Ken Burns

Ken Burns has been making documentary films for over forty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Burns has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made.

A December 2002 poll conducted by Real Screen Magazine named Burns one of the “most influential documentary makers” of all time. Burns' films have won sixteen Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations, and in September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, he was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also been the recipient of more than thirty honorary degrees and has delivered many treasured commencement addresses. He is a sought-after public speaker, appearing at colleges, civic organizations and business groups throughout the country.

In March 2020 PBS broadcast East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story, a feature-length documentary that explores the history of public housing by focusing on the experiences of the residents of one housing project in Atlanta, Georgia.

In April of 2021 PBS broadcast "Hemingway," a three-episode, six-hour series Ken co-directed with Lynn Novick that chronicles the visionary work and turbulent life of one of the greatest and most influential American writers, weaving together excerpts from his fiction, non-fiction and personal correspondence. The film penetrates the mythology surrounding Hemingway—cultivated by his larger than life exploits, public bravado and occasional tall tale—to reveal a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure.