Ric Burns

Ric Burns is an acclaimed American documentary filmmaker, director, and screenwriter best known for his sweeping historical narratives, meticulous archival research, and cinematic depth. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and educated at Columbia University and Cambridge University, Burns began his career in historical filmmaking collaborating with his older brother, Ken Burns. Together, they co-produced and co-wrote the seminal, multi-award-winning PBS documentary miniseries 'The Civil War' (1990), which fundamentally transformed television documentary storytelling. In 1989, Burns founded Steeplechase Films, an independent documentary production company based in New York City. Through Steeplechase, he has directed, written, and produced a vast corpus of renowned non-fiction works exploring American history, culture, and iconic figures. His monumental eight-part, seventeen-hour series 'New York: A Documentary Film' (1999–2003) is widely regarded as a definitive chronicle of the metropolis, earning multiple Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Burns has brought to life deep, character-driven examinations of subjects ranging from Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol to the tragic Donner Party expedition and the life of neurologist Oliver Sacks. Celebrated for his poetic narrative rhythm, evocative voice-over performances, and literary sensibility, Ric Burns remains one of contemporary cinema's foremost historical documentarians.