Mark Jonathan Harris

Mark Jonathan Harris was born on October 28, 1941, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He attended Harvard University, where he completed his education before pursuing a career in documentary film making.

Harris began his career in documentary filmmaking in the late 1960s. His first major success came with Huelga! (1967), a documentary about Cesar Chavez and the groundbreaking farmworkers strike in Delano, California. He followed this with The Redwoods (1968), a film he wrote and co-produced for the Sierra Club to help establish a Redwoods National Park and which won an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary.{{Cite web |title=Mark Jonathan Harris {{!}} ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER & PROFESSOR AT USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS |url=https://natfluence.com/interview/mharris/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=natfluence |language=en-US}}{{Citation |last=Greenwood |first=Trevor |title=The Redwoods |type=Documentary, Short |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062184/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |others=Kieth Griggs, William Turner |publisher=King Screen Productions}} He gained international recognition for The Long Way Home (1997), a feature-length documentary on the aftermath of the Holocaust, which won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.{{Cite web |title=USC Cinematic Arts {{!}} Directory of SCA Faculty |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/faculty/profile.cfm?id=6530&first=&last=&title=&did=50&referer=facultydirectory.cfm&startpage=1&startrow=91 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=cinema.usc.edu}}

In 2000, Harris wrote and directed Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, a documentary chronicling the British rescue mission that saved 10,000 Jewish children during World War II. The film received critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. It was later selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry.{{Citation |last=Harris |first=Mark Jonathan |title=Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport |date=2000-11-24 |type=Documentary, History, War |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248912/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |others=Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel |publisher=Sabine Films, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum}}

Harris continued to focus on socially and politically significant issues in his work. He co-wrote and co-directed Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2016), a film about the Ukrainian fight for independence, which garnered multiple awards at international film festivals.{{Cite web |title=Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6561394/mediaviewer/rm41169408/?ref_=tt_ov_i |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}} His HBO documentary Foster (2019), which examined the foster care system in Los Angeles,{{Citation |last=Harris |first=Mark Jonathan |title=Foster |type=Documentary |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8403246/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |others=Earcylene Beavers, Jessica Chandler, Jacqueline Chun |publisher=Sabine Films}} was nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America.{{Citation |title=Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay |date=2024-06-09 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America_Award_for_Best_Documentary_Screenplay |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=en}}

In recent years, Harris has returned to making films centered on contemporary social and political issues. His projects include Darfur Now (2007), a documentary about the genocide in Darfur, which received the NAACP Image Award, and Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (2008), which focuses on the medical humanitarian organization and was shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary.{{Cite web |title=Mark J. Harris |url=https://americanfilmshowcase.com/envoys/mark-j-harris/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=American Film Showcase |language=en}} Women of the Gulag (2018), a film he executive produced,{{Citation |title=Women of the Gulag |date=2024-01-16 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_of_the_Gulag#:~:text=Executive%20Produced%20by%20Mitchell%20Block,at%20the%202018%20Academy%20Awards. |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=en}} was also shortlisted by the Academy for Best Short Documentary.  Harris also served as Consulting Producer for the PBS series Asian Americans (2021), which won a Peabody Award.{{Cite web |title=Asian Americans |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/asian-americans/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Peabody Awards |language=en-US}}

Harris has written five children's novels, which have won numerous awards, including the FOCAL Award for best children’s book about California for Come the Morning (1989).{{Citation |last=Sajbel |first=Michael O. |title=Come the Morning |date=2024-09-12 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162252/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |others=Susan Howard, Travis Knight, Heather Ramsey |publisher=World Wide Pictures (WWP)}}  He is also co-author of the book version of Into the Arms of Strangers.{{Citation |title=Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport |date=2024-10-03 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Arms_of_Strangers:_Stories_of_the_Kindertransport |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=en}}{{Citation |last=Harris |first=Mark Jonathan |title=Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport |date=2000-11-24 |type=Documentary, History, War |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248912/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |others=Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel |publisher=Sabine Films, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum}}  In addition to his work in children's literature, Harris has published short stories and articles in various national newspapers and magazines. His most recent literary work, Misfits , a collection of short stories, was published in 2023  and was an Editor’s Choice of Publishers Weekly BookLife.

Harris was a faculty member at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for 40 years, teaching courses in documentary filmmaking and screenwriting.{{Cite web |title=USC Cinematic Arts {{!}} Directory of SCA Faculty |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/faculty/profile.cfm?id=6530&first=&last=&title=&did=50&referer=facultydirectory.cfm&startpage=1&startrow=91 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=cinema.usc.edu}} From 2012 to 2023, he also served as co-principal investigator of the American Film Showcase, the flagship film and TV diplomacy program of the U.S State Department.{{Cite web |date=2013-06-10 |title=Voices of America: Film Showcase Gears up for Year Two {{!}} International Documentary Association |url=https://www.documentary.org/feature/voices-america-film-showcase-gears-year-two |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.documentary.org |language=en}}  In 2023, he was named Emeritus Distinguished Professor in recognition of his contributions to the university.

• The Redwoods (1968) – Writer, co-producer.
• The Long Way Home (1997) – Writer, director.  
• Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) – Writer, director.  
• Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2016) – Co-writer, co-director  
• Foster (2019) – Writer, director  
• Darfur Now (2007) – Producer  
• Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (2008) – Executive Producer  
• Women of the Gulag (2018) – Executive Producer

1. Academy Award for Best Short Documentary for The Redwoods (1968).{{Cite web |date=2014-10-04 |title=The 40th Academy Awards {{!}} 1968 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}
2. Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for The Long Way Home (1997).{{Cite web |title=The Long Way Home |url=https://www.moriahfilms.com/film-library/the-long-way-home.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.moriahfilms.com}}
3. Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000).{{Citation |title=Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport |date=2024-10-03 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Arms_of_Strangers:_Stories_of_the_Kindertransport |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=en}}
4. Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming for Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003).{{Cite web |title=Unchained Memories: Readings From The Slave Narrat |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/unchained-memories-readings-slave-narrat |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}
5. Scholarship and Preservation Award of the International Documentary Association (2010).{{Cite web |title=IDA Documentary Awards 2010 {{!}} International Documentary Association |url=https://www.documentary.org/awards2010 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.documentary.org |language=en}}
6. Writers Guild of America Nomination for Best Documentary Screenplay for Foster (2019).{{Cite web |title=2020 Writers Guild Awards Screenplay Nominations Announced |url=https://www.wga.org/news-events/news/press/2020-writers-guild-awards-screenplay-nominations-announced |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.wga.org |language=en}}
7. USC  Associates Award for Artistic Excellence (2021)
8. Peabody Award for Asian Americans (2021).{{Cite web |title=Asian Americans |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/asian-americans/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Peabody Awards |language=en-US}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=0365069|name=Mark Jonathan Harris}}
• [http://www.markjonathanharris.com Mark Jonathan Harris - Official Website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Mark}}

Category:American documentary filmmakers

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:University of Southern California faculty

Category:Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners

Category:1941 births

Category:Living people