American Symphony was positioned not just as a film, but as a cultural moment. I led the creative and awards marketing strategy that elevated the documentary into the center of the nonfiction awards conversation—shaping how it was seen, talked about, and ultimately celebrated.

In partnership with Higher Ground (President and Mrs. Obama’s production company) and the Netflix Awards team, I oversaw all facets of the film’s rollout—from premiere strategy in New Orleans to awards positioning across top guilds, the Academy Documentary Branch, and key tastemaker events in New York and Los Angeles. Every element—from our key art and trailer debut to the film’s talking points—was crafted to highlight its emotional power, creative mastery, and social resonance.

Our campaign became a benchmark for excellence: 295M social impressions, 2.5M trailer views in 24 hours, and 99% positive sentiment, placing it among Netflix’s top-performing documentary campaigns. The trailer I cut became the first Netflix Documentary trailer to win a Gold Clio, alongside Silver and Bronze wins and the Golden Trailer Award for Best Documentary trailer.

I also co-directed the featurette “Join the Symphony,” featuring Michelle Obama and Jon Batiste, which became Netflix’s highest-performing doc featurette of 2023 with 1.4M views. Through targeted awards messaging, influencer screenings, and coordinated pushes with Jon Batiste’s Grammy campaign, American Symphony earned an Academy Award shortlist nomination and solidified Netflix’s standing as a creative powerhouse in prestige documentary storytelling.