Joe Berlinger

Joe Berlinger
Berlinger in 2015
Born (1961-10-30) October 30, 1961 (age 63)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Years active1989–present
SpouseLoren Eiferman

Joseph Berlinger (born October 30, 1961) is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such films as Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Crude, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger and Intent To Destroy: Death, Denial and Depiction.

A 2017 HuffPost article stated, "Brother's Keeper" (1992) and the "Paradise Lost trilogy" (1996–2011) helped pioneer the style of documentary filmmaking seen in Netflix's recent true crime sensation, Making a Murderer—a combination of artful cinematography, a stirring musical soundtrack, and a dramatic narrative structure as compelling as any scripted film."[1]

Berlinger spearheaded and directed two 2019 projects centered on the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy: the Netflix docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,[2] and the drama film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring Zac Efron.[3] In 2022 Bloomberg described Berlinger as a "True Crime Hit Factory" for Netflix whose work has "redefined crime documentaries as a vehicle for social justice." The article also quoted Adam Del Deo, VP for original documentary series at Netflix: “He’s the gold standard in true crime. The moral compass that he has, the sense of responsibility he has for victims and for getting the story right and shining a light on it, that is something that is very unique.”[4]

  1. ^ Levin, Michael (October 29, 2017). "Contributor". Huffpost. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  2. ^ "Ted Bundy True Crime Series Coming to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  3. ^ Barcella, Laura (January 23, 2019). "Living With Ted Bundy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "The Man Behind Netflix's Jeffrey Dahmer Docuseries Is a True Crime Hit Factory". Bloomberg.com. October 20, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2023.