Doug Wolens

Doug Wolens is an American documentary filmmaker, writer and producer whose documentary films have touched on various issues from logging (Butterfly) to transhumanism (The Singularity).

Early life

Wolens was raised in Chicago, Illinois. His father sold children's wear while his mother worked in an office. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1981. During this period, Wolens was involved in asbestos litigation.

Early documentaries and Happy Loving Couples

In 1993, Wolens became a filmmaker and his first documentary 'Happy Loving Couples' was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. In Happy Loving Couples, Wolens presents the difficulties of internal monologues of single women in big cities. Happy Loving Couples haunts the narrator by contrasting the difficulties of single women in big cities with the many images of urban locales. premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam before going on a forty-day United States theatrical tour. Wolens visited 56 coffeehouses and interviewed 300 people for Weed to get material for the documentary. Butterfly describes Julia Hill, a rebellious, anti logging activist who lives in a redwood tree in her effort protest logging. Wolens became aware of Hill's campaign during a DYI for his documentary Weed. After not being able to get the story out of his head, Wolens contacted Hill and set up the groundwork for the documentary. is a documentary which questions transhumanism. The Singularity predicts that eventually technology will go beyond what humans can imagine. Wolens first learned about the singularity in 2000 while self distributing the Butterfly. On a chance occasion he read a blurb in an Internet business magazine about how technology would one day be as smart as people. Wolens also interviewed people not associated with artificial intelligent speculation or biomolecular work such as former US National Security council advisor Richard A Clarke to give a full view of the topic.

Filmography

Film/Short Year Role Happy Loving Couples 1993 Director Reversal 1994 Director Getting Even with Dad 1994 Production assistant In Frame 1995 Director Weed 1996 Director, producer, writer Butterfly 2000 Director, producer, writer The Singularity 2012 Director, producer