Biography
Dan Partland is an experienced Documentary Producer and Director for Film & Television, known for creating several influential Nonfiction Films and Series over the past twenty years. He has won the Emmy Award twice for Best Nonfiction Series and has been nominated twice by the Producers Guild of America for Nonfiction Producer of the Year.
Partland began his career in film working alongside cinema verité pioneer Albert Maysles before founding his own New York-based independent film collective, OTHER PICTURES (OPIX). At OPIX, he produced numerous independent features, both scripted and documentary.
During his time at OPIX, Partland collaborated with first-time director Todd Solondz to produce Solondz's debut feature, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and became a cult classic. He also worked with first-time director Aiyana Elliott on THE BALLAD OF RAMBLIN' JACK, an intimate portrait of her legendary father and her experience growing up as a folk singer's daughter. THE BALLAD OF RAMBLIN' JACK received the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and was recognized as a groundbreaking film in the 1st Person Documentary genre.
In 2000, Partland partnered with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker RJ Cutler to create the innovative 13-part documentary series AMERICAN HIGH. The series, which earned Partland an Emmy for Best Non-Fiction Series, employed an authentic cinema verité approach by embedding with high school students in suburban Chicago for a year. Partland and his team taught the teens to create their own video diaries and actively document their lives.
Partland went on to produce numerous documentary series, including A&E’s influential INTERVENTION, where he served as Executive Producer and Showrunner for 14 seasons. Overseeing more than 150 episodes, he earned numerous awards including an Emmy for Best Documentary Series. INTERVENTION is credited with popularizing compassionate interventions, reshaping narratives around drug abuse, and shifting the national conversation from a law enforcement issue to a public health crisis.
His interest in historical documentaries was sparked through his role as Showrunner and Director of the acclaimed CNN series THE SIXTIES, which introduced a new immersive style for archival documentaries. In 2016, Partland founded the production company DOC SHOP, which produced Netflix’s AFFLICTED, following seven individuals battling elusive illnesses; CNN’s archival series AMERICAN STYLE; and TNT’s host-led documentary AMERICAN RACE, which featured basketball icon Charles Barkley exploring race relations in America after the Ferguson and Baltimore uprisings.
In 2020, Partland independently produced and directed #UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump, an in-depth examination of the 45th President’s psychology and the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S. Released ahead of the 2020 Presidential election, the film became iTunes’ best-selling documentary.
In 2022, Academy Award-winning Director/Producer Rob Reiner enlisted Partland to direct a feature documentary on the rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States. Teaming with renowned New York Times columnist Katherine Stewart, the film GOD & COUNTRY explores the history of American Christianity and its influence on civic and cultural identity, tracing evangelicalism’s shift from a religious movement to a political force central to the January 6th insurrection.
Partland is currently in post-production on #UNTRUTH, a feature documentary and the second installment in his series exploring current threats to democracy.
