Sonia Kennebeck in the field in black and white
Sonia Kennebeck
Photo: Codebreaker Films
2023 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient
Website
Sonia Kennebeck looking directly at the camera. She is standing in a green field with a tree in the background and is holding a photo lens. Black and white portrait

Sonia Kennebeck (she/her) is an award-winning director, producer, and investigative journalist. Her directing credits include critically-acclaimed feature films United States vs. Reality Winner (SXSW 2021), Enemies of the State (TIFF 2020), and National Bird (Berlinale Special 2016).

Her work screened at major festivals and in theaters, and has been widely distributed through Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS, ARD, and IFC Films. Enemies of the State reached the top of the iTunes independent film and documentary charts, and her Op-Docs- The New York Times film From Journalist to Hostage has over 5 million views on YouTube.

Kennebeck received the 2021 Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award and was on DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 list. Her debut feature National Bird (executive produced by Wim Wenders and Errol Morris), about the US drone war, was awarded the Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize and an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary.

In 2016, Foreign Policy Magazine recognized Kennebeck as one of 100 Leading Global Thinkers. She was also one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, and has received grants from most major film foundations, including the Sundance Institute, as well as sponsorships from Canon and Avid. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kennebeck is a first-generation college graduate, was born in Malaysia, grew up in Germany, and lives in New York.

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