Cynthia Wade's 2008 documentary Freeheld won a 2008 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and 13 other awards. She was a lead producer on the 2015 fictionalized adaptation of Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell and Michael Shannon. Wade's 2013 HBO documentary Mondays at Racine was nominated for an Academy Award in 2013. She is the director of the documentaries Grist for the Mill (1999, HBO), Shelter Dogs (2004, HBO), Born Sweet (2009), Living the Legacy (2009, Sundance Channel) and Generation Startup (2016, Netflix), Grit (2019, PBS) and producer of The Gnomist (2015, CNN). She holds a BA from Smith College and an MA in Documentary Film Production from Stanford University. Wade has won more than 50 film awards worldwide.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Director and producer
- 6 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Cynthia Wade's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous2
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 Cynthia Wade's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Cynthia Wade'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
20 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Gamechangers: The Ashlyn Harris Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Admission Possible (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Good Enough Ancestor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
MerPeople(2023)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows
The Flagmakers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Gutsy(2022)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all showsSproutland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Grit(2018)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Generation Startup(2016)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Freeheld(2015)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all filmsHeart Felt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
The Gnomist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Mondays at Racine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Born Sweet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
In the Family (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Freeheld (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all filmsShelter Dogs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
The Collector of Bedford Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Grist for the Mill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles from 1999 to 2026.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.
How do Cynthia Wade'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 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Mixed.
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed3
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 Cynthia Wade work with?
People who share at least 2 of Cynthia Wade's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Boaz Freund shares the most, 3.
Cinematographers and editors
- Boaz FreundShared titles: MerPeople (2023), Grit (2018), Generation Startup (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Boaz Freund
- Sasha FriedlanderShared titles: MerPeople (2023), Grit (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Sasha Friedlander
Producers
- Angela AlmeidaShared titles: MerPeople (2023), Gutsy (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Angela Almeida
- Matthew SyrettShared titles: MerPeople (2023), Grit (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Matthew Syrett
