Derek Jonathan Doneen (born March 27, 1987) is an American documentary film director, editor and producer. He is best known for his work on the feature documentary The Price of Free and the Netflix documentary series Heist.
Life and career Doneen was born in Los Angeles, California on March 27, 1987. He graduated from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. He started his career as an in-house filmmaker at Participant Media. In 2018, he directed the feature documentary The Price of Free, about Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. He was named one of Variety's 2018 top 10 documentary filmmakers and listed in DOC NYC's "40 Under 40" list for 2018.
In 2021, Doneen created and co-directed the Netflix documentary series Heist, along with Nick Frew and Martin Desmond Roe, about the story of three heists.
Filmography YearTitle Contribution Note 2012 The Story of Pines Producer Short film 2013 The Dream Is Now Producer Documentary 2014 Spent: Looking for Change Director Documentary 2015 Kobe Bryant's Muse Editor Documentary2016 David Ortiz: The Last Walk Off Editor 1 episode Glimpse Editor Short film 2017 Shot in the Dark Producer Documentary2018 What Haunts Us Editor Documentary Religion of Sports Director Documentary The Price of Free Director Documentary2019 Sweetheart Dancers Editor Documentary Paulette Editor Documentary Why We Fight Director 1 episode 2021 Heist Director and producer Documentary2022 They Call Me Magic Editor Documentary 2023 BS High Editor Documentary 2024 Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult Director, Producer and Cinematographer Documentary 2024 Starting 5 Editor Documentary2025Blood & MythEditor, co-EPDocumentary
Awards and nominations YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.2018 WonSundance Film FestivalGrand Jury PrizeThe Price of Free WonAntalya Golden Orange Film FestivalSpecial Jury Award NominatedBest Film NominatedCPH:DOXF:ACT Award NominatedPolitiken's Audience Award NominatedNews & Documentary Emmy AwardsOutstanding Social Issue Documentary2019 NominatedHumanitas PrizeDocumentaries - Special Awards Category
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