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Kirby Dick

Kirby Dick

Director, writer and producer, also actor, cinematographer and editor · Born August 23, 1952 (74) · Phoenix, Arizona, USA

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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kirby Dick (born August 23, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for directing documentary films. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith (2005). He has also received numerous awards from film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kirby Dick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 23, 1952 (74)
From
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Works as
Director, writer and producer, also actor, cinematographer and editor
Titles
14 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 10% in 30 days

What are Kirby Dick's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Survival.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 8

Grounded 11 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 7

Steady 8 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0

Casual 1 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 5

Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 8

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

1 analyzed role
  • Shadowas Bob Flanagan in Sick (1997)

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 Kirby Dick's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (5).

Subscription and free streaming for Kirby Dick's titles on MovieCove; 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

21 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • A Decent Home(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
  • Not So Pretty(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows
  • The Dark Side of a Hollywood Icon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Allen v. Farrow(2021)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all shows
  • On the Record(2020)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
  • The Bleeding Edge(2018)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
  • The Hunting Ground(2015)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • The Invisible War(2012)

    Director · Writer · as Self - Interviewer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • Outrage(2009)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
  • This Film Is Not Yet Rated(2006)

    Director · Writer · as Self - Filmmaker and Interviewer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • Twist of Faith(2004)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
  • The End(2004)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
  • Showgirls: Glitz & Angst (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • Sarah's Sick Too (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · as Himself

  • Derrida(2002)

    Director · Editor

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
  • Chain Camera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Guy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Screenplay

  • Sick(1997)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · as Interviewer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
  • Made in Hollywood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    First Assistant Director

  • I Am Not a Freak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate(1985)

    Director · Producer · as Self - Interviewer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 21 titles from 1986 to 2022.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 21: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting18 of 21: 8 only directing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score84thWriting9 of 21: 1 only writing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thProducing6 of 21: 1 only producing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score46thCinematography1 of 21: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another roleEditing1 of 21: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew3 of 21: 1 only other crew, 2 with another role

21 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 8 of them.

By decade

1980s2 · crew1990s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew2000s8 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s5 · 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 MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

3 major awards from 16 major nominations, 1997–2021.

WinNomination
  1. 2021
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program
  2. 2016
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
  3. 2013
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Features
    • +3 other major bodies · 1 win and 2 nominations
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Documentary Screenplay
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Documentary
  4. 2012
    • Sundance award, won · Documentary
  5. 2005
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Features
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  6. 2002
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  7. 2001
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  8. 1998
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated
Show 1 earlier year
  1. 1997
    • Sundance award, won
    • 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 Kirby Dick's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 84th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 88th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th4

Reviewers score the atmosphere 68/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; 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 MovieCove 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 Kirby Dick work with?

People who share at least 2 of Kirby Dick's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Amy Ziering shares the most, 8.

Directors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers