(June 24, 1945 – August 30, 2023)
New York Women and Film & Television mourns the loss of award-winning documentary filmmaker, and longtime NYWIFT Member Nancy Buirski, who died on August 30th.
Nancy began her career as a Still Photographer and Editor at The New York Times. Her passion for documentary filmmaking led her to found Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in 1998.
Nancy directed her first feature documentary in 2011, and in just 12 short years, directed and produced 6 award winning feature documentaries including a trilogy exploring racial injustice, The Loving Story, The Rape of Recy Taylor and A Crime on the Bayou. Her most recent film Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy premiered in 2022 at the prestigious Telluride and Venice film festivals. She also produced and co-wrote the script of Loving, the Oscar nominated drama based on The Loving Story.
Nancy was a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy, and an Advisory Board member at Hamptons Doc Fest.
Nancy is survived by her sister Judith Cohen and her niece and nephew Erica and Ted Rosen. The NYWIFT community mourns this great loss. She will be remembered for her generous and kind spirit, and the indomitable mark she left on the documentary world.
