Andrew Cohen (filmmaker)


Andrew "Andy" Cohen is an independent filmmaker and journalist whose work focuses on human rights issues and social change. The founder of AC Films Inc, Cohen has directed, written, and produced feature-length and short form documentaries. Cohen produced and co-wrote his first film in 1996, Gaylen Ross' Dealers Among Dealers, about the New York City diamond business. Cohen would later co-write and produce Ross' 2008 documentary Killing Kasztner on the life and assassination of Rezso Kasztner.

Career

Cohen's work as a producer includes Ai Weiwei's Human Flow, Hooligan Sparrow, , and The World Before Her. His work has been featured at the Venice Film Festival, Telluride, Tribeca Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival.
Cohen and Ross directed the documentary Ximei, which premiered at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva. Produced by Al Weiwei, the film is centered around Lui Ximei, a Chinese peasant woman who was infected with AIDS in the 1990s. Production of Ximei lasted seven years, due to interference from Chinese officials; Cohen's phone and internet messages were spied on and parts of footage were regularly confiscated. Cohen also participated in Global Geneva's first ‘Youth Writes’ workshop in Versoix, Switzerland, in March 2019, helping high school students better understand the role of documentary film reporting.
His feature-length documentary, Beijing Spring, premiering in 2020, chronicles China's first Democracy movement and protest demonstration for artistic freedom following China's brutal Cultural Revolution.

Filmography