Nels Bangerter is an award-winning documentary film editor known for finding original and effective approaches to form and structure. His widely-acclaimed work includes CAMERAPERSON, the through-the-viewfinder memoir of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson; 32 SOUNDS, a film and live-performance documentary exploration of sonic experience; LET THE FIRE BURN, an all-archival examination of the police bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia; DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, a hybrid docu-comedy about loss and memory; THE HOTTEST AUGUST, an essayistic survey of New Yorkers coping with the uncertain future; and RIOTSVILLE, U.S.A., an archival interrogation of the state’s reaction to the uprisings of the late 1960s. Nels has won four International Documentary Association Awards and two Cinema Eye Awards for Outstanding Editing (with two additional nominations); and has been nominated twice for News and Documentary editing Emmys and once for an ACE Eddie. He was named a film craft “Influencer” by Indiewire magazine, and is a member the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1978 (48)
- Oakland, California
- Editor and writer
- 13 on Motif · 25 credits in all
What are Nels Bangerter's films like?
Across their 12 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 3 · Dark 6
Grounded 10 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 4 · Charged 4 · Intense 4
Steady 5 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 6
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous7
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 Nels Bangerter's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 13 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
- Curiosity Stream
Subscription and free streaming for Nels Bangerter's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif 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
25 credits, 13 with a Motif page.
Motif score: 86th percentile of all films
Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Tallest Dwarf (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2025)
32 Sounds(2022)
Motif score: 89th percentile of all films
Riotsville, U.S.A.(2022)
Motif score: 68th percentile of all films
Arctic Summer (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2021)
Dick Johnson Is Dead(2020)
Motif score: 91st percentile of all films
The Hottest August(2019)
Motif score: 50th percentile of all films
Border South (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)
Midnight Traveler(2019)
Motif score: 86th percentile of all films
Jaddoland (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)
Exit Music (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)
Project X (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)
Cameraperson(2016)
Motif score: 91st percentile of all films
Unseen(2016)
Motif score: 74th percentile of all films
The Above (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)
You See Me (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)
Very Semi-Serious(2015)
Motif score: 81st percentile of all films
A Place in the Middle (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)
Kumu Hina(2014)
Motif score: 80th percentile of all films
Let the Fire Burn(2013)
Motif score: 97th percentile of all films
Buzkashi Boys (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)
Out in the Silence (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2009)
War Child(2008)
Motif score: 86th percentile of all filmsCine Manifest (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2006)
Career shape
A full career of 23 titles from 2006 to 2025.
Biggest box office
32 Sounds (2022)
Highest rated
Let the Fire Burn (2013)
Most popular right now
Cameraperson (2016)
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 Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.
How do Nels Bangerter's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
- 50th to 74th3
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 58, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; 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 Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif 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 Nels Bangerter work with?
People who share at least 2 of Nels Bangerter's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kirsten Johnson shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Kirsten JohnsonShared titles: Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020), Cameraperson (2016), Very Semi-Serious (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Kirsten Johnson
Producers
- Geralyn White DreyfousShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), 32 Sounds (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Geralyn White Dreyfous
- Jenny RaskinShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), 32 Sounds (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jenny Raskin
- Kelsey KoenigShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), 32 Sounds (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Kelsey Koenig
- Michael Y. ChowShared titles: 32 Sounds (2022), Riotsville, U.S.A. (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Y. Chow
