Karen Thorsen

Award-winning writer / filmmaker Karen Thorsen finds inspiration at the intersection of art and social justice.  Her heroes are game-changers, the artist / activists who shape history – and her films tell their stories without narration, weaving first-person narratives with archival treasures.  ‘Cinéma Vérité Passé.’ Thorsen began as a writer.  After graduating from Vassar College, with a year at the Sorbonne in Paris, she was an editor for Simon & Schuster, a journalist for LIFE Magazine, and a foreign correspondent for TIME.  Screenwriting followed, then directing. Along with numerous NEH awards, Thorsen has been honored by multiple grants and fellowships from Ford, NYSCA, NEA, CPB, ITVS and others.