Eva Orner is an Australian Academy and Emmy Award-winning film producer and director based in Los Angeles. Her works include Untold Desires (winner of Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Logie Awards and the Australian Human Rights Awards), Strange Fits of Passion (nominated for the Critics' Award at the Cannes Film Festival), Taxi to the Dark Side (winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Documentary),[1] and Gonzo, The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Orner's directorial debut, The Network, a feature documentary set behind the scenes of Afghanistan's largest television station, premiered in the US in March 2013.[citation needed]

Eva Orner
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Producer, director

Early life

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Orner grew up in Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated at Mount Scopus Memorial College and Monash University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993.[2]

Career

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Orner, along with actress Cate Blanchett, was one of only two Australians nominated for an Oscar in 2008. Most commentators predicted that Michael Moore's Sicko would win the Best Documentary category. However, to the surprise of many, Orner's Taxi to the Dark Side, which examines US torture practices in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, received the award.[3] Within hours, Orner created controversy by describing the US Government as "a bunch of war criminals".[4]

Orner directed and produced the AACTA award winning feature documentary Chasing Asylum. Released in 2016, the film takes a critical look at Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.[5] She also directed and produced Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator, for Netflix. The film was released in 2019 and had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.[6]

In 2021, her film Burning was released. It is about climate change and the Black Summer Australian fires of 2019–2020. Burning had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.[7]

In June 2022, HBO announced that Orner would be directing a documentary about the Ohio State University abuse scandal.[8] A staffer at Smokehouse Pictures said in October 2023 that they were "still thick in production" on the documentary.[9]

In April 2024, HBO released Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, a documentary film directed by Orner.[10][11][12]

Personal life

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Orner is a vegetarian. She drives an electric car.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Screen Australia – Former AFC -AustralianFilmsAndAwards – Features 2004". Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
  2. ^ "Former Monash Student Wins Academy Award, Monash University". Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Australian wins documentary Oscar". The Age. 25 February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Eva Orner comments on US government". heraldsun.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  5. ^ Delaney, Brigid (30 April 2016), "Eva Orner on Chasing Asylum: 'Every whistleblower that I interviewed wept' – New film features shocking footage from within offshore detention centres. 'I wanted to make a film that would shame Australia', the film-maker says", The Guardian, archived from the original on 23 September 2024, retrieved 23 September 2024
  6. ^ Grater, Tom (16 January 2020). "'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' Director Eva Orner Signs With WME". Deadline. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  7. ^ Unreich, Rachelle (5 November 2021). "'I can't watch this again': Eva Orner on Burning, her call to climate action". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  8. ^ Porter, Rick (7 June 2022). "George Clooney's Ohio State Abuse Documentary Lands at HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ^ Hurley, Bevan (24 October 2023). "New doc on the wrestling abuse that dogged Jim Jordan's Speaker run". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  10. ^ Moorman, Taijuan (11 April 2024). "'Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion' doc examines controversial retailer Brandy Melville". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  11. ^ Issawi, Danya (11 April 2024). "The Most Messed-up Findings in the Brandy Melville Documentary". The Cut. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  12. ^ Holtermann, Callie (10 April 2024). "'Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion': 5 Takeaways". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ Walsh, Savannah (10 April 2024). "Brandy Melville Stores Are Hell on Earth". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
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