At The Atlantic, I created a documentary series.
My goals were to bring cinematic short documentaries to an audience that was accustomed to long-form journalism, thereby expanding The Atlantic into global and more diverse demographics through YouTube. I also hoped to establish a footprint in the film industry by creating an online film festival. I built the series into an international destination for the best short docs on the internet—with more than 250 films, 400 million lifetime views, 500k YouTube subscribers, and an Oscar nomination. For each film, I wrote an accompanying article on theatlantic.com.
Read this interview for more on Selects.
The Loneliness EpidemicWatch some of my favorites below, or watch them all here.
The Balloonfest That Went Horribly Wrong
The Lost World of Transhumance
A Day in the Life of a Sniper in Syria
An Act of Love and Trust
The Death of the Church
The Love Between Man and Beast
My Mother’s Ghost Story
The Photograph That Changed How We See the World
An Autodidact in Tajikistan
Ghost Stories Keep the Roma Alive
Atomic Veterans Break the Silence
The Reality of Video Game Addiction
A Monk’s Son Struggles to Find Meaning
An Unflinching Look at Parenting Special-Needs Kids
The 11-Year-Old Environmentalist
A Disturbing New Reality in Criminal Court
He Served the Longest Sentence of Any Innocent U.S. Inmate
The Future of Food is Zero Waste
The Tax Experiment That Failed
An Architectural Tour of Post-apocalyptic Manhattan
The Double Life of a Truck Driver
A Kidnapped Child's Disturbing ArtA Day in the Life of a Sniper in Syria
Chinese Rappers Will Not Be Silenced
Millions of Chinese Kids Are Parenting Themselves
Through the Eyes of Deaf Children
A 97-Year-Old Philosopher Ponders Life and Death
A Devastating Story of Hate and Murder
A Russian Mail-Order Bride and a Jaw-Dropping Twist
A Quirky Menagerie of Disabled Animals
A Famous Chef's Heartbreaking Regret