# Nathaniel Hansen

Nathaniel Hansen is an American documentary filmmaker. His independent film work includes short and feature-length films, including Spearhunter, The Collection, Expired! Food Waste in America, The Elders, From the Heart, Hollow, The Recall: Reframed, and All the Presidents’ Heads.

## Education

Hansen was born in Portland, Oregon, attended Tigard High School, and graduated from BYU-Hawaii in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies and Humanities and an associate degree in theatre.
In 2004 Hansen completed a master's degree in Visual Media Art from Emerson College and later returned to complete a Visual Arts MFA in 2011.

## Career and Collaborations

From 2009 to 2011, while enrolled in further graduate studies at Emerson College, Hansen produced a series of short documentary films featuring “familiar strangers” or personalities he would regularly encounter in his commuting travels around downtown Boston. Pat Bartevian, the elderly woman featured in the second film and the most widely viewed in the series, served as the inspiration for his feature-length documentary film The Elders.

### The Elders

After a successful 2010 kickstarter campaign, Hansen was contacted by Take Action Hollywood!, a non-profit organization founded by Maria Menounos. The organization made both a financial contribution and an in-kind equipment rental donation and Menounos is listed in the film's opening title sequence as a producer.
The Elders had its premiere at the 2013 Independent Film Festival Boston and was highlighted by Boston Globe film critic Peter Keough as “must see” and “remarkable.” Hansen was featured in Boston Globe Magazine as one of six artists to watch during the festival.

### Hollow

In 2012–2013, Hansen worked as one of the producers on Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s interactive documentary, Hollow. The project won a Peabody Award and was nominated for a national Emmy in 2014.

### Spearhunter

In 2014, Hansen collaborated with Boston-based filmmakers Adam Roffman and Luke Poling, as cinematographer and editor for their short documentary Spearhunter. In 2015 Spearhunter would go on to premiere at SXSW, and would be recognized as one of Vimeo's Staff Picks, and covered extensively in the press.

### All the Presidents' Heads and The Collection

Hansen and Roffman would collaborate again in 2016 and 2017, with Roffman producing/directing and Hansen filming/editing two short documentary films, All the Presidents' Heads and The Collection. While both films would enjoy extensive film festival runs, The Collection would premiere at SXSW and was seen by producer and Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League, who would go on to purchase the collection of letterpress blocks featured in the short documentary.

### Rebecca Richman Cohen

Hansen and filmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen and her production company Racing Horse Productions, have collaborated on 5 documentary films since 2015, including the feature film Weed & Wine, and the MSNBC Peacock short documentary The Recall: Reframed, with Richman Cohen directing and producing, and Hansen filming, producing, and editing.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Genre |
| 2009 | Thor at the Bus Stop | Actor | Feature Film |
| 2010 | Gilbert | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2011 | Jeffrey | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2010 | Ron | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2010 | Lilah | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2010 | Pat | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2012 | The Elders | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Feature Documentary |
| 2013 | Hollow: An Interactive Documentary | Producer | Interactive Documentary |
| 2013 | Beyond the Mind | Producer, Editor | Feature Documentary |
| 2014 | From the Heart | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor | Short Documentary |
| 2015 | Spearhunter | Cinematographer, Editor | Short Documentary |
| 2015 | Measured Outcomes: A Future View of Value-Based Healthcare | Director, producer, cinematographer, editor | Short Documentary |
| 2016 | Expired! Food Waste in America | Producer, Cinematographer, Editor | Short Documentary |
| 2016 | The Story of New Ulm | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor | Short Documentary |
| 2016 | All the Presidents' Heads | Editor, Cinematographer | Short Documentary |
| 2016 | Untouchable | Additional Camera | Feature Documentary |
| 2017 | The Collection | Editor, Cinematographer | Short Documentary |
| 2017 | A Coalition of the Willing | Producer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer | Short Documentary |
| 2018 | Mrs. Saltzman Goes to Jail | Editor | Short Documentary |
| 2020 | Weed & Wine | Editor, Co-Producer | Feature Documentary |
| 2021 | The X-tet: A Concert Documentary | Producer, Director, Editor | Feature Documentary |
| 2022 | The Recall: Reframed | Producer, Cinematographer, Additional Editing | Short Documentary |
| 2025 | A Second Movement | Producer, Director | Feature Documentary |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Film | Category | Result |
| 2014 | Peabody Award | Hollow: An Interactive Documentary | Best Interactive Documentary | Won |
| 2014 | National Emmy Award | Hollow: An Interactive Documentary | Best Interactive Documentary | Nominated |
| 2015 | Knoxville Film Festival | Spearhunter | Best Documentary Short | Won |
| 2015 | Newburyport Documentary Film Festival | Spearhunter | Best Documentary Short | Won |
| 2015 | SXSW | Spearhunter | Best Documentary Short | Nominated |
| 2015 | HotDocs International Documentary Festival | Spearhunter | Best Documentary Short | Nominated |
| 2015 | Vimeo Staff Pick | Spearhunter | Documentary Short | Featured |
| 2015 | National Geographic | Spearhunter | Short Film Showcase | Featured |
| 2017 | Earth Port Film Festival Award | Expired! Food Waste in America | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2017 | Faces of Hunger Festival | Expired! Food Waste in America | Best Film | Won |
| 2017 | West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival | The Collection | Best of Show | Won |
| 2017 | Glass City Film Festival | The Collection | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2017 | SXSW | The Collection | Best Documentary Short | Nominated |
| 2017 | Short of the Week | The Collection | Documentary | Featured |
| 2017 | National Geographic | The Collection | Short Film Showcase | Featured |
| 2017 | Vimeo Staff Pick | The Collection | Documentary Short | Featured |