Ramona S. Diaz is an Asian-American filmmaker known for her compelling character-driven documentaries that combine a profound appreciation for cinematic aesthetics and potent storytelling. Her work demonstrates an uncanny ability to gain intimate access to the people she films—including rock stars, first ladies, dissidents, teachers, or mothers—resulting in keenly observed moments and nuanced narratives. While her films focus on stories of Filipinos and Filipino Americans, her work tells universal truths about the human condition.

Her films have screened and won awards at Sundance, the Berlinale, Tribeca, and the Viennale among many other top-tier festivals. Diaz’s film, Motherland, won an award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and had its international premiere at the Berlinale. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a Peabody. Diaz was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in 2016 and in 2017 she received a Women at Sundance Fellowship and a Chicken & Egg Pictures Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.