Laura Ricciardi
{{short description|American Filmmaker (b. 1970)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Laura Ricciardi
| image = Laura_Ricciardi.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}}
| education = Manhattan College (BA)
New York Law School (JD)
Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA in Film)
| notable_works = Making a Murderer Seasons 1 & 2
| awards = Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (3)
}}
Laura Ricciardi (born 1970){{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/arts/television/behind-making-a-murderer-a-new-documentary-series-on-netflix.html |title=Behind 'Making a Murderer,' a New Documentary Series on Netflix |last=Murphy |first=Mekado |date= December 19, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 23, 2015}} is an American filmmaker. Ricciardi is best known for the Netflix documentary television series Making a Murderer, which she cocreated with filmmaker Moira Demos. Along with Demos, Ricciardi served as executive producer, writer and director for all 20 episodes of the series. At the 68th Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2016, Making a Murderer received nine nominations and won Emmy Awards{{cite news |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/making-murderer |title=Emmy Awards and Nominations}} for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, and Outstanding Directing for a Nonfiction Program.{{cite news |title=Laura Ricciardi Bio - Emmy Awards and Nominations |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/laura-ricciardi}}{{Cite web |title=Moira Demos |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/moira-demos |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}
Career
Prior to working in film, Ricciardi practiced law in the public and private sectors. Ricciardi served as an attorney trainee in the United States Department of Justice's Attorney General’s Honors Program (Federal Bureau of Prisons). Ricciardi was an associate in the Chicago office of Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz P.C. Later, while she and Demos sought a distributor for Making a Murderer, she worked as a contract attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in the law firm’s New York City and Los Angeles offices.
Ricciardi and Demos were graduate film students at Columbia University School of the Arts when they first read about Steven Avery in The New York Times. Two months later, in January 2006, Ricciardi and Demos founded the New York-based production company Synthesis Films LLC that produced Making a Murderer. For more than eight years, Ricciardi and Demos worked independently on the first season of Making a Murderer, which ultimately took 10 years to complete.
The first season of Making a Murderer launched on Netflix on December 18, 2015. The series was critically acclaimed and became a global phenomenon.{{cite web |last1=Nyman |first1=Shane |title=Avery among most-Googled for 2016 |url=https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/local/steven-avery/2016/12/23/avery-among-most-googled-2016/95711884/ |publisher=USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin |access-date=23 December 2016}} The second season launched on Netflix on October 19, 2018. Each season of the series contains 10 episodes.
Honors and awards
As cocreator, executive producer, writer and director of Making a Murderer, Ricciardi won awards (all shared with Demos) from numerous organizations including the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Television Critics Association,{{cite web |title=The Television Critics Association Announces 2016 TCA Awards Winners |url=https://www.tvcritics.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2016&month=08&day=05&id=39:the-television-critics-association-announces-2016-tca-awards-winners |website=TV Critics |publisher=TCA |access-date=6 August 2016}} the International Documentary Association,{{cite web |title=IDA Documentary Awards: Complete Winners List |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/ida-documentary-awards-2016-complete-winners-list-954545/ |website=Hollywood Reporter |date=9 December 2016 |access-date=9 December 2016}} the Producers Guild of America,{{cite web |title=28th Producers Guild of America Awards |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Producers_Guild_of_America_Awards |website=Wikipedia}}{{Circular reference|date=October 2023}} Cinema Eye,{{cite web |last1=Erbland |first1=Kate |title=Cinema Eye Honors 2017 Winners List: 'Cameraperson' and 'O.J.: Made in America' Lead Awards |url=https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/cinema-eye-honors-2017-winners-1201767077/ |website=Indie Wire |access-date=11 January 2017}} the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences,{{cite web |title=Webby Film & Video Breakout of the Year |url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2016/specialachievement/255/making-a-murderer |website=The Webby Awards}} the Banff World Media Festival,{{cite web |title=Program of the Year |url=https://rockies.playbackonline.ca/Winners/Winner/2016}} the Online Film & Television Association,{{cite web |title=20th Annual TV Awards (2015-16) |url=https://www.oftaawards.com/television-awards/20th-annual-tv-awards-2015-16/ |website=OFTA Awards}} the University College Dublin Literary & Historical Society,{{cite web |title=James Joyce Award |url=https://www.her.ie/entertainment/making-a-murderer-makers-to-be-honoured-with-james-joyce-award-285829 |website=Wikipedia}} the American Bar Association{{cite web |title=Silver Gavel Awards |url=https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/public_education/silver-gavel/60-years-gavel.pdf |website=American Bar Association}} and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.{{cite web |title=THE 2016 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: MAKING A MURDERER |url=https://evidentchange.org/publication/the-2016-distinguished-achievement-award-making-a-murderer/ |website=Evident Change}}
In 2017, Ricciardi received an honorary doctor of law degree from New York Law School.{{cite web |title=Share the publication Save the publication to a stack Like to get better recommendations The publisher chose not to allow downloads for this publication Document details 2017 Commencement Program |date=18 February 2019 |url=https://issuu.com/nylslibrary/docs/2017_commencement_program |access-date=18 February 2019}}
= Honors & Awards =
= Nominations =
| class="wikitable"
|32nd Annual Television Critics Association Awards (2016) |Program of the Year |“The Americans,” FX “Fargo,” FX “Game of Thrones,” HBO “Making a Murderer,” Netflix “Mr. Robot,” USA “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX (WINNER) |
| British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), House of Fraser British Academy Television Awards (2016)
|RadioTimes Audience Award |The Great British Bake Off Poldark (WINNER) Making a Murderer Doctor Foster Peter Kay's Car Share |
| Critics Choice Association, 3rd Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (2018)
|Best Ongoing Documentary Series |30 for 30 American Masters Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (WINNER) Frontline Independent Lens Making a Murderer POV |
| Critics Choice Association, Inaugural Critics Choice Real TV Awards (2019)
|Crime/Justice Show |Betrayed (ID) Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix (WINNER) In Pursuit with John Walsh (ID) Making a Murderer: Part 2 (Netflix) |
| 21st Annual Jameson Empire Awards (2016)
|Best Documentary |Amy (WINNER) Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief He Named Me Malala The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Making a Murderer{{Citation |title=21st Empire Awards |date=2022-04-23 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=21st_Empire_Awards&oldid=1084239518 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=2023-09-26 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2016-02-18 |title=Jameson Empire Awards 2016: Star Wars and Mad Max lead the nominations |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/star-wars-mad-max-empire-awards-2016-nominations-2/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Empire |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=bauermediaadmin |date=2016-03-22 |title=The Jameson Empire Awards 2016 |url=https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/news/the-jameson-empire-awards-2016/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Bauer Media |language=en-GB}} |
| GALECA, The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, Dorian Awards (2016)
|Documentary of the Year (theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release) |Amy / A24 (WINNER) Best of Enemies / Magnolia Pictures, Magnet Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief / HBO Making a Murderer / Netflix What Happened, Miss Simone? / Netflix{{Cite web |title=GALECA :: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics :: Home of The Dorian Awards |url=https://galeca.org/past-winners/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=galeca.org}} |
Education
__NOTOC__
In 1992, Ricciardi received a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Manhattan College where she double-majored in English and government. Ricciardi was inducted into The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) and was selected to deliver the commencement address to the college’s Class of 1992. Ricciardi played Division I softball for the Manhattan College Jaspers and was named to the Academic All-America 2nd Team (1991, catcher).{{cite web |title=Academic All-America All-Time List |url=https://collegesportscommunicators.com/media/documents/2011/8/AAA_All_Time_List_Indivs_by_School_July_2011.pdf |ref=Page 220}}
In 1996, Ricciardi received a Juris Doctor cum laude from New York Law School,{{cite web |title=1996 Commencement Program |url=https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=commencement_progs |ref=P. 40}} where she served as an Articles Editor of The New York Law School Law Review. For a case comment she wrote for the Law Review,{{cite web |title=THE AFTERMATH OF UNITED STATES V. CARLTON: TAXPAYERS THE AFTERMATH OF UNITED STATES V. CARLTON: TAXPAYERS WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR CONGRESS'S MISTAKES WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR CONGRESS'S MISTAKES |url=https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2037&context=nyls_law_review}} Ricciardi was honored with an Otto L. Walter Distinguished Writing Award (Student Award, Day Division) for Outstanding Published Scholarly Writing.{{cite web |title=1996 Commencement Program |url=https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=commencement_progs |website=The New York Law School}} Ricciardi was a research assistant to NYLS professor Michael B.W. Sinclair, with whom she co-authored an article that was published in The University of Toledo Law Review.{{cite journal |title=Retroactive Civil Legislation |journal=Articles & Chapters |date=January 1996 |url=https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_articles_chapters/1159/ |publisher=University of Toledo Law Review |last1=Ricciardi |first1=Laura |last2=Sinclair |first2=Michael }} During law school, she served as a summer law clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI.
In 2007, Ricciardi received a Master of Fine Arts in film from Columbia University School of the Arts. She was honored twice with the Victoria Loconsolo Foundation Fellowship Screenwriting Award (2003 & 2004).
External links
- {{IMDb name|3309730}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
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Category:Manhattan College alumni
Category:New York Law School alumni
Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Category:American documentary film directors
Category:American television directors
Category:American LGBTQ film directors
Category:LGBTQ television directors
Category:American women documentary filmmakers
Category:21st-century American women