Rob Epstein, also credited as Robert P. Epstein is a gay non-fiction filmmaker, director, producer, writer and editor. Epstein has won two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature for the films The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt. He has also won four national Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, two DuPont Columbia Journalism awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship and numerous other awards for his documentary films.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 6, 1955 (71)
- New Jersey, United States
- Director, producer, writer, actor and editor, also cinematographer
- 14 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are Rob Epstein's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 14
A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
Grounded 10 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 6 · Charged 6 · Intense 2
Steady 10 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 6
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet9
- Ambiguous2
- Cyclical3
- Other1
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 Rob Epstein's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Rob Epstein'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
27 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Musica! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Impresario (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
State of Pride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
The Gospel of Eureka(2018)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
End Game(2018)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all filmsZeitgeist 1977: The First Festival (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Killing the Colorado(2016)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
And the Oscar Goes to...(2014)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Lovelace(2013)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
The Battle of Amfar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Two Films, One Legacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Howl(2010)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Then and Now: 1981-2004 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Underground Zero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Rescued from the Closet(2001)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Paragraph 175(1999)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The Celluloid Closet(1995)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The AIDS Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
The Times of Harvey Milk(1984)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Greetings from Washington, D.C. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Coming Out Is a Many Splendored Thing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 25 titles, 24 of them dated from 1977 to 2023.
Biggest box office
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
Highest rated
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Most popular right now
Lovelace (2013)
By role
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
2 Oscars and 8 other major awards from 22 major nominations, 1985–2021.
- Grammy Award, won · Best Music Film
- Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary Short Subject
- Sundance award, nominated
- Sundance award, nominated
- Berlinale award, nominated
- Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Documentary
- Berlinale award, won · Best Documentary Film
- Berlinale award, won · Forum of New Cinema
- Sundance award, won · Documentary
- Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated
Show 4 earlier yearsShow fewer
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Informational Special
+2 other major bodies · 2 wins and 1 nomination
- Berlinale award, won · Best Documentary Film
- Sundance award, won
- Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
- Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
- Oscar, won · Best Documentary, Features
+1 other major body · 1 win
- Berlinale award, won · Panorama
- Oscar, won · Best Documentary, Features
+1 other major body · 1 win and 1 nomination
- 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 Rob Epstein's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 14 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 11 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 Rob Epstein work with?
People who share at least 2 of Rob Epstein's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jeffrey Friedman shares the most, 12.
Directors
- Jeffrey FriedmanShared titles: Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023), Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019), End Game (2018), Killing the Colorado (2016), And the Oscar Goes to... (2014), Lovelace (2013), Howl (2010), Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (2006), Rescued from the Closet (2001), Paragraph 175 (1999), The Celluloid Closet (1995), Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)See all 12 shared titles with Jeffrey Friedman
Writers
- Sharon WoodShared titles: Killing the Colorado (2016), And the Oscar Goes to... (2014), Paragraph 175 (1999), The Celluloid Closet (1995)See all 4 shared titles with Sharon Wood
Actors
- Michael MooreShared titles: And the Oscar Goes to... (2014), What Is Cinema? (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Moore
- James FrancoShared titles: Lovelace (2013), Howl (2010)See all 2 shared titles with James Franco
- Harvey FiersteinShared titles: Rescued from the Closet (2001), The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Harvey Fierstein
Cinematographers and editors
- Nancy SchreiberShared titles: Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019), And the Oscar Goes to... (2014), The Celluloid Closet (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Nancy Schreiber
- Brian JohnsonShared titles: Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023), And the Oscar Goes to... (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Johnson
- Jake PushinskyShared titles: Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019), And the Oscar Goes to... (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Jake Pushinsky
Producers
- Howard RosenmanShared titles: Paragraph 175 (1999), The Celluloid Closet (1995), Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)See all 3 shared titles with Howard Rosenman
- John HoffmanShared titles: Killing the Colorado (2016), Paragraph 175 (1999)See all 2 shared titles with John Hoffman
- Jeffrey SchwarzShared titles: And the Oscar Goes to... (2014), Rescued from the Closet (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Jeffrey Schwarz
- Michael EhrenzweigShared titles: Paragraph 175 (1999), The Celluloid Closet (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Ehrenzweig
Mixed roles
- Vito RussoShared titles: The Celluloid Closet (1995), Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Vito Russo
