Nicole Gormley
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Nicole Gormley | |
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| Born | Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BS, Marine Biology) |
| Occupation | Documentary filmmaker, photographer |
| Known for | Searching for Amani |
Notable work | Searching for Amani |
| Awards | Best New Documentary Director (2024, Tribeca Film Festival) Best Documentary Feature (2024, Raindance Film Festival) |
Nicole Gormley is an American freelance documentary filmmaker and photographer from Irvine, California. In 2024, she won the award for Best New Documentary Director at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best Documentary Feature at the Raindance Film Festival for her first feature-length film Searching for Amani. She is a frequent collaborator with Patagonia as well as National Geographic, CNN, and Channel 4 to create media that brings awareness to ocean and climate related issues.
Early life and education
Gormley graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology, but did not want to pursue research.[1] Gormley instead transitioned into filmmaking, focusing on creating content that revolved around protecting the ocean and nature.
Career
Nicole Gormley's career in the film industry began during her last few years of college at UCLA.[2] Gormley had always loved natural history documentaries such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and her dream job was to work on Shark Week.[2] While she was at UCLA, Gormley got a job interning at the Discovery Channel, and once she graduated, was offered a full-time position working as a writer and producer for Shark Week.[2] While working for the Discovery Channel, Gormley would travel 300 days of the year and struggled with the fact that she was not making productive and meaningful ocean-related content.[2] So, she decided to leave her job and pursue a career in freelance filmmaking.[2]
Gormley began her career by producing TV series such as the National Geographic show Die Trying (2014) and the Discovery Channel shows' Naked and Afraid XL (2015) and Expedition Unknown (2015). From there, Gormley went on to make short films for outdoor brands such as Outbound Chapter 8: The Great North (2017) for Bass Pro Shops. A pivotal moment in Gormley's career is when she got the opportunity to produce the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Ugly Delicious in 2020.[3] Then in 2020, Gormley directed her fist short film for Patagonia, Lessons from Jeju. This marked the beginning of a long partnership between Gormley and Patagonia, as of 2025 she has directed 6 short films for their brand including The Monster in Our Closet (2022), Jalpi (2023), Daughter of the Sea: A Story of Becoming Haenyeo (2023), Hot Pink Dolphins (2023), and Sea Country (2025).
In 2024, Gormley co-directed with Debra Aroko and produced her first feature-length film, Searching for Amani. The film is about a 13 year old boy living in Kenya who is an aspiring journalist.[4] After his father is mysteriously murdered in one of Kenya's largest wildlife conservatories, he sets on a quest to find his killer.[4] However, as a drought approaches, his priorities shift as he begins to see the consequences of global warming.[4]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-2019 | Shark Week | Producer |
| 2014 | Die Trying | Producer |
| 2015 | Starting Strong | Producer |
| 2015 | Naked and Afraid XL | Producer |
| 2016-2019 | Expedition Unknown | Producer |
| 2017 | Outbound Chapter 8: The Great North | Co-director and DP |
| 2019 | INDO DREAM DRIFT: A surf adventure through the beautiful island nation of Indonesia | Director and DP |
| 2020 | Shark Week | Writer |
| 2020 | Ugly Delicious | Producer |
| 2020 | Lessons from Jeju | Director |
| 2021 | Mega Predators of Oz | Co-producer |
| 2022 | The Monster in Our Closet | Director |
| 2023 | Jalpi | Producer |
| 2023 | Daughter of the Sea: A Story of Becoming Haenyeo | Director |
| 2023 | Hot Pink Dolphins | Director |
| 2024 | Searching for Amani | Director and Producer |
| 2025 | Sea Country | Cinematographer |
| 2025 | Vaer Presents North Shore Lifeguards Association – A Story of Purpose and Protection | Director |
Awards and Nominations
- Tribeca Film Festival: 2024 Winner of Best New Documentary Director for Searching for Amani
- Raindance Film Festival: 2024 Winner of Best Documentary Feature for Searching for Amani
- Calgary International Film Festival: 2024 Nominee of Best International Documentary for Searching for Amani
- Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival: 2024 Nominee of the Truth Award for Searching for Amani
Further Reading
- "Alaska by Nicole Gormley" by Lee Litumbe
- "Murder Mystery Meets Climate Change: Nicole Gormley Discusses Her Co-Directed Tribeca Film ‘Searching for Amani’" by Luke Y. Thompson
References
- ↑ "Nicole Gormley". Backroads Pictures. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 MARNS, Rosie (2018-11-01). "SurfGirl Meets Nicole Gormley". SurfGirl Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ↑ "Nicole Gormley". Searching for Amani. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "HOME". Searching for Amani. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
External links
This article "Nicole Gormley" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.