Dyana Winkler

One of Variety's 2018 top 10 documentary filmmakers to watch for, Dyana Winkler straddles the worlds of both fiction and documentary, believing that filmmaking is less about the genre, and more about the ability listen and tell a good story. Her most recent fiction project, a feature screenplay, BELL, has been awarded the 2016 Sundance Sloan Commissioning Grant, participated in the 2017 Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab, and the 2017 SFFILM Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship. Her documentary, UNITED SKATES, which she wrote, co-directed and produced, screened at over 140 film festivals, won 15 Best Documentary and Audience Awards including at its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. UNITED SKATES is executive produced by John Legend, features Salt 'n' Peppa, Coolio and Naughty By Nature, and is currently available on HBO.


Chosen Interviews:


Creative Resources:

  • Podcasts: 
    • THE TED INTERVIEW/TED Talks
    • THIS AMERICAN LIFE
    • SCRIPTNOTES
    • WAIT, WAIT DON'T TELL ME (a way to stay up to date on the news with humor so I don't want to give up daily)
    • MY FAVORITE MURDER (when you just need a good story to free your head from life)
  • Books: (These are more, just good to have in your library/have read once in your life)
    • THE WRITERS JOURNEY
    • HERO WITH 1000 FACES
    • HOW TO WRITE A MOVIE IN 21 DAYS (cheesy but amazing book for structure)
    • SAVE THE CAT