Rudy Valdez
Rudy Valdez is an Emmy Award-winning Michigan-raised, New York City-based filmmaker committed to creating social, cultural, and political stories through a cinematic and meaningful lens. The Sentence (HBO), shot and directed by Valdez over the course of a decade, tells the very personal story of his sister’s plight in the criminal justice system while tackling subjects like mandatory minimums and sentencing reform. The Sentence won Valdez the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and the US Documentary Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Valdez’s most recent project, ReOpening Night, is a feature film about The Public Theater’s staging of a beloved New York City institution, Shakespeare in the Park. It premiered on HBO Max in December.
Crew
TV
30 for 30
Director of Photography
2009
Movie
The Sentence
Director
2018
Movie
Carlos
Producer
2023
TV
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015
Director
2025
TV
We Are: The Brooklyn Saints
Cinematography
2021
TV
Through Our Eyes
Director
2021
TV
Choir
Director
2024
Movie
Breakaway
Director
2021
Movie
Reopening Night
Director
2021
Movie
The Body Politic
Executive Producer
2024
Make Him Known
Director
2021
Movie
Buried Above Ground
Director of Photography
2015