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Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Tom Neff brings over 25 years of experience in the film industry. A graduate of USC School of Cinema/Television with an MFA, his work has earned more than 25 national and international awards, including an Oscar nomination, an Emmy win, and an Emmy nomination. Neff founded the Documentary Channel™, the nation’s first 24/7 channel dedicated exclusively to independent documentaries, which launched on DISH Network in January 2006. The network was later sold to Participant Media for over $50 million and reached more than 45 million viewers nationwide.
Neff developed the DOC brand, original programming lineup, and seven flagship series: "DocTalk," "Treasures of the Academy," "From the Vault," "Doc-U," "Oscar's Picks," "Soundcheck," and the African American spotlight "Black Documentary Cinema." He executive produced all original films and content for the channel, including feature-length works such as the Emmy-winning "Shake Hands with the Devil," "TVA: Built for the People," "Johnny Berlin 2," the four-hour jazz series "Icons Among Us" for DonQ, the shorter EPA film "EmPOWered," and "Speed Dreams" for Exxon. Collaborating with the Academy of Motion Pictures, Neff helped restore three iconic John Huston WWII documentaries for a special Academy screening, as well as the landmark 1968 documentary on race relations, "A Time For Burning," among others. As CEO and Chief Creative Officer of DOC, he managed all aspects of financing, reporting, budgeting, personnel, and technical operations, overseeing investments and revenues exceeding $20 million over 12 years. Neff is recognized as an authority in the business of film, with expertise spanning licensing, production, distribution, programming, development, and broadcasting across traditional (linear TV) and emerging digital platforms, including intellectual property and network operations.
Neff’s films have been showcased at prestigious venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, the Whitney Museum, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Academy of Motion Pictures, the Directors Guild, the NYC Paley Center, Lincoln Center, PBS’s "American Masters," USC, UCLA, and numerous others. He has delivered guest lectures and master classes at festivals and institutions including Sundance, Hot Docs, Lincoln Jazz Center, Real Screen, Hollywood Black Film Festival, the International Documentary Association, USC, NYU, Hot Springs Documentary Festival, Westdoc, and the National Educational Media Network.
A pioneer in High Definition filmmaking, Neff produced and directed the nation’s first HDTV art documentary, "Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days," in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Japanese broadcaster NHK. Many of his films focus on artists, from the visually striking "Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada," about the Dada artist and ceramicist, to the 35mm documentary on musical icon Herb Alpert, "Music For Your Eyes." He produced, directed, and wrote the landmark $6 million, six-hour TBS mini-series "America’s Music: The Roots of Country," the most comprehensive history of country music ever created. An expert in late 19th and early 20th-century American art and history, Neff also made the IMAX film "Our Country," which explores 20th-century American history through country music songs of each decade. His recent feature documentary, "Chances: The Women of Magdalene," which tells the stories of struggling and recovered prostitutes, won the Audience Award at the Nashville Film Festival, the Tennessee Spirit Award, the Governor’s Award, and received a Prism Award nomination. His documentary "Mr. Temple and the Tigerbelles" premiered on CBS Sports Network in March 2018.
Currently, Neff is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University, where he has taught media management, programming, communication theory, film production, and related subjects for over six years. He founded the "First Look" Screenings, now in its sixth year, which invite industry professionals from Middle Tennessee to Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theatre to view top student films produced annually at MTSU. Neff also established the nation’s first overseas documentary program, the MTSU Signature Documentary Program Abroad, taking students to Paris, Florence, and Athens to create short documentaries.
Neff serves on the Oscar Nominating Committees for Documentary Feature and Documentary Short categories and holds memberships in both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He has participated on panels at Sundance, USC, WestDoc, HotDocs, the Nashville Film Festival, Paley Media Center Doc Pitches, and RealScreen, and frequently speaks at universities, festivals, and industry events, including delivering the keynote address at the Birmingham Sidewalk Film Festival.
