Skip to content
Motif
Nanette Burstein

Nanette Burstein

Director, producer, writer and editor, also actor · Buffalo, NY

Oscar nominee · Primetime Emmy nominee · 4 other major award bodies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nanette Burstein is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed many documentaries which have won her many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Documentary. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nanette Burstein, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

From
Buffalo, NY
Works as
Director, producer, writer and editor, also actor
Titles
13 on Motif · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 30% in 30 days

What are Nanette Burstein's films like?

Across their 10 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
35%
Ideas
14%
Power
13%
Bonds
12%
Survival
11%
Society
9%
Morality
7%
Identity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePower2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

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

Grounded 5 · Stylized 3 · 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 4 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

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

Steady 6 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

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

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
5
Tense
3
Warm
3
Hopeful
3
Joyful
3
Other
8

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous3

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 Nanette Burstein's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 13 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Nanette Burstein's titles on Motif; 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

19 credits, 13 with a Motif page.

  • Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff(2026)

    Director · Producer

  • Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes(2024)

    Director · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Killer Sally(2022)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows

  • Hillary(2020)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows

  • Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee(2016)

    Director · as Self

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Creators (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Price of Gold (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Katy Perry: Part of Me(2012)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23(2012)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows

  • New Girl(2011)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows

  • Going the Distance(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • 30 for 30(2009)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • American Teen(2008)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell(2007)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Kid Stays in the Picture(2002)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • On the Ropes (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Editor · Producer

  • Film School (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Show Creator

  • Gracie (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Executive Producer

  • Protective Custody (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles, 15 of them dated from 1999 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Going the Distance (2010)

$42M worldwide

Highest rated

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Going the Distance (2010)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing14 of 19: 8 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score66thWriting3 of 19: 1 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing9 of 19: 3 only producing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdEditing2 of 19: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 19: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

19 titles, 6 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s7 · crew2020s3 · 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 Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

3 major awards from 9 major nominations, 1999–2024.

WinNomination
  1. 2024
    • Cannes award, nominated
  2. 2020
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
  3. 2008
    • Sundance award, won · Documentary
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  4. 2000
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Features
    • +2 other major bodies · 1 win and 1 nomination
      • Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated
  5. 1999
    • Sundance award, won · Documentary
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary

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 Nanette Burstein's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of the 7 of 8 with a score; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most divisive · director, producer

Hillary (2020)

93rd percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

30 for 30 (2009)

Midcredits 96th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; 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 Motif 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 Nanette Burstein work with?

People who share at least 2 of Nanette Burstein's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tal Ben-David shares the most, 3.

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers