Directed credits
27
Established
Strong directing catalog.
Director
Sam Pollard
Directing
Career Snapshot
ExplainedThese indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.
TMDB popularity
0.5
Low visibility
TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.
Directed movies: 18Directed series: 9All crew credits: 81
TMDB ID: 18747
IMDb ID: nm0689498
Known for: Directing
Born: April 20, 1945
Age: 80
Place of birth: Harlem, New York, USA
Gender: Male
Adult content flag: No
Career span: 1981 - 2026
Years active: 46
Average TMDB rating: 6.65
Wikidata: Q3471205
Also known as
Samuel D. Pollard • Samuel Pollard
Frequent jobs
Director (27)Editor (26)Executive Producer (11)Producer (7)Consulting Producer (4)Editorial Consultant (2)Additional Editing (1)Co-Producer (1)Consulting Editor (1)
Biography
Samuel D. Pollard (born 20 April, 1945; Harlem) is an American documentary director, producer and editor. His films have garnered numerous awards such as Peabodys, Emmys, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2020, the International Documentary Association gave him a career achievement award. Spike Lee, whose films Pollard has edited and produced, described him as being "a master filmmaker." Henry Louis Gates Jr. characterizes his work in this way: "When I think about his documentaries, they add up to a corpus — a way of telling African-American history in its various dimensions."
Movies
Directed Movies
Movies directed by Sam Pollard.
I Was Born This Way
Director
2025 Movie
3.7
Ol' Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys
Director
2024 Movie
3.5
South to Black Power
Director
2023 Movie
6.5
The League
Director
2023 Movie
1.5
Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
Director
2022 Movie
4.2
Citizen Ashe
Director
2021 Movie
6.9
Black Art: In the Absence of Light
Director
2021 Movie
6.9
MLK/FBI
Director
2020 Movie
7.0
Mr. SOUL!
Director
2018 Movie
5.2
Maynard
Director
2017 Movie
6.9
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
Director
2017 Movie
8.0
The Talk: Race in America
Director
2017 Movie
7.2
Two Trains Runnin'
Director
2016 Movie
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Director
2015 Movie
7.2
Slavery by Another Name
Director
2012 Movie
8.0
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
Director
2008 Movie
John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend
Director
2006 Movie
1.0
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Director
2001 Movie
Series
Directed Series
Series directed by Sam Pollard.
9.0
Photographer
Director • 1 eps
2024 Series
7.2
Bill Russell: Legend
Director • 2 eps
2023 Series
6.1
Hostages
Director • 2 eps
2022 Series
6.7
Why We Hate
Director • 6 eps
2019 Series
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Director • 4 eps
2002 Series
6.5
Independent Lens
Director • 1 eps
1999 Series
6.6
American Experience
Director • 3 eps
1988 Series
6.2
Eyes on the Prize
Director • 2 eps
1987 Series
7.5
American Masters
Director • 4 eps
1986 Series
Movies
Top Rated Movies
Highest rated movies linked with Sam Pollard.
7.4
Inside Man
Additional Editing
2006 Movie
7.2
Juice
Editor
1992 Movie
6.8
The Perfect Neighbor
Executive Producer
2025 Movie
6.7
Clockers
Editor
1995 Movie
6.5
Mo' Better Blues
Editor
1990 Movie
6.4
Jungle Fever
Editor
1991 Movie
6.2
Bamboozled
Editor
2000 Movie
6.1
Surviving the Game
Editor
1994 Movie
5.7
Private Resort
Editor
1985 Movie
5.0
Girl 6
Editor
1996 Movie
Movies
Most Popular Movies
Most viewed movie titles linked with Sam Pollard.
7.4
Inside Man
Additional Editing
2006 Movie
6.2
Bamboozled
Editor
2000 Movie
6.8
The Perfect Neighbor
Executive Producer
2025 Movie
6.0
LIFT
Executive Producer
2023 Movie
5.0
Girl 6
Editor
1996 Movie
8.5
Wrestle
Consulting Producer
2018 Movie
4.3
Gerrymandering
Editor
2010 Movie
Metropolitan Cats
Editor
1983 Movie
6.4
Jungle Fever
Editor
1991 Movie
Forever Young
Editor
1981 Movie
7.2
Juice
Editor
1992 Movie
7.0
Mr. SOUL!
Director
2018 Movie
Series
Most Popular Series
Most viewed series linked with Sam Pollard.
6.6
American Experience
Director • 3 eps
1988 Series
7.5
American Masters
Director • 4 eps
1986 Series
6.5
Independent Lens
Director • 1 eps
1999 Series
7.2
The Blues
Producer • 1 eps
2003 Series
6.2
Eyes on the Prize
Director • 2 eps
1987 Series
6.4
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water
Executive Producer • 3 eps
2025 Series
7.2
Bill Russell: Legend
Director • 2 eps
2023 Series
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Director • 4 eps
2002 Series
9.0
Photographer
Director • 1 eps
2024 Series
6.7
Why We Hate
Director • 6 eps
2019 Series
6.2
Tiger
Executive Producer • 2 eps
2021 Series
6.1
Hostages
Director • 2 eps
2022 Series
Movies
Other Crew Work in Movies
Additional movie credits for Sam Pollard.
Natchez
Executive Producer
2026 Movie
6.8
The Perfect Neighbor
Executive Producer
2025 Movie
Keeper
Executive Producer
2024 Movie
6.0
Black Table
Executive Producer
2024 Movie
7.0
Carlos
Producer
2023 Movie
6.0
LIFT
Executive Producer
2023 Movie
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Producer
2023 Movie
The Picture Taker
Editorial Consultant
2022 Movie
Outta the Muck
Executive Producer
2022 Movie
7.0
Hold Your Fire
Consulting Producer
2021 Movie
6.0
A Crime on the Bayou
Consulting Producer
2021 Movie
4.0
Civil War (Or, Who Do We Think We Are)
Executive Producer
2021 Movie
7.3
D. Wade: Life Unexpected
Producer
2020 Movie
Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
Consulting Producer
2020 Movie
8.5
Wrestle
Consulting Producer
2018 Movie
5.0
Acorn and the Firestorm
Producer
2017 Movie
Series
Other Crew Work in Series
Additional series credits for Sam Pollard.
6.4
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water
Executive Producer • 3 eps
2025 Series
6.2
Tiger
Executive Producer • 2 eps
2021 Series
7.1
Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children
Producer • 5 eps
2020 Series
6.5
If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise
Editor • 2 eps
2010 Series
7.2
The Blues
Producer • 1 eps
2003 Series
Movies
Acting Appearances in Movies
Movie cast credits for Sam Pollard.
