Biography

David Modigliani is a documentary filmmaker with a unique knack for capturing the intimate human experience of politics in America. Variety writes that his work is "reminiscent of Albert Maysles' Primary or D.A. Pennebaker's The War Room" while The Hollywood Reporter calls his films "an inspiration for many viewers who have found it hard to believe there is any decency left in politics." Modigliaini's feature documentary Running with Beto takes us behind the scenes with then-U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, his inner circle and the passionate first-time activists who support him in his against-all-odds race to unseat Ted Cruz. The film premiered at SXSW in 2019, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary before a critically-acclaimed release on HBO.



His 2020 feature documentary, Ready Or Not, which Texas Monthly calls "tenderhearted and entertaining" follows 17 year-old Black activist Marcel McClinton as he comes of age through his campaign to unseat a powerful incumbent on Houston City Council. The film premiered on Fuse TV and Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. Modigliani's first feature documentary, Crawford, takes us inside the tiny Texas town that George W. Bush turned into the Western White House. The film world premiered at SXSW in 2008, played 33 festivals and became the first new movie to air on Hulu. His second feature doc, 61 Bullets, reveals the untold story behind the 1935 assassination of populist U.S. Senator Huey P. Long in the Louisiana State Capitol Building. The film follows the son of the alleged assassin, Dr. Carl Weiss, as he fights to clear his father's name.



In addition to directing features, Modigliani co-produced the documentary Trust Us, This Is All Made Up, about legendary improv comedians TJ Jagedowski and Dave Pasquesi, which the New York Times called "as entertaining as it is astonishing" and co-produced More Than T, a feature documentary that weaves together the stories of six transgender Americans, which premiered in 2017 on Showtime. He directed the viral documentary short Dress Rehearsal about the organizers who won Wisconsin's "pandemic primary," which premiered during the 2020 DNC, and produced and co-directed a 12-part documentary series about young veterans returning from combat, Wounded: The Battle Back Home, which aired on MSNBC and was acquired by Netflix.
- IMDb mini biography by: David Modigliani