Joshua Seftel is an Academy Award-nominated director and producer known for directing the Emmy-winning groundbreaking series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the Oscar-nominated short documentary Stranger at the Gate, Executive Produced by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, the feature film War, Inc. starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei and Ben Kingsley, and the comedy series, My Mom on Movies he makes with his 86-year-old mother, Pat, which became a regular segment throughout the pandemic on CBS Sunday Morning. The New York Times wrote, "the word 'droll' seems as if it were invented for these two."
Seftel received his first Emmy nomination at age 22 with his documentary Lost and Found about Romania’s orphaned children. The film led to the American adoption of thousands of Romanian orphans. He followed this with several documentaries including the political campaign film Taking on the Kennedys, selected by Time Magazine as one of the “ten best of the year”; the underdog sports film The Home Team which premiered at SXSW, and the behind-the-scenes film about Annie’s Broadway revival It’s the Hard Knock Life which the New York Times called “delightful.” His 2016 award-winning documentary The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano, produced with Geralyn Dreyfous and Steve Tisch, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, won the IDA Documentary Award, and became the most viewed New York Times Op-Doc of the year.
He continues to helm the ongoing documentary series he created, Secret Life of Muslims, a Peabody Award Finalist and Emmy nominee. The timely personal short films which combat Islamophobia have more than 70 million views to date. His newest documentary, Stranger at the Gate, Executive Produced by Malala Yousafzai, was born from the series and released by The New Yorker. The film was nominated for a 2023 Academy Award®.
Seftel's first foray into narrative film, Breaking the Mold, gained cult status on the film festival circuit and caught the attention of filmmaker Alexander Payne, who championed him as a director. Seftel went on to direct the political satire War, Inc. which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and played in theaters across the globe.
Seftel is a contributor to the Peabody Award-winning program This American Life, and his essays have appeared on NPR and in The New York Times.
In the summer of 2021, Seftel signed on to direct the music video marking the reopening of New York City featuring Stephen Colbert, Idina Menzel, Sara Bareilles, Suzanne Vega, and others singing Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind. The film launched Clive Davis’ Homecoming Concert in Central Park, played at Citi Field, in every New York City taxi cab, and quickly became a social media hit. It has been seen tens of millions of times.
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, filmmaker Erika Frankel, and their two young daughters.
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS
Academy Award®, Best Short Documentary Nominee, 2022
Tribeca Film Festival, Special Jury Mention, 2022
Critics Choice Documentary Award, Nominee, 2022
Indy Shorts, Grand Jury Prize, Winner, 2022
Emmy Award, Winner, 2022, 2005, 2004
Emmy Award, Nominee, 2021, 2017, 2010, 2009, 2005, 1993
Official Selection Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, 2020
MPAC Media Awards, Honoree (with Sir Bob Geldof and Lena Khan), 2018
P.T. Barnum Awards, Honoree, Tufts University, 2018
International Documentary Association, Winner (with The New York Times Op-Docs), 2017
American International Broadcast Award, Winner, 2017
Fearless Ally Award, Nominee, El-Hibri Foundation, 2017
Peabody Awards, Finalist, 2016
South by Southwest Film Festival, Grand Jury Award Nominee, 2016, 2014
Goldziher Prize for Excellent Journalism covering American Muslims, 2016
Full Frame, Best Short Documentary Nominee, 2016
Tribeca Film Festival, Jury Award Nominee, 2015, 2008
Sheffield Doc/Fest: Best Short Documentary Nominee, 2015
Kavli Science Journalism Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2014, 2011
James Beard Awards, Nominee, 2012
Daytime Emmy Nomination, Outstanding Children's Series, 2011, 2010, 2009
Environmental Media Awards, Winner, 2004
GLAAD Media Awards Winner, 2004
National Arts Journalism Program Fellow, Columbia University, 2002-2003
The Best of 1996, Time Magazine, 1996
