Ezra Edelman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ezra Edelman
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Edelman at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards, 2011
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Ezra Benjamin Edelman
August 6, 1974 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Yale University (BA) |
| Occupation | Television director, television producer |
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| Relatives | Jonah Edelman (brother) |
Ezra Benjamin Edelman (born August 6, 1974) is an American documentary producer and director. He is known for creating films that tell real-life stories. He won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. These awards were for his work on O.J.: Made in America (2016).
Early Life and Education
Ezra Edelman was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother is Marian Wright Edelman, a civil rights leader. She helped Martin Luther King Jr. and started the Children's Defense Fund. His father is Peter Edelman, who worked with Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Peter Edelman is also a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
Ezra has two brothers, Joshua and Jonah. His parents were part of an important moment in history. They had one of the first interracial marriages in Virginia. This happened after the U.S. Supreme Court said laws against interracial marriage were wrong.
Edelman went to Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C.. He finished there in July 1992. Later, he earned his college degree from Yale University.
Career in Documentaries
Ezra Edelman is famous for his work on O.J.: Made in America. This documentary film came out in 2016. It was made for ESPN's 30 for 30 series. When he accepted his Oscar, Edelman spoke about Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
He has also directed other documentaries for HBO Sports. These include Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. He also directed The Curious Case of Curt Flood (2011). Another one was the Emmy Award-winning Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush.
Edelman also wrote and directed Requiem for the Big East. This film was about the former Big East Conference. It was also part of the 30 for 30 series. He produced Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas, an HBO series.
In 2024, Edelman produced Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. for HBO. This documentary was about Stax Records, a famous music company.
Documentary About Prince
For over five years, Edelman worked on a documentary about the musician Prince. It was planned to be a nine-hour, six-part series. He started this project for Netflix in 2019. He was promised access to Prince's special archive of unreleased music and videos.
Netflix reportedly paid a lot of money for this access. The deal gave Edelman and Netflix control over the film's content. However, things changed during the project. The people in charge of Prince's estate had concerns about how Prince was shown. They tried to stop the film from being released.
As of July 2025, the documentary has not been released. Prince's estate announced in February 2025 that this documentary would not come out. Instead, a new film about Prince would be made without Edelman. Edelman mentioned in an interview that he did not want to be sued.
Personal Life
Ezra Edelman lives in Brooklyn, New York City.
