Debra Granik (born February 6, 1963) is an American filmmaker. She is most known for 2004's '' Down to the Bone,'' which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's ''

Winter's Bone ''Winter's Bone'' is a 2010 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Debra Granik. It was adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini from the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a poverty-stricken teenage girl na ...

,'' which starred

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...

in her breakout performance and for which Granik was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

, and 2018's '' Leave No Trace,'' a film based on the book ''My Abandonment'' by Peter Rock.

Early life and education

Granik was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, to father William R. Granik, an attorney with H.U.D. who litigated fair housing, and mother Brenda Granik Zusman. She grew up in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Granik is the granddaughter of broadcast pioneer Ted Granik (1907–1970), founder and moderator of the long-run public affairs panel discussion program, '' The American Forum of the Air,'' on from 1934 to 1956, first on the radio and later on television. Granik is from a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. In 1985, Granik received her B.A. in political science from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. As an undergraduate at Brandeis, Granik also took classes at the Studio for Interrelated Media at the Massachusetts College of Art. In 2001, Granik received an MFA from NYU's

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

. While at Brandeis, Granik took Henry Felt's film and media workshop production class and volunteered with the Boston grassroots filmmaking organization Women's Video Collective. While at the Massachusetts College of Art, Granik made educational films for trade unions on subjects like workplace health and safety, one of which was made for the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety. Granik worked in production on educational media projects, eventually working on long form documentaries by Boston-area filmmakers before deciding to go to graduate school for filmmaking at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

In 1997, Granik directed her first short film, ''Snake Feed,'' as her senior thesis with the mentorship of NYU film professor Boris Frumin, who was instrumental in sharing his love of post-World War II European neorealist films. ''Snake Feed,'' which began its life as a 7-minute documentary portrait exercise, was accepted into Sundance Institute's Lab Program for screenwriting and directing. Granik workshopped and developed the short film into a feature film at the Sundance Lab. Granik has said that ''Snake Feed'' was a work of narrative fiction, with the main characters, recovering addict Irene and her boyfriend Rick, playing dramatized versions of themselves. In 2004, the short film of ''Snake Feed'' and the story of Irene and Rick became the basis of Granik's first feature-length film, '' Down to the Bone,'' which was a fictionalized depiction of their struggles. ''Down to the Bone'' is the story of an upstate New York mother who goes to rehab to kick her cocaine addiction and ends up falling in love with a nurse and descending back into her old drug habits. ''Down to the Bone'' was based on an original screenplay written by Granik and her creative partner, Anne Rosellini. The role of the main character Irene, played by Vera Farmiga, significantly raised Farmiga's profile as an actor. ''Down to the Bone'' was shot in

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

in upstate New York. Granik's second feature, 2010's ''

'', was an adaptation by Granik and Rosellini of the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. It is the story of Ree Dolly, a teenager living in the Missouri's Ozark Mountains who is the sole caretaker of her two younger siblings and her catatonic mother. She is forced to hunt down her missing drug-dealing father in order to save her family from eviction. The film starred a then-unknown

and John Hawkes and won the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Film at the

2010 Sundance Film Festival The 26th annual Sundance Film Festival was held from January 21, 2010, until January 31, 2010, in Park City, Utah, Park City, Utah. Awards *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - ''Restrepo (film), Restrepo'' *Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - ''Winter's Bone ...

, which led to a distribution deal with Roadside Attractions. ''Winter's Bone'' won the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

Golden Space Needle Audience Award for Best Director and Best Actress award for Jennifer Lawrence. In 2011, ''Winter's Bone'' was nominated for four

Academy Awards 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 in ...

: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence and Best Supporting Actor for John Hawkes. The film featured a soundtrack made up of old time gospel, bluegrass, and traditional music found in the Ozarks and was produced by Steve Peters. It features the singing of Marideth Sisco, who worked as a music and folklore consultant for the region, and also appeared in the ''Winter's Bone.'' The actor John Hawkes sings one track on the soundtrack. ''Winter's Bone'' was shot on location in the Ozark area of southern

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Granik cast many of the supporting roles with first-time actors from the surrounding area and all of the homes on screen were established Ozark homes—no sets were built for this film. For the look of the film, Granik kept most of the established aesthetics of the homes in which they were shooting and many of the few mementos that were added to the homes were contributed by Ozark people in the community. Granik produced and directed an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television pilot called ''American High Life.'' The show was a family drama that "follows a young career woman to her economically depressed small home town in the midwest." The show was not picked up. Granik developed a film adaption of '' Rule of the Bone'', the 1995 novel by

Russell Banks Russell Earl Banks (March 28, 1940 – January 8, 2023) was an American writer of fiction and poetry. His novels are known for "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters". He drew from ...

, but the project was still in development as of 2018. In 2014, Granik's film, ''Stray Dog,'' was released. The film is a documentary about a man named Ron Hall, whose nickname is "Stray Dog," and portrays his life as an avid biker and Vietnam Veteran who sometimes struggles with PTSD. The film documents Hall's participation in an annual pilgrimage motorcycle ride called "Ride to the Wall" with fellow biker Vietnam vets from all over the country where they ride to the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granit ...

in Washington, D.C. Granik had met Hall, who had a small role on ''Winter's Bone,'' during filming. Granik directed the drama '' Leave No Trace'', starring Ben Foster and newcomer Thomasin McKenzie, which was released in 2018, domestically by

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightlife, nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood popular today for music venues and comedy as well as a ...

and internationally by Sony Worldwide Acquisitions. The film tells the story of a father and daughter who illegally live on government land and are forced to adapt to more traditional living in mainstream life. It examines ideas of self-reliance and community, and was a critics' pick of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. ''Leave No Trace'' premiered at the 2018

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 played at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, and was shot in the forested areas of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, including Forest Park near

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, over the course of 30 days. In addition to Oregon,

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

was used for locations, with some scenes shot at a Christmas tree farm. ''Leave No Trace'' took approximately three and a half years to develop, from the first time Granik read Peter Rock's novel, ''My Abandonment,'' on which the film was based. Other projects Granik has in development include a documentary about life after being released from jail and the subject of

recidivism Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...

in East Baltimore – that was to feature

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is a semi-fictional character on the HBO series ''The Wire'', played by the actress of the same name. She is a young female soldier in Marlo Stanfield's drug dealing organization and Chris Partlow's earliest protégé. ...

from ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' and elements of her memoir, '' Grace After Midnight'' – but is now a documentary about four former inmates in New York City. Another project is a film based on

Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and aw ...

's book, '' Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,'' which focuses on poverty and the

working poor The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line due to low-income jobs and low familial household income. These are people who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working or looking for employment, but remain und ...

in America.

Themes

Granik is known for discovering actors like

, Vera Farmiga and Thomasin McKenzie who have gone on to successful careers after early roles in Granik's films. She is also known for using local, non-professional actors in her films. Granik has worked with creative partner Anne Rosellini on all of her films. Granik has said that she sees a common thread of press coverage describing her as having a "comeback narrative," along with questions about how much time has elapsed between projects, partly due to the relatively low output of films in her career compared to the contemporaries she started out with. Interviewed by Jeremiah Kipp in ''

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 ...

'' in 2005, Granik discussed the challenges of directing a movie like ''Down to the Bone''. She gave an overview of the challenges involved in doing a film about addiction: :The traditional storyline in an American film is usually in the form of a V shape. I am oversimplifying, but we see someone tumbling down, they hit bottom, and then they rise up again and find redemption. Anyone who personally, tangentially or culturally knows anything about addiction is aware that it resembles an EKG. Up and down, up and down. Very few people ever get clean on the first or second attempt. For many people, it’s something they have to try over and over again. You get knocked down and ask all the ethical questions like how many chances do you give a person? When is the last chance? How many chances do they get? Can you imagine how difficult it is to fit that in a feature-length film? But those are the questions that are worth asking... The reason why boils down to the word “dark”. It is the scariest four-letter word in American storytelling and in this culture. Our film had a strong reception in Europe and achieved distribution, but that was not the case here. We received so many responses like, “We love the film, but we cannot do anything with it or we’ll lose our shirts. We’re sorry.” The intervention comes from people like Laemmle/Zeller Films. Every couple of years, some mavericks take on this challenge of distributing so-called un-distributable films. They take those films on a small run and allow them to see the light of day. Those efforts are what give a film like ''Down to the Bone'' a chance to have a life of some kind. Granik's films deal with issues of personal strength and willpower, like the character of Ree Dolly in ''

''. She cites

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

, Shane Meadows, the Dardenne brothers, Laurent Cantet, and

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including s ...

as some of her major influences in her directing career. In a 2018 interview wit
FF2 Media
about ''Leave No Trace'', Granik discusses the themes of the film and what drew her to creating the film:

I realized while reading it that one of the turning points in a girl’s coming-of-age is coming to terms with the fact that as much as you may care about someone, you can’t necessarily save them or even help them. You can be loving and tolerant, but you can’t fix them. And that’s something she’s really struggling with in a really robust way, especially when they’re in a new setting. And I really liked the fact that Tom is the one thing that’s grounding him. She is his source of meaning. His sense of self-worth is bolstered by being meaningful to her, by being her dad. He takes pride in being her teacher and taking responsibility for her. And I was just so interested in the universality of that. The ties that bind is core material. There’s nothing new about those themes, but I really liked that the novel had renewed my interest in exploring them.

Personal life

Granik is married to Jonathan Scheuer, who has executive produced her films and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. They live in New York City and have a child.

Filmography

* 1987: ''Two in Twenty'' (TV series) for Somerville Community Access Television – director/cinematographer * 1990: ''It Didn't Have to Happen: Preventing Cumulative Trauma Disorders'' (documentary) – producer * 1997: ''Snake Feed'' (short film) – producer, writer, director, off-line editor * 1997; ''American Independents II: The Blinking Madonna and Other Miracles'' (short film) – conceived by * 1998: ''Smear'' (short film) – boom operator * 1998: ''Jorge'' (short film) – assistant camera * 1998: ''99 Threadwaxing'' (short film) – cinematographer * 2002: ''Breaker'' (short film) – cinematographer * 2003: '' Thunder in Guyana'' (documentary) – cinematographer * 2004: '' Down to the Bone'' – writer, director, additional photographer * 2005: '' Independent Lens: Thunder in Guyana/United States of Poetry'' – cinematographer * 2010: ''

'' – adapted screenplay, director * 2012: ''American High Life'' (television pilot) - director, producer * 2014: ''Stray Dog'' (documentary) – writer, director * 2015: '' Independent Lens: Stray Dog'' (documentary) – writer, director * 2018: '' Leave No Trace'' – adapted screenplay, director

Awards and nominations

: * 1997:

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers' creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the c ...

, Short Film Award (nominated) for ''Snake Feed'' * 1998:

, Honorable Mention Short Filmmaking for ''Snake Feed'' * 2002: Nantucket Film Festival, Tony Cox Award for Screenwriting for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004:

Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival () is a yearly film festival devoted to Cinema of the United States, American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and then ...

, Grand Prix (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004: Florida Film Festival, Grand Jury Award for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004:

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

, Gotham Independent Film Awards 2010, Breakthrough Director Award (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004:

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

, Golden Leopard - Video (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004: Marrakech International Film Festival, Golden Star Award (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004:

, Grand Jury Prize Dramatic (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2004:

, Directing Award Dramatic for ''Down to the Bone'' * 2005:

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

, 26th Independent Spirit Awards, John Cassavetes Award (nominated) for ''Down to the Bone'' – with Richard Lieske, Susan Leber, Anne Rosellini * 2010: Amazonas Film Festival, Amazonas Award, Best Film for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai (C.I.C.A.E.), Forum Award for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, '' Tagesspiegel,'' Readers' Jury Award for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Boston Independent Film Festival, Audience Award: Best Feature for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Boston Independent Film Festival, Special Jury Prize: Narrative for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Camerimage, Best Directorial Debut (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, CFCA Award: Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, CFCA Award: Best Screenplay, Adapted (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, Russell Smith Award for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, Prix du Jury for ''Winter's Bone'' – tied with '' The Myth of the American Sleepover,'' directed by David Robert Mitchell * 2010:

, Grand Prix (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Detroit Film Critics Society Awards, Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, Gotham Independent Film Awards 2010, Best Feature for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan * 2010:

, Gotham Independent Film Awards 2010, Audience Award (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan * 2010: Houston Film Critics Society Awards, Best Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Indiana Film Journalists Association, Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, Breakout Performance: Behind the Camera for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, SDFCS Award: Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: San Diego Film Critics Society Awards, SDFCS Award: Best Screenplay, Adapted (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

, Audience Award: Best Narrative Feature for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Satellite Awards, Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Satellite Awards, Best Screenplay, Adapted (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, Golden Space Needle Award, Best Director for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Stockholm Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize, Best Film for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: St. Louis Film Critics Association, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Film for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010:

, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini * 2010: Torino Film Festival, "Achille Valdata" Audience Award for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Torino Film Festival, Holden Award for Best Script for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Torino Film Festival, Prize of the City of Torino: Best Feature Film for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Utah Film Critics Association Awards, Best Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Village Voice Film Poll, Best Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' - with Anne Rosellini * 2010: Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2010: Women Film Critics Circle Awards, WFCC Award. Best Movie by a Woman for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

, 83rd Academy Awards, Best Picture (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

, 83rd Academy Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell * 2011:

Alliance of Women Film Journalists The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006. It is based in New York City and is dedicated to supporting work by and about women in the film industry. The AWFJ is composed of 84 professional female ...

, EDA Female Focus Award: Best Woman Director * 2011:

, EDA Female Focus Award: Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry * 2011: Athena Film Festival, Director's Award for Vision and Talent for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

, Best Foreign Film (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011: Central Ohio Film Critics Association, Breakthrough Film Artist (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011: Central Ohio Film Critics Association, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011: Chlotrudis Awards, Best Director for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

, Sundance Film Category for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini * 2011:

, 26th Independent Spirit Awards, Best Feature (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

, 26th Independent Spirit Awards, Best Director (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' * 2011:

, 26th Independent Spirit Awards, Best Screenplay (nominated) for ''Winter's Bone'' – with Anne Rosellini * 2015: Atlanta Film Festival, Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature for ''Stray Dog'' – with Anne Rosellini * 2015:

, 30th Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary Feature (nominated) for ''Stray Dog'' * 2018:

, Grand Jury Prize (nominated) for ''Leave No Trace'' * 2018:

, Golden Space Needle Award, Best Director (nominated) for ''Leave No Trace'' * 2018: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director * 2018: National Board of Review: Top Ten Independent Films * 2019: Inaugural Career Spotlight Award of the

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 as a society of film critics in the New England area. It was founded to make “Boston’s unique critic ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granik, Debra 1963 births Brandeis University alumni American women film directors Living people People from Silver Spring, Maryland Sundance Film Festival award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni American women screenwriters Film directors from Maryland Jewish American screenwriters People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Writers from Massachusetts English-language film directors Film directors from Washington, D.C. Film directors from Massachusetts Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from Washington, D.C.