Nicholas Ma (born circa 1983) is a film director and producer who is best known for producing the 2018 award-winning documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?.[1]

Nicholas Ma
Born1983 Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationFilm producer, film director Edit this on Wikidata
Employer
WorksWon't You Be My Neighbor? Edit this on Wikidata
Parent(s)

He was born around 1983 to Yo-Yo Ma and Jill Hornor.[1][2][3] He has one sibling, Emily Ma who was born around 1985.[2][3] Nicholas Ma attended Harvard University and graduated in 2005.[4] He went on to work at the McKinsey & Company at both their New York City and Shanghai locations. He also worked with Senator John Kerry on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee focusing on global economic policy.[5] In 2013, he left McKinsey & Company.[6] He later went back to school and attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts and received a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television in 2017.[6][7] Ma, alongside Morgan Neville and Caryn Capotosto, produced Morgan Neville's 2018 award-winning documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?.[1][8] Ma and Neville had interacted before on Neville's 2015 documentary The Music of Strangers, which was about the Silk Road Ensemble formed by Ma's father.[9]

In 2019, Ma's 15 minute documentary short SUITE NO. 1, PRELUDE was shown at DOCNYC, which focused on his father's re-recording of the first cello piece he learned.[10][11] Also in 2019, Ma's first feature film Mabel won the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award of $100,000 and was also supported by the Tribeca Film Institutes' Sloan Filmmaker Fund.[11][12] Mabel focuses on a young child's friendship with a potted plant and her teacher who introduced her to botany.[11] Mabel was co-written with Joy Goodwin.[11] Actors such as Christine Ko, Judy Greer, and Lexi Perkel are all slated to star in Mabel.[13][14] In 2022, Ma worked with Alison Klayman on the documentary Unfinished Business, which focused on the New York Liberty women's basketball team and the WNBA.[15][16] Unfinished Business was shown at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Alm, David. "The Making Of A Profound Film About The 'Unlikeliest of Characters' - Mister Fred Rogers". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. ^ a b Covington, Richard (June 2002). "Yo-Yo Ma's Other Passion". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  3. ^ a b Chiu, Melody (17 December 2020). "Yo-Yo Ma Opens Up About His 42-Year Marriage to Wife Jill: 'Our Family Is the Center of Our Lives'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  4. ^ Tatter, Grace (25 October 2018). "The Fierceness of Mister Rogers". Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  5. ^ "Energy, Poverty, Sustainability and Climate Change". Bretton Woods Project. 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. ^ a b "What Can You Do Now? Stories of Outstanding Tisch Alumni Making a Difference". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  7. ^ "Oscars, Golden Globes, DGA Awards and More: Grad Film's Stellar Year 2020-21". tisch.nyu.edu. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  8. ^ "Grad Film Student, Nicholas Ma's Doc Top-Grossing Biodoc". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  9. ^ Boughton, Kathryn. "Nicholas Ma". Berkshire Style. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  10. ^ "SUITE NO. 1, PRELUDE". DOC NYC. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  11. ^ a b c d Binney, Sarah (13 November 2019). "A New Film About a Girl and Her Potted Friend Reimagines the Natural World". www.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  12. ^ "Tribeca Film Institute". www.tfiny.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (2021-07-27). "Christine Ko Joins Judy Greer In Nicholas Ma's Indie 'Mabel'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-07-23). "Judy Greer Boards Indie Movie 'Mabel'". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  15. ^ Complex, Valerie (2022-06-14). "'Unfinished Business': Watch Exclusive Clip From Documentarian Alison Klayman Film About The WNBA At Tribeca". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  16. ^ a b Goldsmith, Jill (2022-04-19). "Tribeca Festival Lineup Includes 'Corner Office' With Jon Hamm, Ray Romano's 'Somewhere In Queens', More". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-30.