Abby Ellis is a Peabody and Emmy nominated Director who makes films about the moments and institutions that shape us.

Her film, FLINT’S DEADLY WATER, was a multi-year investigation that exposed an unusually high number of deaths from a deadly disease outbreak during the Flint water crisis, the negligence of officials who allowed it to continue and the efforts to obstruct the legal and scientific investigations around it. In 2020 she was the Hollyhock Filmmaker-in-Residence at PBS, where she wrote, directed and produced SHOTS FIRED, an unflinching look at the high rate of police shootings in Utah. Prior to that, Abby produced AMERICA DIVIDED, an original docu-series executive produced by Norman Lear and Shonda Rhimes, which featured narratives around inequality in America woven into an eight-story, five-part series. Abby’s work has earned her a Peabody Award, several Emmy nominations, an Edward R. Murrow Award, a Scripps Howard Award, an Izzy Award and other honors. 

In 2023 Abby was selected for DOCNYC’s “40 Under 40” list. She is a member of the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association and serves frequently in the industry as a juror, panelist and moderator for film festivals and funding panels. She regularly guest lectures at colleges and universities, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s film school. Abby is an active member of the Video Consortium where she helped build a comprehensive, community-driven database that offers nonfiction filmmakers timely insight into the constantly evolving hiring trends and pay parity practices.

At the start of her career Abby spent six years at VICE where she developed, produced and edited some of the network’s most pivotal channels and award-winning shows, from character-driven social and cultural documentaries to the news magazine series VICE on HBO. 

Abby is currently in production on her first independent feature. She is represented by UTA and Ramo Law.