Founded by Oscar and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams and Emmy Award-winning producer Geoff Martz, One Story Up specializes in creating both socially and artistically driven documentary films, television, series, animation and VR.

Roger Ross Williams

Roger Ross Williams is an Oscar, Emmy, and Peabody award-winning director, producer, writer, and the first African-American director to win an Academy Award® with his short film Music By Prudence.

Williams’ award-winning work pushes the boundaries of culture and film. In 2021 Williams was named an Indiewire Influencer for “changing the face of documentary film.” “Beautiful,” “Uplifting,” “Extraordinary,” “Triumphant,” “Rich with insight,” “Searing,” “Remarkable,” and “Inspirational” are accolades Williams’ films have received from the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Forbes and Entertainment Weekly. Williams has received the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association, The Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award, The NYU Alumni Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from Lafayette College.

Williams documentaries include: Life, Animated, which won the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award, three Emmys in 2018, and was nominated for an Academy Award®; God Loves Uganda, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award®; Emmy-nominated and Webby-winning VR experience Traveling While Black; and The Apollo which won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary. Williams is currently directing and producing (under his One Story Up banner), Ibram X. Kendi Stamped From The Beginning for Netflix; The 1619 Project, a limited series with the New York Times, Lionsgate, Disney/ABC, and Harpo Productions for Hulu; Love to Love You, Donna Summer, a feature film about the legendary ‘queen of Disco’ Donna Summer for HBO/HBOMAX; The Supermodels about the original supermodels, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista for Apple+. Roger Ross Williams’ first scripted feature, Cassandro, premiered at Sundance in 2023 and was short-listed for an Academy Award. The film about an openly gay, cross-dressing Lucha Libre wrestler, stars Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Raúl Castillo, Joaquín Cosío, and Bad Bunny. Cassandro can be viewed on Prime Video.

In 2022 Deadline named Williams to its coveted “Disruptor” list, declaring “Roger Ross Williams’ One Story Up Is A Powerhouse Production Company Giving Hope To BIPOC Talent.’

Geoff Martz

Geoff Martz is a 5-time Emmy Award-winning producer. He left a long career at ABC in 2018 to join Roger Ross Williams in starting One Story Up. Since then, he developed and executive produced two limited series for Netflix (The Innocence Files, and High on the Hog, which won a Peabody); a series for Apple TV Plus (The Super Models) and another series for Hulu (The 1619 Project, which won the Primetime Emmy for best documentary series). He also executive produced two features for HBO (Between the World and Me, based on the book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Master of Light, which won jury prizes at SXSW, San Francisco, and Sheffield); two features for Netflix (Stamped from the Beginning based on the book by Ibrim X. Kendi, and Civil about Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump); and developed and executive produced a feature for Lifetime and A&E (TLC Forever which is now running on Netflix); and a feature called The Battle for Laikipia which premiered at Sundance, and just won a jury prize at Hot Docs.