Rita Baghdadi is an Emmy award-winning director, producer and cinematographer known for the intimacy of her bold, character-driven films.
SIRENS premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary category and won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest among many other awards. The film was praised as “utterly charming” by the Hollywood Reporter, “deeply moving,” and “narrative perfection.” Released in theaters across the U.S by Oscilloscope, it is now available to stream. Most recently, Rita directed WILD BOYS, a 2-part doc series for Paramount+ based on the hit podcast. Her film FINDING THE LIGHT, about former conflict photographer Muhammed Muheison, premiered on Nat Geo/Disney+ as part of the Peabody Award-winning series, PHOTOGRAPHER. Her work has garnered nominations from Cinema Eye Honors and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Rita is co-founder of the Los Angeles & London based production company Lady and Bird Films, known for their trailblazing ethical approach to documentary filmmaking. She is a 2025 Chicken and Egg Awardee, a Concordia Fellow, a Sundance Momentum Fellow, a Film Independent Fellow, and one of DOC NYC’s ‘40 under 40.' She is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and an active mentor and speaker in the documentary industry.
Currently, Rita is in production on several new projects including STALLIONS, a feature documentary shooting in Morocco, and developing a scripted feature. When she’s not behind the camera, she’s always looking for a horse to ride.