Steven Ascher is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and writer.

His feature documentaries include Troublesome Creek (Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award), So Much So Fast (Sundance premiere), and Raising Renee (HBO; Emmy nominee, Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming).

His most recent films are the short drama, Seduction Theory, a dark comedy about psychoanalysis and family, and Cory Not Promised a hybrid documentary/performance film about what remains after a shooting. Among his awards are the Prix Italia, a Peabody award, an Emmy and several Emmy nominations, and an International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award.

He was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award and an Independent Spirit Award. He received the Michael DeBakey Journalism Award and an Insight Award from the National Association of Film and Digital Media Artists. He is author of The Filmmaker’s Handbook: a Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age, a bestselling text used internationally.

He has taught film at Harvard and MIT and lectured and held master classes around the world. He has served as a juror at Sundance and many other festivals. His films, many made with his wife and film partner Jeanne Jordan, have been released theatrically and broadcast worldwide on premier strands including BBC Storyville, PBS Frontline, ZDF/Arte and many other networks. He has received grants from the LEF Foundation, the Artists Foundation, the Paul Robeson Fund, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Iowa Humanities and many other state humanities and arts councils.

His films are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, UCLA, and the Sundance Collection. His website is www.westcityfilms.com.