Rita Baghdadi is an Emmy award-winning film director, producer and cinematographer known for the intimacy of her bold, character-driven work.
SIRENS premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 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 anthology series, PHOTOGRAPHER. Rita’s work on that film garnered nominations from Cinema Eye Honors and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Rita is an active mentor and speaker in the international documentary community. She co-founded the Los Angeles & London based production company Lady and Bird Films, known for their commitment to making nonfiction filmmaking more ethical. Rita is a Chicken and Egg Awardee, a Concordia Fellow, a Sundance Momentum Fellow, a Film Independent Fellow, and named one of DOC NYC’s ‘40 under 40.' She is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and is sponsored by Canon.
Currently, Rita is in different stages of development, production and post-production on several projects, including STALLIONS, a feature documentary shooting in Morocco, and her debut scripted feature. When she’s not behind the camera, she’s always looking for a horse to ride.