ABOUT DAVID

DAVID FRANCE is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, New York Times bestselling author, and award-winning investigative journalist. His latest book, titled HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (Knopf, 2016), received the Baillie Gifford Prize for best nonfiction book published in the English Language, the Green Carnation Prize, the Stonewall Book Award (nonfiction) from the American Library Association, the Lambda Literary Award, the Publishers’ Triangle Best Nonfiction award, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Prize. It was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. Other books include THE CONFESSION (2006), OUR FATHERS (2004), and BAG OF TOYS (1992).

France has seen his journalistic work inspire several films, including the Peabody-winning film SOLDIER’S GIRL (Showtime 2003), based on his New York Times Magazine story of the transgender girlfriend of a soldier killed in an anti-gay attack, And OUR FATHERS (Showtime 2005), earning him a WGA nomination.

As a filmmaker, his directorial debut, HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (IFC Films 2012), was nominated for an Oscar, two Emmys, and a Directors Guild Award. Appearing on over 20 “Best of the Year” lists, including Time and Entertainment Weekly, the documentary won top honors from the Gotham Awards, the International Documentary Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the Provincetown Film Festival, among many others. After a theatrical run reaching over 30 cities, HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE was aired on PBS’ Independent Lens, garnering a Peabody Award.

His 2017 film, THE DEATH & LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON, a Netflix Original Documentary, won numerous festival prizes and was awarded the Outfest “Freedom Award” and a special jury recognition from Sheffield International Documentary Festival. Critics put it on multiple “Best of the Year” lists.

David premiered his third documentary, WELCOME TO CHECHNYA (HBO Max 2020), at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the special jury award for documentary editing, and it received the Panorama Audience Award and Amnesty International Film Prize at 2020 Berlinale. The film was further recognized with a Peabody Award, a BAFTA Award, and the Seigenthaler Prize from RFK Human Rights. It was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Some 20 festivals have given it their top prizes, including Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2020, DOC NYC 2020, and One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in 2020.

David's latest film, HOW TO SURVIVE A PANDEMIC (HBO MAX 2022), premiered at 2022 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and was also screened at 2022 CPH:DOX.