Rick Goldsmith

Introduction (2-3 lines)

RICK GOLDSMITH'S mission as a filmmaker is to tell stories that encourage social engagement and active participation in community life and the democratic process, and to stimulate young minds to question the world around them.

Goldsmith has produced five films in the New Day Films collection. His newest is Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink, the story of one secretive hedge fund that is plundering newspapers nationwide and the journalists who are fighting back. Its city-to-city Impact Campaign will continue throughout 2024. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (co-produced/co-directed with Judith Ehrlich), nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, tells the story of a leading Pentagon strategist whose daring act of conscience leads directly to Watergate and the end of the war in Vietnam. Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press, also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, chronicles the life of a pioneering muckraking journalist and press critic. It was broadcast nationwide on public television and has become a staple in college and high school journalism programs everywhere. Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw, chronicles “the female Michael Jordan” from troubled family life to basketball superstardom, revealing a long-hidden battle with mental illness. Just as Holdsclaw begins to embrace her emotional challenges and emerge as an outspoken mental health advocate, she encounters new obstacles to her own recovery. Narrated by Glenn Close and a SAMHSA Voice award winner. Everyday Heroes (co-produced/co-directed with Abby Ginzberg) is a behind-the-headlines look at AmeriCorps and a provocative and instructive look at youth, race and national service.

Born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, Goldsmith came west in 1975 and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area ever since. Trained in architecture, music and community activism, he began working in films in 1979 and made his living for years as an editor. He is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the Writers' Guild of America, West, and the father of three girls.

See links to reviews and interviews with Goldsmith, and more on all of his films at RickGoldsmithFilms.com.

New Day Films by Rick Goldsmith

Awards & Accolades

2 Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature
George Foster Peabody Award
2 John O'Connor Film awards (American Historical Association)
Erik Barnouw award (Organization of American Historians)
POV national prime-time broadcast
Roger Ebert Golden Thumb Award
SAMHSA Voices Award
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