BIOGRAPHY

Andrew Abrahams (formerly credited as Andy Abrahams Wilson) is an Emmy-nominated, two-time Academy Award–shortlisted director and producer of creative non-fiction films, and the president of Open Eye Pictures. With director credits spanning more than 15 documentary films, he is also a cinematographer and photographer.

He studied at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema, where he earned a master’s degree in Visual Anthropology. His work emphasizes visual storytelling as a means of bridging disparate people, perspectives, and ideas.

Andrew’s films often engage controversial subjects while maintaining a commitment to compassion and complexity. His recent feature COMPLICATED (2025) premiered at Slamdance and debuted on Apple TV, while DOG WARRIORS (2024) received the Spirit of Raindance Award at the Raindance Film Festival. Both films qualified for consideration for the 2026 Academy Awards.

His documentary short IN THE CROSSHAIRS (2023) was Academy Award–shortlisted, won nine major awards including Best Short Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival, and aired nationally on PBS. His earlier film ALFREDO’S FIRE/IL FUOCO DI ALFREDO (2013) premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and received the CINE Jury Award for Best Independent Documentary.

Andrew’s THE GROVE (2011), funded by ITVS, aired nationally on PBS and won Best Documentary at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. His feature UNDER OUR SKIN (2008), released theatrically and acquired by Netflix, won seven Best Documentary awards and was Academy Award–shortlisted. Its sequel, UNDER OUR SKIN 2: EMERGENCE (2014), received top honors from the National Health Information Association. His directorial debut, BUBBEH LEE & ME (1996), was Emmy-nominated and acquired by HBO.

A recipient of a Pew Fellowship in Dance/Media, Andrew is a two-time Grand Prize winner at the Dance on Camera Film Festival. He has served as a board director of New Day Films and the Jewish Film Institute, and is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. His work has been recognized by the Marin Arts Council and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for outstanding documentary achievement.

In addition to filmmaking, Andrew teaches workshops on visual storytelling, including Intimacy & Exposure: The Alchemy of Photography at the Esalen Institute.

HONORS

• Academy Award Semifinalist (two times), Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

• National Emmy Award Nomination, National Association of Television Arts & Sciences

• Outstanding Documentary Achievement, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

• Outstanding Artist Award, Marin Arts Council

• Pew Charitable Trusts Fellowship, UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance

• Certificate of Distinguished Achievement, International Documentary Association

• CINE Best Documentary & Golden Eagle Awards

• Best Cinematography, National Health & Medical Media Awards

• Visionary Award, Turn the Corner Foundation

FILMOGRAPHY

• Complicated, 2025 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• My Underground Mother, 2025 (Camera)

• Dog Warriors, 2024 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• In the Crosshairs, 2022 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Adam, 2020 (Supervising Producer)

• Under Our Skin 2: Emergence, 2014 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• Alfredo's Fire, 2014 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• The Grove, 2010 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• Under Our Skin, 2008 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• The Caregivers, 2007 (Producer, Director, Camera)

• Murder in Mesopotamia, 2005 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Returning Home, 2003 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Hope Is The Thing With Feathers, 1999 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Casualty, 1999 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Bubbeh Lee & Me, 1996 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Embracing Earth, 1995 (Director, Camera, Editor)

• Positive Motion, 1991 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• A Mother's Love, 1990 (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor)

• Twisted, Blind Dog Films, 2005 (Director of Photography)

• The Self-Made Man, Bernal Beach Productions, 2004 (Camera)

• Child of Our Time, Verite Productions, 2004 (Camera, Editor)

• Touched, Blind Dog Films, 2003 (Director of Photography, Co-Producer)

• The Faithful, Fish in the Hand Productions, 2004 (Camera)

• Daddy & Papa, Persistent Visions, 2002 (Camera)

• The Wisdom Body, Naked Voice Productions, 2001 (Camera, Editor)

• Fighter, Amir Bar-Lev Productions, 1999 (Editorial Consultant, Translator)

• From Pieces to Wholeness, Big Picture Productions, 1998 (Camera)

• The Healers of 400 Parnassus, Laura Gabbert Productions, 1997 (Camera)

• Acting Out, Betsy Weiss Productions, 1997 (Camera)

• The Choice of A Lifetime, Nila Bogue Productions, 1995 (Camera)