Biografi
David Modigliani is a documentary filmmaker renowned for his ability to capture the personal side of American politics. Variety compares his work to Albert Maysles' Primary and D.A. Pennebaker's The War Room, while The Hollywood Reporter praises his films as inspiring to viewers skeptical about the integrity of politics. His feature documentary Running with Beto offers an inside look at then-U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, his team, and the dedicated first-time activists supporting his unlikely bid to defeat Ted Cruz. The film debuted at SXSW in 2019, winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary, followed by a critically acclaimed HBO release.
Modigliani's 2020 feature Ready Or Not, described by Texas Monthly as "tenderhearted and entertaining," follows 17-year-old Black activist Marcel McClinton as he challenges a powerful Houston City Council incumbent. It premiered on Fuse TV and at Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. His debut feature documentary, Crawford, explores the small Texas town transformed into the Western White House by George W. Bush. Premiering at SXSW in 2008, it screened at 33 festivals and became the first new film to stream on Hulu. His second feature, 61 Bullets, uncovers the lesser-known story of the 1935 assassination of Senator Huey P. Long in the Louisiana State Capitol, following the son of the alleged assassin Dr. Carl Weiss as he seeks to clear his father's name.
Beyond directing features, Modigliani co-produced Trust Us, This Is All Made Up, a documentary about improv comedians TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi, praised by The New York Times as "as entertaining as it is astonishing." He also co-produced More Than T, a feature documentary that interweaves the stories of six transgender Americans, which premiered on Showtime in 2017. He directed the viral short Dress Rehearsal, highlighting the organizers behind Wisconsin's "pandemic primary," which premiered during the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Additionally, he produced and co-directed the 12-part documentary series Wounded: The Battle Back Home, about young veterans returning from combat, which aired on MSNBC and was acquired by Netflix.
