Julie Cohen (documentarian)

Julie Cohen
Cohen in 2018
Alma materColgate University (BA), Yale Law School, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Occupationsfilm director, documentarian
SpousePaul Barrett

Julie Cohen is an American filmmaker. She co-directed the documentary films RBG (2018), My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021), Julia (2021), and Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down (2022) with Betsy West. RBG was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. Earlier in her career, Cohen was a news producer at NBC News Studios and a producer at Court TV. She also directed the 2023 documentary Every Body.

Early life and education

Cohen graduated from Colgate University in 1986.[1] She got her Masters degree at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[2]

Career

Cohen worked as a news producer at NBC News Studios where she worked on Dateline for nine years.[3] She was a producer at Court TV, and worked at Columbia University as an adjunct faculty member and adviser to their documentary program.[4] She co-directed RBG (2018), My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021), Julia (2021), and Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down (2022) with Betsy West.[5][6][2] RBG premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar in 2018.[7] Julia drew its throughline primarily from Bob Spitz’s biography of Julia Child, Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child. Variety said the film had a "a general air of cuteness."[6]

She also directed the 2023 documentary Every Body about three people born intersex.[8][4][9] The film discusses the US's transphobic history and discusses the treatment of transgender people by medical professionals and society at large.[10] Variety said that Every Body "fosters an environment where the trio can share and compare their experiences, addressing topics rarely spoken of in public."[6] Cohen had met one of the film's subjects, David Reimer, while she was working on Dateline in 1999. When she was invited to look through the Dateline archives for "jumping-off points for feature-length...documentaries" she decided to tell his story and the stories of other intersex activists.[11]

Honors and awards

Cohen is a three-time winner of the duPont-Columbia Awards.[2] In 2019 she was awarded the Cinema for Peace Award for Women's Empowerment for the film RBG.[12] She won the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s Freedom of Expression Award in 2024.[13]

Activism

Cohen previously served as a juror at Columbia University's duPont-Columbia Awards. She resigned in March 2025 after the university, facing a potential loss of about $400 million in funding, agreed to the Trump administration's demands regarding policies on protesters and race-related conflicts.[2] After her resignation, three of the remaining eight jurors also resigned.[2] Cohen is the organizer of a regular anti-Trump protest in Montclair, New Jersey.[14]

References

  1. ^ Mayne, Aleta (2022-05-09). "Filmmaker Julie Cohen '86 releases a new documentary about Julia Child". Colgate Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e Taylor, Drew (2025-03-26). "Oscar-Nominated Documentarian Julie Cohen Resigns from Columbia Program Over Trump Capitulation". TheWrap. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  3. ^ "Julie Cohen". Rocky Mountain Women's Film. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  4. ^ a b "Every Body's Filmmaker Julie Cohen Recounts Her Remarkable Journey". www.focusfeatures.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  5. ^ Kenny, Glenn (2021-11-11). "'Julia' Review: She Changed Your Life and Your Utensil Drawer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  6. ^ a b c Lodge, Guy (2021-09-03). "'Julia' Review: Glossy, Surface-Level Julia Child Documentary Sticks to a Familiar Recipe". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  7. ^ ""The Film Needs a Scene of the Justice Lifting Weights": Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen". Filmmaker Magazine. 2018-01-21. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  8. ^ Jones, Tom (2025-03-26). "Oscar-nominated filmmaker resigns from duPont-Columbia journalism awards over school's concessions to Trump". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  9. ^ Ryzik, Melena (2023-06-30). "For a Documentary on Intersex Lives, a Director Champions the Power of Activism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  10. ^ "Every Body". NBC News Studios. 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  11. ^ Patton, Elaina (2023-06-30). "'Every Body' puts faces to the long-silenced intersex community". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  12. ^ "A Girl From Mogadishu Wins The Cinema for Peace Woman's Empowerment' Award at the Berlin Film Festival". Screen Ireland. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  13. ^ "Freedom of Expression Award: Julie Cohen". Jewish Film Institute. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  14. ^ Kuperinsky, Amy (2025-06-12). "One of N.J.'s most passionate anti-Trump protesters is an Oscar-nominated director". nj. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
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