ABOUT
NATHANIEL HANSEN

PRODUCER | DIRECTOR | CINEMATOGRAPHER | EDITOR | EDUCATOR

ABOUT ME

Since 2004 I’ve been producing, directing, filming, and editing documentaries, brand films, and commercials for companies and organizations around the world.

 

About Me

I spent most of my middle and high school years (Tigard Tigers!) playing guitar and making sketch comedy shorts with borrowed VHS cameras from the school library. Only family and close friends were privy to these films, but it was an open secret that all I wanted in life was a shot at being cast on SNL. Perhaps there’s still time?

At the recommendation of a friend, I applied to BYU-Hawaii on a theater scholarship. While there I enrolled in the cultural studies and humanities program, thinking a career doing field work researching cultural performances would be a more “serious” way of keeping a foot in the arts while still being “respectable.” Instead, graduate school took me to Boston to study film at Emerson College where I would learn that my real passion was combining all these things together, for a documentary filmmaker without a sense of humor is poor company indeed. 


FULL BIO

Nathaniel Hansen is an Emmy-nominated and Peabody award-winning producer, and an active director, cinematographer, editor, and educator.

His documentary film and commercial work has taken him around the world, directing documentary and branded film projects in Japan, China, India, Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, England, Sweden, Germany, Albania, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and in almost all 50 US states.

The Boston Globe has called his feature documentary work “outstanding,” and since 2009, his work has screened at hundreds of film festivals world-wide including Tribeca, SXSW, Hot Docs, Camden, RiverRun, and Independent Film Festival Boston, in addition to being featured online by sites such as the New York Times, the LA Times, The Atlantic, Vimeo Staff Picks, National Geographic Shorts, Quartz, and PBS.  

 

Nathaniel’s commercial work includes projects for brands such as Calvin Klein, Fossil Watches, Pantone, Clinique, Health Catalyst, D&B, Estée Lauder, Care.com, True Fit, Johnson & Johnson, and Dartmouth Hitchcock.

Since 2017 he has led the Visual Storytelling Lab for young media professionals in the Balkans, and is a frequent lecturer and workshop-lead for the US Embassy in Tirana, Albania. 

Nathaniel received his MFA in Visual & Media Art at Emerson College, where he is an adjunct faculty member, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on the business of art and media practice.

Nathaniel resides in Boston with his spouse and partner Felicity Salmon, an active performing classical musician and music educator, and their three children. 

PRODUCER

I’ve been a producer and co-producer on numerous documentary film and commercial projects. Those projects, often in the talented hands of other directors, have been awarded Peabody awards, nominated for Emmy awards, and been featured in premiere festivals and by top news outlets around the world. As a producer, or co-producer, I’m actively involved in the project from inception to distribution.

DIRECTOR

Since 2002 I’ve directed numerous documentary films, commercials, branded films, and independent film projects. Works I have directed have taken me around the world, and allowed me to build a network of trusted collaborators and partners. I take on commissioned projects and also fundraise for my own independent documentary and fictional film work.

EDITOR

I’ve always edited my own documentary work (since 2000), but in 2006, I began to edit commercials and short documentaries produced or directed by others, and some of the most interesting, entertaining, and important films I’ve contributed to have been those I’ve been able to edit.

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Drawn to film as an aspiring anthropologist using documentary film as a research tool, I began my career as a cinematographer hoping to produce ethnographic films. Since 2001 I’ve filmed hundreds of commercials, documentaries, and branded projects, all of which have been heavily informed by my background in Anthropology, Theater, and Humanities.

EDUCATOR

Since 2010, I’ve been a regular lecturer and adjunct faculty member at Emerson College. I’ve guest lectured at Harvard, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Clemson University, and Brigham Young University – Hawaii. In 2017 I became a workshop-lead for the US Embassy in Tirana Albania.

WRITER

Most of the documentary films, animated films, and commercial projects I’m producing and/or directing require me to write scripts or very detailed outlines that guide the project from pre-production to post, and most intensively guides the development of questions for our interview subjects.

DOCUMENTARY FILMOGRAPHY

Weed & Wine
(Feature Documentary, 2020, 89 minutes)
Editor, Co-Producer

 

Mrs. Saltzman Goes to Jail
(Short Documentary, 2019, 14 minutes)
Editor


The Collection
(Short Documentary, 2017, 11 minutes)
Editor, Cinematographer

 

A Coalition of the Willing
(Short Documentary, 2017, 22 min)
Producer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer

 

Forensic Justice
(Short Documentary, 2016, 8 min)
Producer, Cinematographer, Editor


Expired! Food Waste in America
(Short Documentary, 2016, 11 min)
Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

The Story of New Ulm
(Short Documentary, 2016, 20 minutes)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

 

All the Presidents’ Heads
(Short Documentary, 2016)
Editor, Cinematographer

 

Untouchable
(Feature Documentary, 2016 )
Additional Camera

 

Spearhunter
(Short Documentary, 14 min)
Cinematographer, Editor

 

Measured Outcomes
(Short Documentary, 2015, 23 min)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

 

From the Heart
(Short Documentary, 2014, 30 min)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

 

Hollow
(Interactive Documentary, 2014)
Producer, Project Manager

 

Beyond the Mind
(Short Documentary, 2013, 40 min)
Producer, Editor

The Elders
(Feature Documentary, 2012, 79 min)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

Gilbert
(Short Documentary, 2010, 6 min)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

Lilah
(Short Documentary, 2010, 5 min)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

 

Pat
(Short Documentary, 2010, 5 minutes)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

 

Jeffrey
(Short Documentary, 2010, 5 minutes)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor


Into a Heart of Darkness
(Short Documentary, 2004, 47 minutes)
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor