Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Gabriela Cowperthwaite (born 1971) is an American filmmaker. She has directed documentaries and feature films, and she also produces, edits, writes, and directs for television and documentary films. Her films often deal with social, cultural, and environmental issues relating to real life events. Her most notable film is Blackfish, which received a BAFTA nomination for Best Documentary.

Early life and education Cowperthwaite's mother was a Brazilian psychoanalyst, and her father was an American real estate developer.

In 2010, she directed City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story, making her debut in independent feature documentary-making. The subject was chosen by her classmate Tor Myhren, and the documentary tells the story of Tor's brother Erik, who at the time was an elementary school teacher that put together a lacrosse team in a rough urban neighbourhood to play a rich white kids' sport.

In 2013, Cowperthwaite directed the documentary Blackfish, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and found a larger audience on television via her distribution partner CNN. Blackfish is a controversial documentary, as it tells the story of Tilikum, an orca at the SeaWorld theme park in Orlando, Florida who killed its trainer, Dawn Brancheau. The film investigates the treatment of orcas in captivity through news and archival footage, interviews of former trainers and marine mammal experts, and questioning the ethics of captivity. The film created a new movement, called "The Blackfish Effect", and in 2016 SeaWorld announced it would stop breeding orcas and put an end to all orca performances by 2019, which was largely attributed to the film.

In 2017, her first feature film, Megan Leavey, was released. A drama based on real events, the film follows a corporal in the U.S. Marine's K9 unit, working with a German shepherd named Rex to detect explosives and weapons during the Iraq War.

In 2019, Cowperthwaite directed Our Friend, a drama film starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel, revolving around real-life couple Nicole and Matthew Teague. Faced with Nicole's impending death, they have their best friend move in with them to help them out.

In 2021, Cowperthwaite directed I.S.S., a space station thriller starring Ariana Debose and Chris Messina. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/iss-film-review-2024#google_vignette

In 2022, Cowperthwaite's documentary The Grab, 7 years in the making, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. https://2022.tiffr.com/shows/the-grab

In 2025, Cowperthwaite's documentary "The Grab" was nominated for four Emmy's, including Best Research Documentary, Best Investigative Documentary, Best Promotional Trailer, and Best Documentary. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2025-news-documentary-emmy-awards-nominations-1236204666/

Filmography Documentary film Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes 2010 City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story 2013 Blackfish Also editor (Uncredited) 2022 The Grab

Feature film Megan Leavey (2017) Our Friend (2019) I.S.S. (2023)

Television Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes 2003 Animal Nightmares Miniseries 2004 Wild West Tech Wrote episode "Disaster Tech" 2005-2006 Shootout! 2022 Children of the Underground Directed 3 episodes

Awards Cowperthwaite's 2010 documentary, City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story, received the July prize for Best Documentary as well as the Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival.

In 2020, she received an honorary degree from Occidental College.

Personal life Cowperthwaite lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.