Erika Cohn  

Erika Cohn is a Peabody, Emmy and DGA Award-winning filmmaker who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers to watch and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika directed and produced the New York Times Critic’s Pick and Peabody Award-nominated Belly of the Beast, featuring the 2021 Oscar shortlisted original song, “See What You’ve Done” by Mary J. Blige. This powerful exposé of human rights abuses in women’s prisons opened in theatres and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens series last fall. Her current releases also include The New York Times Op-Docs short film, What You’ll Remember, a beautiful portrait of a family who reframes their experience of homelessness, now playing in theatres and at major film festivals. Previously, Erika directed and produced The Judge, a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a courts, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2018 Independent Lens series. She also co-directed and produced In Football We Trust, an Emmy Award-winning feature documentary about young Pacific Islander men pursuing their dreams of playing professional football, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2016 Independent Lens series. Her work has been supported by IFP, the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute, Chicken & Egg, Hot Docs, ITVS, Women in Film, Fork Films, SFFILM, IDFA and BAVC, among others. (7/25)

Available Title(s):


A Shot at History


A film by Erika Cohn, 2024, 23 min,

Though her work saves millions, Nita is haunted by the memory of her father and undertakes an emotional journey back to India, seeking to heal past wounds and grieve her late parents after decades away. Incorporating universal themes of identity, the American dream and family legacy, A SHOT AT HISTORY explores the profound intersection of…

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The Judge


A film by Erika Cohn, 2017, 81 min, Color

When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih walked into the office of Palestine’s Chief Justice and announced she wanted to join the bench. He laughed at her. But just a few years later, Kholoud became the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a (Islamic law) courts. Peabody winner and Emmy…

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Belly of the Beast


A film by Erika Cohn, 2020, 81 min, Color

When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes -- from inadequate health care…

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