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Quick facts for kids Ondi Timoner

Born	Andrea Doane Timoner Miami, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Film director, producer
Years active	1994–present
Children	1

Ondi Doane Timoner is an American filmmaker. She is known for directing and producing documentaries. Ondi has won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize twice for her films DIG! (2004) and WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009). Both of these films are now part of the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Her 2023 film, LAST FLIGHT HOME, was nominated for an Emmy award.

Ondi Timoner is a member of important film groups like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, and the Producers Guild of America. She also founded Interloper Films, a company that makes movies.

Early Life and Education
- College Years
Filmmaking Career
Other Projects
Advocacy Work
Selected Films
Awards and Recognition
Personal Life
See Also

Early Life and Education

Ondi Timoner was born in Miami, Florida. Her parents are Elissa and Eli Timoner. She has two siblings, Rachel and David. Her brother David helped her start Interloper Films and has worked with her on many projects.

College Years

Ondi went to Yale University. In 1992, she started a theater group there called the Yale Street Theater Troupe. They would perform plays in unexpected places. In 1993, she directed her first play.

She also started making documentary films while in college. Her first documentary was called THREE THOUSAND MILES AND WOMAN WITH A VIDEO CAMERA. She made it with her brother David and a friend, interviewing people during a road trip. She also made films exploring different topics, including one about women in prison. This led her to make her first feature film, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST. This film won an award at Yale University.

Ondi graduated from Yale in 1994 with honors. She studied American culture, film, literature, and theater.

Filmmaking Career

Ondi Timoner has directed many films, mostly documentaries, which are movies about real life.

First Films

Her first full-length documentary, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1994), looked at the story of Bonnie Jean Foreshaw. The film explored questions about fairness in the justice system.

Early in her career, Ondi also worked on documentaries for PBS, a public television network. She also interned with famous documentary filmmaker Helen Whitney. She gained experience working for NBC Media Services and on a project for Steven Spielberg that collected stories from people who survived the Holocaust.

Films of the 2000s

In 2000, Ondi created and directed a VH1 TV series called SOUND AFFECTS. This show explored how music affects people's lives at important moments.

Her film DIG! (2004) followed two music bands, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, for seven years. The film showed the complicated friendship between the band leaders. DIG! won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. It is now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Ondi also co-directed a short film called RECYCLE (2005). It was about a homeless person who created a garden in Los Angeles. This film was shown at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival. Her third feature documentary, JOIN US (2007), told the stories of families leaving a cult. It won awards at film festivals.

She also directed three music videos for the Jonas Brothers when they first signed with Columbia Records.

In 2009, Ondi's film WE LIVE IN PUBLIC premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. This film was about Josh Harris, an internet entrepreneur. WE LIVE IN PUBLIC won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at Sundance.

Films of the 2010s

Ondi directed COOL IT (2010), a film based on a book about global warming. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Her next film, LIBRARY OF DUST (2011), was about thousands of containers of ashes found at the Oregon State Hospital. This film won Grand Jury Prizes at several festivals. THE LAST MILE (2015) was a short film about a technology program inside San Quentin State Prison.

Ondi's sixth feature documentary, BRAND: A SECOND COMING (2015), was about comedian and activist Russell Brand. It was the opening night film at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival.

In 2016, Ondi filmed a project about a sustainability program in the Panamaian Jungle called Kalu Yala. This footage became a ten-hour TV series called JUNGLETOWN (2017) for Viceland.

In 2018, Ondi released her first narrative film, MAPPLETHORPE. This movie was based on the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. It starred Matt Smith and was nominated for an award at the Tribeca Festival. The film was released in theaters in 2019. A special "Director's Cut" version was released in 2021.

Films of the 2020s

In 2020, Ondi directed COMING CLEAN, a documentary about people recovering from difficult challenges. The film won awards at film festivals.

Ondi's 2022 film, LAST FLIGHT HOME, tells the story of her father, Eli Timoner. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and was later nominated for an Emmy. In 2023, Ondi finished her documentary THE NEW AMERICANS: GAMING A REVOLUTION, which premiered at SXSW.

She has also directed ALL GOD'S CHILDREN, which follows a rabbi and a reverend as they bring their communities together to fight against racism and prejudice in Brooklyn. Another film she directed is THE INN BETWEEN, about a special facility that helps homeless people who are very sick.

On January 7, 2025, Ondi's home in Altadena was destroyed by a fire while she was filming in Rome. She lost many important items, including film footage, family memories, and equipment.

Other Projects

Ondi Timoner also created and produced A TOTAL DISRUPTION (2012). This was a website with many short films and classes. It shared the stories of people who started internet companies and artists who used technology in new ways.

Her short film OBEY THE ARTIST (2013) was about graphic artist Shepard Fairey. Another short film, AMANDA ... PALMER ON THE ROCKS (2014), was about musician Amanda Palmer. It won an award at the Sheffield DocFest.

Advocacy Work

In May 2023, Ondi Timoner and her family partnered with an organization called Compassion & Choices. They worked together to support the right for people with serious illnesses to make choices about their end-of-life care. They screened LAST FLIGHT HOME and shared their family's story to help change laws. In June 2023, Ondi and her family went to Washington D.C. to talk about this important issue with lawmakers.

Selected Films

Feature Films

DIG! (2004)
JOIN US (2007)
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009)
COOL IT (2010)
BRAND: A SECOND COMING (2015)
MAPPLETHORPE (2018)
COMING CLEAN (2020)
MAPPLETHORPE: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (2021)
LAST FLIGHT HOME (2022)
THE NEW AMERICANS: GAMING A REVOLUTION (2023)
DIG! XX (2024)
THE INN BETWEEN (2024)
ALL GOD'S CHILDREN (2024)

Short Films

RECYCLE (2004)
LIBRARY OF DUST (2011)
AMANDA ... PALMER ON THE ROCKS (2014)
RUSSELL BRAND'S THE BIRDS (2014)
OBEY THE ARTIST (2014)
THE LAST MILE (2015)
3000 MILES AND WOMAN WITH A VIDEO CAMERA

Television Projects

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (TV, 1994)
SOUND AFFECTS (TV, 2000)
JUNGLETOWN (TV, 2017)

Awards and Recognition

Ondi Timoner has received many awards for her films:

1999 — Nominated for a Grammy Award for a music video she directed for the band Fastball.
2004 — Won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival for Dig!.
2004 — Won Best Director Jury Prize at BendFilm Festival for Dig!.
2007 — Won Special Jury Prize at the Sidewalk Film Festival for Join Us.
2007 — Won Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Short at Seattle International Film Festival for Library of Dust.
2009 — Won Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival for We Live in Public.
2015 — Won No Limits Award at the Ashland Independent Film Festival for Brand: A Second Coming.
2015 — Won Dramatic Storytelling Award at the Sarasota Film Festival for Brand: A Second Coming.
2014 — Won Sheffield Short Doc Award at the Sheffield DocFest for Amanda ... Palmer on the Rocks.
2017 — Received the Kodak Auteur Award.
2018 — Won Audience Awards at Sidewalk Film Festival and Tribeca Festival for Mapplethorpe.
2018 — Won Best Director at Long Beach International Film Festival for Mapplethorpe.
2020 — Won Impact Award at the Naples International Film Festival for Coming Clean.
2020 — Won Special Jury Prize for Editing at Sidewalk Film Festival for Coming Clean.
2022 — Selected for Special Screenings at Sundance Film Festival for Last Flight Home.
2022 — Won Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence at DOC NYC for Last Flight Home.
2022 — Won Best Feature Documentary Award at Dallas International Film Festival for Last Flight Home.
2022 — Won Filmmaker Impact Award at Hamptons Documentary Festival for Last Flight Home.
2022 — Won Best Documentary Feature at Woodstock Film Festival for Last Flight Home.
2022 — Won Critics Choice Award at Key West Film Festival for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at Girls on Film Awards for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Nominated for a WGA Award for Documentary Screenplay for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Received "The Unforgettables" Award from Cinema Eye Honors for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Nominated for the Audience Choice Prize at Cinema Eye Honors for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars for Last Flight Home.
2023 — Received an Emmy Nomination for Exceptional Merit for Last Flight Home.

Personal Life

Ondi Timoner is the daughter of Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida. She has two siblings. Ondi has one son, who was born in 2003. She married composer Morgan Doctor at the Telluride Film Festival in 2022.