Alysa Nahmias is an American filmmaker and the founder of Ajna Films.

Life

Nahmias is originally from

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. She holds degrees from The Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University and Princeton University. She is married to graphic designer Rob Carmichael of SEEN Studio

Career

In 2011, Nahmias directed and produced the feature documentary ''

Unfinished Spaces ''Unfinished Spaces'' is a 2011 documentary film about the revolutionary design of the National Art Schools (Cuba), directed by Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray. The film tells the dramatic story of the art schools from their founding by Fidel Cas ...

,'' about the Cuban National Art Schools, with Benjamin Murray. The film won an Independent Spirit Award in 2012 and is part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. Nahmias directed and produced the 2019 documentary ''The New Bauhaus'' chronicling the art and design icon,

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...

. The film features Moholy-Nagy's daughter, Hattula, and contemporary art curator

Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...

reads Moholy-Nagy's words on screen. Nahmias directed and produced the 2021 film ''Art & Krimes by Krimes'', which centers on visual artist Jesse Krimes as he navigates his life and artistic career following incarceration. ''Art & Krimes by Krimes'' also features the stories and artwork of artists Russell Craig, Gilberto Rivera, and Jared Owens. The film was purchased for distribution by MTV Documentary Films Her producing credits include ''

Unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instances of unrest ...

,'' by director

Jennifer Brea Jennifer Brea is an American documentary filmmaker and activist. Her debut feature, '' Unrest'', premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and received the US Documentary Special Jury Award For Editing. Brea also co-created a virtual reality f ...

, which won the Special Jury Award for Best Editing at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, ''No Light and No Land Anywhere,'' by director Amber Sealey with creative advisor

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She wrote, di ...

; ''Shield and Spear,'' by director Petter Ringbom; ''What We Left Unfinished,'' by director Mariam Ghani; and ''Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq'' by director

Nancy Buirski Nancy Florence Buirski ( Cohen; June 24, 1945 – August 29, 2023) was an American filmmaker, producer, and photographer. She wrote, directed, and produced the documentary films '' A Crime on the Bayou'' (2020) and '' Desperate Souls, Dark City ...

with creative advisor

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

. In 2020 Alysa executive produced ''Weed & Wine'', directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen which premiered at Hot Docs, Deauville, and DOC NYC film festivals in 2020. Nahmias served as executive producer for ''I Didn’t See You There'' directed by Reid Davenport, which won the 2022 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Directing Award. Nahmias has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine as an independent film innovator. She is a 2019 Sundance Institute Momentum Fellow and a 2020 Film Independent Fellow. Nahmias co-authored a Sundance Creative Distribution Case Study on ''Unrest'' and has written about documentary grant writing for

MovieMaker Magazine ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film and film festivals. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis, and is known for the annual l ...

Nahmias is a co-founder of FWD-Doc, a non-profit organization which supports disabled filmmakers and entertainment industry workers. Other co-founders include Jim LeBrecht,

Day Al-Mohamed Day Al-Mohamed (born 1974-1975, sometimes written De Al-Mohamed) is a Bahrain-born lobbyist, writer and filmmaker based in the United States. She is visually impaired and uses a guide dog to navigate. Early life and education Al-Mohamed grew up i ...

and

Lindsey Dryden Lindsey Dryden is a British film director, producer and writer. Early life Dryden was born in Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. She learned to play piano as a child from her father. She studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, and was award ...

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahmias, Alysa American film producers American documentary film directors Filmmakers from Arizona People from Tucson, Arizona New York University alumni Princeton University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women American women documentary filmmakers