Sara Nesson
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Sara Nesson is best known for her Oscar and EMMY Nominated, & International Documentary Association (IDA) Winning documentary, "Poster Girl," about the first female gunner in the Iraq War who returns home to battle her demons and the dysfunctional VA system.
Sara grew up in Newton, MA learning to crawl under her father's Steenbeck while he spliced film. When she was old enough to point a camera, they made social-issue and environmental films together all over Eastern Europe, Japan, and Siberia.
In 2006, Sara moved next door to an old paper mill in Vermont where she met a group of young Iraq War Vets making handmade paper from their uniforms as a means to process their experiences in war. Sara spent a year following their healing journey as part of her documentary "Iraq Paper Scissors.' This community of vets led her to Robynn Murray, a vet struggling with PTSD despite her tough-as-nails image placed on the cover of Army Magazine for her role as gunner on convoys. Sara spent another year following Robynn, who along with the help of Bill Perry, a Vietnam Vet with a Purple Heart, navigated a labyrinth of dysfunction at the Department of Veterans Affairs to process her claims for PTSD. HBO jumped on board to finish "Poster Girl" in post and it was nominated for an Academy Award in 2011.
Sara is currently an LA-based director who continues to make short-form docu-editorial content and documentaries. Her recent short "Women Who Score" celebrates 20 women composers including Diane Warren, Laura Karpman, and Miriam Cutler, trying to change the score in Hollywood. It was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Best Music Documentary.
Sara grew up in Newton, MA learning to crawl under her father's Steenbeck while he spliced film. When she was old enough to point a camera, they made social-issue and environmental films together all over Eastern Europe, Japan, and Siberia.
In 2006, Sara moved next door to an old paper mill in Vermont where she met a group of young Iraq War Vets making handmade paper from their uniforms as a means to process their experiences in war. Sara spent a year following their healing journey as part of her documentary "Iraq Paper Scissors.' This community of vets led her to Robynn Murray, a vet struggling with PTSD despite her tough-as-nails image placed on the cover of Army Magazine for her role as gunner on convoys. Sara spent another year following Robynn, who along with the help of Bill Perry, a Vietnam Vet with a Purple Heart, navigated a labyrinth of dysfunction at the Department of Veterans Affairs to process her claims for PTSD. HBO jumped on board to finish "Poster Girl" in post and it was nominated for an Academy Award in 2011.
Sara is currently an LA-based director who continues to make short-form docu-editorial content and documentaries. Her recent short "Women Who Score" celebrates 20 women composers including Diane Warren, Laura Karpman, and Miriam Cutler, trying to change the score in Hollywood. It was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Best Music Documentary.
