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Robert Tate

Robert Tate

Director, editor, cinematographer and producer, also actor

Robert Tate Is a documentary film and TV director whose work focuses on the creative process, capturing stories of people rising to the occasion of their own lives. He's won the Emmy, International Documentary Association (IDA), Cine Golden Eagle, New York Festival, Taste, Telly, and James Beard awards for his varied projects on architecture, health, science, food, fashion, and culture. His work includes the PBS series Diary of a Foodie, Lidia Celebrates America, Moveable Feast, America Revealed, the Sundance Channel's Architecture School, and the feature documentaries Eleven Minutes for Regent Releasing and The Magic Pill for Netflix. Most recently he edited the feature fashion documentary, Happy Clothes: a film about Patricia Field.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Director, editor, cinematographer and producer, also actor
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 9 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 39 days to Oct 28Down 1% in 30 days

What are Robert Tate's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
38%
Society
24%
Bonds
20%
Ideas
12%
Survival
7%
Ambition3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

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

Steady 3 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 1 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
4
Warm
3
Hopeful
2
Joyful
1
Tense
1

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous1
  • Cyclical1

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 Robert Tate's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Robert Tate'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

9 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

  • Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field(2023)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Magic Pill(2017)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Executive Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • 9 by Design(2010)

    Show Editor

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Eleven Minutes(2008)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Way Off Broadway(2001)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • The Pig Farm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Editor

  • Neptune's Rocking Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • Changing Face (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Is Joe Home? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 7 titles, 6 of them dated from 1993 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field (2023)

$18K worldwide

Highest rated

The Magic Pill (2017)

Midcredits 80th

Most popular right now

Way Off Broadway (2001)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing5 of 7: 2 only directing, 3 with another roleWriting1 of 7: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing2 of 7: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleCinematography2 of 7: 0 only cinematography, 2 with another roleEditing4 of 7: 2 only editing, 2 with another role

7 titles, 3 with more than one role — directing and editing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s2 · crew2010s1 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Robert Tate's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

39thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 5 titles are Cult Classics.

  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic3
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · editor

Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field (2023)

92nd percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, director, producer, cinematographer, editor

The Magic Pill (2017)

Midcredits 80th · 72% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 57/100 and the pacing 51/100 in their films, across 3 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 Robert Tate work with?

People who share at least 2 of Robert Tate's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Selditch shares the most, 3.

Directors

Producers