Gabe Polsky

Gabe Polsky (born May 3, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and writer best known for the documentaries Red Army and In Search of Greatness (2018). His work has premiered at major international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Telluride Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival.

Early life Gabe Polsky was born on May 3, 1979, to Ukrainian immigrants in Illinois, and he was primarily raised in the Chicago area. He attended the Hotchkiss School. After graduating, he attended Yale University, where he played NCAA hockey. He competed on Team USA in hockey at the 1997 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a silver medal.

Career In 2009, Polsky was among the producers on the Werner Herzog film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Polsky then wrote, directed, and produced Red Army (2014), a documentary about the Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Polsky and his brother Alan acquired the rights to the Einstein estate and the book Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, and they were among the executive producers of the Genius series on National Geographic in 2017. Polsky wrote, directed, and produced the sports documentaries In Search of Greatness (2018), Red Penguins (2019), and the episode "Red Penguins: Murder, Money and Ice Hockey" in season 24 of Storyville.

With Liam Satre Meloy, Polsky directed Butcher's Crossing (2022), an adaptation of the John Williams novel, Butcher's Crossing, starring Nicolas Cage alongside Fred Hechinger. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Polsky directed, wrote, and produced the documentary The Man Who Saves the World? in 2025.

Sundance title; producers include Jamie Patricof, Alan Polsky, Gabe Polsky.

Premiered in Cannes Special Screenings; won audience awards at AFI Fest, Chicago, and Middleburg.

World premiere at TIFF 2019; U.S. release via Universal (2020).

World premiere at TIFF 2022; U.S. theatrical release October 20, 2023 (Saban Films).

Limited U.S. theatrical release scheduled for October 17, 2025 (Area 23a).