Sam Pollard

Profile

Sam Pollard is an accomplished feature film and television video editor, and documentary producer/director. Between 1990 and 2010, Mr. Pollard edited a number of Spike Lee’s films: MO’ BETTER BLUES, JUNGLE FEVER, GIRL 6, CLOCKERS, and BAMBOOZLED.

Mr. Pollard and Mr. Lee co-produced a number of documentary productions for the small and big screen, FOUR LITTLE GIRLS, a feature-length documentary about the 1963 Birmingham church bombings, which was nominated for an Academy Award, and WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE, a four-part documentary that won numerous awards, including a Peabody and three Emmy Awards. In 2010, he co-produced and supervised the edit on the LEVEES follow-up, IF GOD IS WILLING AND DA CREEK DON’T RISE.

Since 2012, Mr. Pollard has completed as a producer/director SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME, a 90-minute documentary for PBS that was in competition at the Sundance Festival, AUGUST WILSON: THE GROUND ON WHICH I STAND (2015), a 90-minute documentary for American Masters, TWO TRAINS RUNNIN’ (2016), a feature-length documentary that premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival, and SAMMY DAVIS JR., I’VE GOTTA BE ME (2017) for American Masters, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2019, Mr. Pollard co-directed the six-part series WHY WE HATE, which premiered on The Discovery Channel. In 2020, he was one of the directors on the HBO Series ATLANTA’S MISSING AND MURDERED: THE LOST CHILDREN and he completed MLK/FBI, which premiered at the 2020 Toronto Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.