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Ryan Suffern

Ryan Suffern

Producer, director, editor and writer, also cinematographer

Primetime Emmy nominee · 2 other major award bodies

RYAN SUFFERN is a Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker with over 15 years of experience in documentary storytelling. His work spans music, sports and social impact, consistently grounded in character-driven narratives with a strong emotional core. As a director, Suffern helmed the award-winning FINDING OSCAR, which Steven Spielberg executive produced in association with USC Shoah Foundation. Suffern also co-directed and produced JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY, which won a Grammy for Best Music Film. Suffern directed the two-part documentary MR. A & MR. M: THE STORY OF A&M RECORDS, along with A FINAL CUT FOR ORSON: 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING, documenting the finishing of Orson Welles’s final film. Suffern has produced numerous other documentary titles, including ADAPTIVE, WATERSHED, SATAN & ADAM, THE CHINA HUSTLE, and the Emmy-nominated docuseries LAUREL CANYON: A PLACE IN TIME. Suffern also served as an executive producer on THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART; McCARTNEY 3,2,1, THE GIFT: THE JOURNEY OF JOHNNY CASH, OMOIYARI: A SONG FILM BY KISHI BASHI, THE SPACE RACE, RATHER and PAPERTOWN. After teaming up with Frank Marshall on ESPN’s award-winning RIGHT TO PLAY, which Suffern edited and helped to film, he went on to co-found the documentary division for The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which he headed up until 2021. Suffern has produced and/or directed documentaries for Netflix, HBO, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, Sony Pictures Classics, Magnolia Pictures, MTV Docs, ESPN, EPIX, NatGeo, YouTube Originals, Vice Sports, Logo, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. In the branded space, Suffern has also produced a short documentary for Carhartt and and the award-winning short-form series, BUILT TO MOVE, for Autodesk. Suffern is originally from the Chicago suburbs and was an English major at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After college, Suffern cut his teeth in the film industry, working as a set PA in Chicago’s independent film scene. He eventually came to Los Angeles in 2002, continuing as a set PA, until he was fortunate enough to earn a spot as one of Steven Spielberg’s assistants. While working for Spielberg, Suffern had the responsibility of documenting the behind-the-scenes for four different films, which was essentially the beginning of his documentary filmmaking career. Suffern is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America. He is repped by the United Talent Agency.

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Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Producer, director, editor and writer, also cinematographer
Titles
17 on MovieCove · 24 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 3% in 30 days

What are Ryan Suffern's films like?

Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
30%
Ideas
17%
Self
15%
Morality
13%
Bonds
12%
Power
9%
Survival
4%
Community7 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope4 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 13 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 5

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

Grounded 12 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 6 · Intense 2

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

Steady 12 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

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

A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 13 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
10
Contemplative
10
Warm
7
Melancholic
6
Joyful
3
Other
7

How their films linger

Hopeful12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet12
  • Ambiguous1

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 Ryan Suffern's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ryan Suffern'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

24 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page.

  • Camp Alec (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Watershed(2024)

    Producer

  • Rather(2023)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Space Race(2023)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story(2022)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Producer

  • Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records(2021)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows

  • McCartney 3,2,1(2021)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart(2020)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Laurel Canyon(2020)

    Show 2 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • Satan & Adam(2018)

    Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The China Hustle(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • BOSTON: An American Running Story(2017)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Finding Oscar(2016)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • What the Hell Happened to Jai-Alai? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Out & Around (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Man vs. The Machine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Camera Operator · Editor · Producer

  • Transcend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Editor · Executive Producer

  • Bidder 70(2012)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Indiana Jones 4: The Return of a Legend(2008)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Matchstick Men(2003)

    Set Production Assistant

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles from 2003 to 2025.

Biggest box office

BOSTON: An American Running Story (2017)

$384K worldwide

Highest rated

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

McCartney 3,2,1 (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing6 of 19: 4 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting2 of 19: 1 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing11 of 19: 8 only producing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score91stCinematography1 of 19: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another roleEditing3 of 19: 1 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew2 of 19: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

19 titles, 4 with more than one role — producing and directing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

2000s1 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s8 · 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

1 major award from 3 major nominations, 2020–2023.

WinNomination
  1. 2023
    • Grammy Award, won · Best Music Film
  2. 2021
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
  3. 2020
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

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 Ryan Suffern's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of the 13 of 14 with a score; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 87th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

47thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up13
  • 50th to 74th3

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · producer

The Space Race (2023)

93rd percentile spread · 28% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 66/100 in their films, across 9 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 Ryan Suffern work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ryan Suffern's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Frank Marshall shares the most, 13.

Directors

  • Frank Marshall13 titles · 3 as director    See newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Frank Marshall

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles