Nonfiction Unlimited, the commercial production company that works with accomplished documentary filmmakers, has signed Abby Fuller, who directs for the award-winning Netflix documentary series Chef’s Table created by David Gelb, another Nonfiction roster director. Fuller is the youngest filmmaker and the only woman on the Netflix Original series. The documentary director got her start producing the Emmy Award-winning series True Life for MTV and since then has directed, produced and edited documentaries for: Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Sundance Channel, MTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, Netflix and National Geographic.
“I’m happy that David introduced her to us,” said Loretta Jeneski, executive producer at Nonfiction Unlimited. “She’s insightful and smart and knows how to weave a beautiful story; for example, her Chef’s Table episode about Ana Ros, the Slovenian chef who’s spent 16 years revolutionizing her country’s food. Abby sets the table for Ana in such a way that you not only smell and taste what the great chef is cooking, but you feel and embrace her down-to-earth personality. Abby brings a fresh face and perspective to Nonfiction and we love that.”
Fuller’s feature documentary Do You Dream In Color? examines the injustices in the education system suffered by blind students. It has won awards at festivals across the nation and was screened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Fuller is currently directing a documentary featuring heroic woman athletes from around the globe. In June 2017 these women will climb Mount Kilimanjaro to set the world record for the highest altitude soccer match ever played in an effort to inspire unprecedented awareness in the fight for gender equality.
With Fuller’s addition, half of the directors at Nonfiction Unlimited are now women. The roster includes Barbara Kopple, Rory Kennedy, Tracy Droz Tragos, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jessica Yu. The 22-year old company is also woman-founded and owned.
“It’s not that I set out to hire women specifically,” said Jeneski. “I was just looking for great directors, and what do you know? Half of them turned out to be women. Interesting what can happen when you aren’t wearing blinders. Great talent is great talent.”
“Euphoria,” Returning For A 3rd Season, Launched A Generation Of New Stars
Few TV shows have served as a launchpad for an array of new talent quite like "Euphoria," which returns for a third season Sunday on HBO Max.
Premiering in 2019, this is the series that showcased the rising careers of Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney — all of whom have since become bona fide stars.
The dark suburban teen drama has also featured more established figures like Colman Domingo, who has received two best actor Oscar nominations in the last few years, and the late Eric Dane. And it's given visibility and recognition to other actors: Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow and Barbie Ferreira. Angus Cloud, another of its breakout performers, died in 2023.
Series creator Sam Levinson says it's a thrill to see many cast members thriving.
"The thing is when you're casting, every person that walks in, you're hoping this is the person, this is going to be the character," he told The Associated Press at the season premiere. "And sometimes when they do, they walk in, they have the talent, they've got the passion, the enthusiasm for it, and they inspire you.
"To see them working with such incredible filmmakers like (Christopher) Nolan and (Guillermo) del Toro ... it's just exciting."
Here's a look at how some of the "Euphoria" stars got their starts — and how they've been keeping busy since we last saw their characters four years ago.
Zendaya (Rue Bennett)
She soared, quite literally, as a trapeze artist in "The Greatest Showman" in 2017, two years before "Euphoria" premiered.
But Zendaya has soared far higher in the seven years since she first played Rue Bennett.
The actor began as a Disney Channel star and went on to play MJ in "Spider-Man" movies opposite her... Read More