documentary film producers American documentary film directors Living people American women documentary filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women